Not every difficulty in a learning environment is about academics. Sometimes it has more to do with how a student’s nervous system responds to the world around them.

In a school setting, noise, lights, expectations and constant stimulation can easily become overwhelming for some students. Stress builds up, attention fades, and frustration may turn into disruptive behavior.

In moments like these, a student doesn’t always need another instruction or correction. What they may need is a moment to pause, breathe, and reset.

👉 So, what if the school itself could offer a space designed exactly for those moments? A place where, instead of escalating, the situation can gently settle and regulation can begin again.

At Šiaulių Salduvės progimnazija, a mainstream school in Lithuania, students aged 7 to 15 have access to a multisensory room designed to support emotional regulation, learning, and well-being throughout the school day.

It is used by students with a wide range of needs — including Autism Spectrum Disorder, learning difficulties, or emotional and behavioral challenges — as well as by those who simply need a moment to pause and regain focus.

Equipped with Qinera’s multisensory technology — where light, projection, sound, vibration, and other sensory elements work in sync to create interactive and immersive environments — the space offers a predictable setting where students can calm down, regulate sensory input, and reconnect with learning before returning to class.

Why a multisensory space in a mainstream school and how it works?

One of the goals at the school was to create a more inclusive learning environment where every student can participate in a way that fits their needs.

“In a modern school, where inclusive education is a key focus, such a space helps support students experiencing stress, sensory difficulties, or emotional and behavioral challenges.”

Its use varies depending on the situation. Some students attend scheduled sessions, particularly those receiving additional support, while others use the space for short sensory breaks to calm down or regain focus during the school day.

In one lesson, for example, a student who was struggling to focus and showing behavioral difficulties was brought into the sensory space.

“The student calmed down, regained focus, and after about 15 minutes returned to the lesson and successfully completed the tasks.”

Beyond these moments, the space is also used in more structured sessions. These may be individual or in small groups and are guided by the school’s multisensory specialist. Activities can include sensory exploration, emotional recognition and regulation, as well as attention and concentration training. And It is also sometimes used for integrated lessons linked to the curriculum — for example in subjects such as music, art, or ethics.

What elements does the space include?

The multisensory room includes Qinera’s SHX system, which allows all the elements in the space—lights, sounds, projections, and vibration—to shift at once, creating an immersive and enveloping atmosphere. One of the key features of this technology is that it enables users to actively interact with the environment. Students can do this through control devices such as a tablet, the Button 6 controller, or a sensory cube.

In practice, this opens the door to many different types of activities. For example, a student might sit on the vibroacoustic chair while listening to relaxing sounds and watching slow-moving visuals projected on the wall. In another activity, students may explore textures with sensory toys or observe the bubbles of the bubble tube rising slowly while practicing breathing exercises. They can also interact with the fiber optic lights of the Luminea fountain, playing hide-and-seek or using them during guided sensory activities.

Students can also move around the bubble pool or advance through a story using the controller, while lights, sounds, and projections change in sync. Additional effects can enhance the experience—for example, a fan may turn on during a windy landscape scene, or a bubble machine may fill the room with bubbles.

Benefits of a multisensory space in school

• Relax and reduce emotional tension: When students feel overwhelmed or anxious, the space offers a quieter and more predictable setting where they can slow down, breathe, and gradually calm their nervous system.
• Develop self-regulation skills: Through guided sensory activities, students learn to recognize emotions and find strategies to manage them during challenging moments of the school day.
• Improve attention and focus: By regulating sensory input and reducing distractions, students can reset and return to lessons with improved concentration.
• Support concentration and memory: Changes in colors, sounds, and projections capture students’ attention and make abstract concepts easier to retain and recall.
• Feel safe: For some students—especially those with sensory sensitivities or autism—everyday classroom environments can feel intense. A controlled sensory setting offers a space where they can feel calmer, interact, communicate, or simply take the time they need to regulate and feel safe.
• Encourage interaction, curiosity, and engagement: Interactive sensory elements invite students to explore, participate, and take an active role in the experience. This sense of agency often increases motivation, encourages communication, and helps students stay engaged in activities for longer periods.
• Encourage social interaction: Group activities around light shows, music, or projections help students share experiences, cooperate, and build relationships in a motivating and supportive setting.
• Support teachers and professionals in their daily work: The multisensory space also becomes a valuable tool for educators and specialists. It provides structured ways to support students during moments of dysregulation, helps guide emotional and sensory activities, and offers an additional environment where learning and support strategies can take place more effectively.

A positive change in the school environment

Since introducing sensory stimulation activities, the school has observed a noticeable shift in the overall climate.

Students who use the space regularly show improved emotional regulation, better concentration, greater participation in lessons, and stronger emotional well-being.

For the team at Šiaulių Salduvės progimnazija school, the multisensory room represents a broader vision of education.

“Multisensory spaces in schools are extremely valuable. They help ensure students’ emotional well-being, promote self-regulation, increase inclusion, and create more favorable conditions for successful learning.”

👏 Special thanks to Officeday, our partner in Lithuania, for bringing this project to life.

Free Project Design

If you want to learn more about the benefits of Multisensory Environments or see how you could adapt it to your space, therapeutic goals, and users, you can send an email to hello@qinera.com.

L'entrada From disruptive behaviour to regulation ha aparegut primer a The Multisensory Blog.

