The Sensory Odyssey in Paris, a family trip to the heart of the earth
A victim of its own success, the new exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History offers a complete and fascinating immersion across the planet. You have until July 4 to immerse yourself in it.
Meirone is four years old, big brown eyes, and a passion in life: animals. Especially the snakes. So, inevitably at the Natural History Museum in Paris, he feels like a fish in water. To the point of remaining captivated for twenty minutes by the insect videos of “The Sensory Odyssey”.
Launched on October 23, this exhibition produced by the Sensory Odyssey studio offers a dive into the heart of nature, via projections on the big screen, soundscapes, and discreet reconstructed smells. From the savannah to the Far North, each room creates its own universe. And it works. When close-ups of a bee follow one another, and its buzzing echoes through the speakers, Meirone hides her eyes. “She’s going to sting me!” “, he cries.
However, “The Sensory Odyssey” requires time to adapt. The visitor arrives in the first room after a long queue, without really knowing the details of the exhibition, and finds himself watching, standing, a video of pink flamingos. No sets, no explanations. Not even music. Just flamingos, and the sound of their wings. The puzzled look of the spectators speaks volumes.
The smell of wild animals and flowers
After the effect of surprise, the charm operates. In small groups, visitors stroll through eight rooms, surrounded by giant screens, and reluctance leaves room for the imagination. Children lie on the carpet to admire the rainforest. Adults hesitate for a few seconds before imitating them. Six-year-old Coline pursues a virtual dove under the tender eye of her mother. “We are almost more in contemplation than in immersion, explains Bruno David, president of the Natural History Museum. We plan to take the visitor on a journey, to take them to different places on the planet. ”
For this, almost all of the videos broadcast are real images shot by Sensory Odyssey. The soundscapes were also recorded in the field. Only the scents of wild animals or flowers have been recreated, but are deliberately subtle so as not to be heady.
You have to wait for the last room, called “Exploration Return”, to access more information. The sensory odyssey does not bring any explanatory sign before its final point, and it is perfect thus: visitors lose themselves in their thoughts in front of the vastness of the ocean, or observe the insects of the meadow with an amused curiosity. The room dedicated to Greenland arouses in them a strange melancholy.
For now, this bias “All in sensations” works. “The exhibition could not have got off to a better start”, rejoices Bruno David. Booking slots are full until the end of the All Saints holiday, but the museum is expected to increase visitor numbers later this week.
This success is not surprising. Whether you have a weakness for the ground swarming with insects, like Bruno David, or for “The sea and the coral», Like little Tiphaine, The sensory odyssey won his bet by creating “A deep feeling of resonance with the living world”.