中文/En
- 中文
- English

Home page

Growth-oriented children's venue operation: "Sound" Exploration Pavilion of the French Children's Philharmonic Orchestra

Source:

Author:

Release time:

2025-01-06

Click to view details

▲

Editor-in-Chief | Yang Ming

Editor | Jing Xiangyuan

Source | Maike MIC

Sensory training is crucial in a child's development, encompassing vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. It helps babies build an initial understanding of the world, cultivates children's observation and attention skills, and also helps improve their emotional perception and social abilities. When it comes to children's spaces, our first reaction is a playground. The French Philharmonie des enfants has opened up new areas, injecting sound sensory experiences into game experiment devices, creating a sensory playground that is playable, learnable, and promotes growth.

▲ Click to play video

Inspirational Children's Space

Both Playground and Concert Hall

Located in the Parc de la Villette's Philharmonie de Paris, the Philharmonie des enfants is a new 1,000-square-meter space designed for children aged 4 to 10—the Children's Philharmonic Orchestra. The Children's Philharmonic Orchestra is both a playground and a source of sensory wonders; it provides up-to-date edutainment content, putting technological innovation at the service of music education.

The creative process and design took more than three years and brought together numerous experts and teaching teams from the Philharmonie de Paris. Luthiers, instrument curators, teachers, musicologists, cognitive neuroscience researchers, and even artists—no fewer than 200 contributors ultimately contributed to this giant music box.

For the designers, it was necessary to transform the project into engaging, real-world content. For this particular case, the designers hoped to use a unique approach, combining various forms and musical pieces, showcasing the true nature of music through interactivity and manipulation. The installation design balances abstraction and representation, leaving room for imaginative and inspirational atmosphere for participants.

The space design uses bright colors and simple shapes, aiming to organize each theme and different visiting times, making the space fun and easy for children to use.

The Connection Between Sound and Body

Interactive Entertainment and Music Education

At the Philharmonie des enfants, no musical knowledge is required. One can freely wander through the 32 original sensory installations arranged by the Children's Philharmonic Orchestra, learning basic musical knowledge and skills through interactive experiences, embarking on an immersive journey. These installations are divided into five areas, all related to specific musical fields.

1. The Sound Forest

Here, one can experience the multifaceted nature of sound: sound materials, sound vibrations, sound pitch, sound visualization, and soundscapes, experiencing the three-dimensionality of sound in different ways.

▲ Sound Materials

Sound materials allow one to perceive everyday sounds. Kitchen utensils from our daily lives—pots, lids, mixers, draining boards, brushes, etc.—are brought in. Through hand interaction, tapping, rubbing, and squeezing, the sounds are amplified in the headphones, revealing different effects.

▲ Sound Pitch

Sound pitch: Nature is full of wonderful sounds. When struck with a mallet, these stones produce various natural sounds. Sounds can be low, like a tiger's roar, or high-pitched, like birdsong… This is the inspiration provided by natural instruments made from natural materials.

▲ Sound Visualization

Sound visualization: Sound is produced by air vibrations. Generally, small sound vibrations are invisible to the naked eye. Here, the Chladni plate experiment (Ernst Chladni was a German physicist who conducted an experiment to form changing geometric patterns with vibration frequencies) is used. The device undertakes this experiment, setting four different frequencies on a salt-covered plate. Children can select the frequency they want to test and the number they want to see appear via a cursor button.

2. The Sound Machine

Humanity's earliest discovery of musical instruments was mainly through productive labor and inspiration from natural objects. They used the tools at hand to produce sounds, such as bones, bows, and sheepskin… Over time, complex instruments gradually formed. Here, various instruments are gathered, and children can explore them on their own, blowing, hitting, rubbing, plucking, and playing electronic instruments to produce different sounds.

▲ String Instruments

In string instruments, sound is produced by the vibration of the strings. There are several ways to make them sound: by rubbing with a bow (violin), by plucking with fingers (guitar), or by striking with a small hammer (piano). To increase the power of the sound, a soundboard is added here. This gradually allows children to understand how string vibrations are produced.

▲ Wind Instruments

Wind instruments rely on blowing. To help participants understand the working principle of wind instruments, a massive instrument between an organ and a flute is designed, requiring multiple people to operate it together. The larger and longer the tube, the deeper the sound; the smaller and shorter the tube, the higher the sound.