At the Caritas-Schule Mariannhill, a special education school in Würzburg (Germany), this vision has recently become a reality. Together with our partner LogBUK, they created two multisensory rooms that open new pathways for teaching, learning, and development.

A multisensory environment is designed to stimulate the senses in a controlled and meaningful way — using light, sound, vibration, projections, textures, and even scent to create an atmosphere that adapts to each person’s needs. These spaces can help regulate the nervous system, activate motivation, support learning and communication, facilitate rehabilitation, or simply offer calm, comfort, and joy.

At Mariannhill, these rooms are not an occasional escape, but part of everyday school life. Teachers use them to prepare students for new topics, to give them space to regulate when emotions run high, or to transform abstract content into something they can truly experience. A lesson about nature, for example, can turn into a multisensory journey: with the patter of rain, the gentle sway of leaves in the wind, and the shifting colours of a sunset projected across the walls. For many children, this makes the difference between memorising and understanding, between listening and truly participating.

For the school, these spaces are living classrooms — places where learning becomes tangible, emotions find balance, and every child can discover their own way of connecting with the world.

A space for calm and emotional balance

The first room is a relaxation room: a low-stimulus environment with soft lights, calming sounds, comfortable furniture, and cozy textures. This protected atmosphere invites students to slow down, connect with their bodies, and find inner calm. It helps them strengthen body awareness, reduce stress, and achieve emotional balance — essential skills for both learning and life.

Here, projection scenes, a vibroacoustic cushion, a bubble tube, and the shimmering strands of the Luminea fiber optics and the Luminea Fountain work together to create a soothing, interactive atmosphere. The fibers and the bubble tube, in particular, provide a captivating visual and tactile stimulus: their changing colours capture attention and support focus, while touch helps students become more aware of different parts of their body. Together, they become powerful tools for cause-and-effect learning, colour recognition, communication, and sensory exploration — all within a calming environment that can gently embrace the children.

A space for exploration and discovery

The second is an activation room, vibrant and full of color, projections, dynamic sound and other effects. Here, students can explore creatively and autonomously, using all their senses. Seasonal themes and special moments come to life — like the freshness of summer rain, the rustle of autumn leaves, or the sparkle of fireworks projected onto the walls.

Every detail is designed to engage: from a vibrating ball pool to light installations, visual projections, and even soap bubbles that turn each visit into an adventure. The room is also fully interactive — students can change colors and effects with a six-button controller, a giant Sensory Cube, or a colored mat (Sensory Step), making each activity fun and intuitive. At the same time, teachers can use the Luminea App on a tablet to guide the experience, access dozens of built-in activities, or even design new ones. This combination gives professionals a powerful tool to adapt sessions, while keeping the room playful and empowering for the children.

Beyond the room: pedagogy, therapy, and inclusion

These spaces are not just visually appealing; they are meaningful environments that give teachers and therapists practical ways to adapt activities to each student’s needs, support learning processes, and encourage emotional and sensory development. They make individualized education tangible, helping to:

• Foster communication and interaction: By turning light, sound, and movement into shared experiences, multisensory rooms encourage students to express themselves and connect with others.
• Support concentration and memory: Changing colors, sounds, and projections capture attention and make abstract concepts easier to retain and recall.
• Promote relaxation and emotional well-being: Calming lights, gentle sounds, and vibroacoustic elements help regulate stress and create a sense of safety.
• Encourage cause-and-effect learning through play: Simple actions like pressing a button or stepping on a mat immediately trigger effects, reinforcing understanding of action and consequence.
• Strengthen motor skills and coordination through interactive activities: Reaching for fibers, moving balls in a vibroacoustic pool, or stepping on interactive mats supports gross and fine motor development.
• Support alternative communication methods, giving non-verbal students new ways to express themselves: Tools like switches, cubes, or apps allow students to make choices and be heard without words.
• Create inclusive opportunities for all students: Every child can participate at their own pace.
• Encourage social interaction, helping students share experiences and build relationships in a motivating setting: Group activities around light shows, music, or projections foster cooperation and shared joy.

In addition, the rooms are woven into the school’s daily life. Informative posters and creatively designed doors make them recognizable from the outside — sparking curiosity, preparing students for what they will find, and ensuring that families, staff, and visitors see them as integral parts of the school, not separate “special” spaces.

Why multisensory environments matter in schools

Education is not only about knowledge, but also about how children feel while learning. Multisensory rooms give students the tools to regulate their nervous system, feel safe, and explore the world in ways that traditional classrooms cannot offer. When education takes place in a multisensory space, children don’t just learn more — they enjoy the process, feel supported, and grow in environments that truly care.

For children with diverse abilities, they provide alternative ways to process information and express themselves. For teachers, they become a source of innovation and creativity in daily practice. And for schools, they symbolize a commitment to inclusion, care, and holistic development.

👉 This project at Mariannhill was made possible thanks to collaboration between the school, our partner LogBUK, and the Qinera team. It reflects a growing movement across Europe: schools choosing to design learning spaces that are not only functional, but also inspiring, therapeutic, and deeply human.

Free Project Design

If you want to learn more about the benefits of Multisensory Environments or see how you could adapt it to your space, therapeutic goals, and users, you can send an email to hello@qinera.com.

L'entrada When learning becomes an experience ha aparegut primer a The Multisensory Blog.