▲ Sound March

Sound March: Wooden boards form a giant xylophone with a set of sound steps. Participants transport balls to the top of the steps by activating the crank, and a series of different tones are heard through the soundboard, allowing them to understand the principle of percussion.

▲ Electronic Music

Electronic music is made using machines and computers, offering unlimited sonic possibilities. It can replace a modern orchestra. In the electronic music studio, three machines are set up, inviting children to create rhythms and melodies, and recordings can be made for various combinations.

3. On Stage

A concert is a shared experience between musicians and the public. The stage is their medium. Two installations are mainly set up here: an intuitive installation invites children to reproduce the precise gestures of a conductor, and another studio uses simplified instruments to imitate a rock band, giving children the opportunity to become artists on stage.

4. A Thousand Voices

We all have an innate instrument: our voice. 'A Thousand Voices' illustrates all the ways to express music through one's body: for example, voice, and body percussion.

In this space, there is "Voices of the World," a globe-shaped commemorative installation featuring sounds from around the world; there is a "Ping Pong" game where you can hit the ball back and forth by adjusting the pitch of the sound; there is a "Rhythm Hut" where you can create rhythms with body movements; and there are "Singing Portraits."

▲ Voices of the World

▲ Ping Pong Game

▲ Rhythm Hut

▲ Singing Portraits

5. Music is Here

How is music created, how does it unfold, and how are sounds layered? In this space, children are guided to discover the developing relationship between musical stories and images, or how music and sound effects infuse what we see with specific emotional dimensions.

▲ Noise Collage

▲ Various Types of Music

▲ Everyone Has Their Own Style

Growth-Oriented Children's Venue Operation

Suitable for both recreation and research/study + performances

Philharmonie des enfants, with "sound" as its core theme, what appears to be a series of nonsensical experimental game installations on the surface actually contains deep theoretical concepts. This theory starts from human senses and the human body, sparking curiosity and using experimental game installations to unlock the first layer of human exploration; after experiencing this, human curiosity is strengthened, establishing an interest in sound (instruments that produce sound), and further cultivating this interest, which leads to the establishment of the second layer of content system stickiness—musical activities.

Created by the Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonie des enfants is renowned for its teaching quality and raising musical awareness. It provides a space for children to explore sound and music, offering courses that stimulate the body and mind.

The venue regularly holds musical activities suitable for different age groups, including adults and families, such as concerts, music workshops, music forums, and parties.

Thinking

When it comes to children's venues, many people's first reaction is equipment, powered or unpowered equipment. As time goes by, the novelty quickly wears off. So how should these types of fixed products be operated?

The Philharmonie des enfants case is more like a "growth-oriented" children's venue. "Growth-oriented" means it is iterative, changeable, and expandable. The growth gene comes from its large framework, with sound as its theme, using theory to support game experimental installations (lightweight installations have replaceability, and the participating sound products can also be sold as souvenirs), and using music resource advantages to extend multiple activities or courses, forming a growth-oriented closed loop. The growth of the space also benefits the growth of children, allowing them to continuously build self-interest awareness in the venue.

Special Research on Investment in the Tourism Industry

To gain a deeper understanding of the investment and development of the tourism industry, the China Tourism Academy, in conjunction with the China Amusement Machine and Amusement Park Association and other units, is conducting a special research activity on investment in the tourism industry, and sincerely invites all member units and tourism enterprises to participate in the research.

▲ Scan the QR code to fill out the questionnaire

Key words:

CHINA ASSOCIATION OF AMUSEMENT PARKS AND ATTRACTIONS

E-mail:cae@caapa.org

Tel:+86-010-57690332

Address: Room405 Building#5 Gucheng South Street Shijingshan District Beijing China

Official

Account

Expo Official
Account

COOKIES

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize the advertising shown to you and to help you get the best experience on our website. For more information, see our Privacy & Cookie Policy

COOKIES

required

These cookies are necessary for basic functions such as payment. Standard cookies cannot be turned off and do not store any of your information.

analyze

These cookies collect information, such as how many people are using our site or which pages are popular, to help us improve the customer experience. Turning these cookies off will mean we can't collect information to improve your experience.

Feature

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these services may not function properly.

advertise

These cookies help us understand what you are interested in so that we can show you relevant advertising on other websites. Turning these cookies off will mean we are unable to show you any personalized advertising.

Business License

京公网安备11010702002925号

Power by 300.cn Privacy Policy