Catching stories at Sonneveld House
At Podego, we are always looking for opportunities to learn and improve our services. That’s why, when we decided to implement audio interactivity (Gamification if you’re naughty), we knew we had to learn from others and take stock of the landscape. One of our fearless founders, Danna, has already provided some thought provoking insights from her visit to the Sewer Museum in Belgium. And this time, I set out to find a museum that offered something interesting to a younger audience.
Let me introduce you to the Sonneveld House Museum, a villa from the 1930s that has been revitalised and extremely well preserved. It is one of the best enduring examples of the Nieuwe Bouwen architectural style and is situated at the edge of Rotterdam’s Museum Park. They form part of the Nieuwe Instituut museum of architecture and boast highly positive reviews from visitors.
What is it about?
This museum showcases the dwelling of the prominent Sonneveld family, who embraced Modernism in the design of their home. The museum captures in intricate detail how these people lived in a home that was truly unique for its time nearly 100 years ago.
Audioguides with a twist aimed at the youth
Sonneveld House Museum has taken a 1930’s villa and turned the audio guide into a quest of discovery for young people. This has taken shape in the Story Catchers tour, an interactive experience where young visitors hunt for stories throughout the restored home. There is no route to follow, only a small magnifying glass symbol that shows the way. And it's up to the visitor to find these, scan them, and listen to the stories. Oftentimes, these stories include physical props and fun characters.
My experience as a Story Catcher
I arrived at Sonneveld House, where I was issued a little briefcase, a map, a Story Catchers badge, and an audio device by their friendly staff. Even though I am a little older (cough, ahem) than the target audience… OK, a lot older, I still enjoyed the experience despite not being its intended visitor.
The content is told mainly from the perspective of the house itself. This personified / anthropomorphic approach is great fun as we walk around inside the house’s body.
The goal is to find all the Magnifying Glass logos and scan them with your audio device. They can be found at various items, rooms, and appliances throughout Sonneveld House. You then get to listen to the main audio guide told from the house’s point of view. Upon finishing, you get the option to listen to up to three additional stories. These stories are often told or acted from the perspective of the house’s inhabitants, ranging from the children, the adults, more personified items, to even the family dog.
The voice acting from members of the Sonneveld family and their friends and servants was well executed and even funny. This approach gives us a window into the lives of the people from that time and adds a lot of colour and context to the experience.
And don’t forget the props! The element of physical interactivity was a real added bonus. I particularly enjoyed the living laundry shoot that encouraged me to stick my head into the wall and throw a piece of cloth into its dark depths. Which I could retrieve when I visited the servant quarters.
The story catching quest ends in the motor home, where visitors can watch documentaries about the restoration of the house. The final piece of the experience was an invitation from the house for the visitor to write their own story into a book. This gets the younger visitors to engage with the guest book and leave a comment about their experience.
Story Catchers leave behind their own stories.
My main takeaway from the Sonneveld House
a home filled with stories and a welcoming atmosphere
This audio tour really encourages exploration and rewards curiosity with fun stories and interesting facts voice-acted with convincing performances.
After I completed the tour, I had to reach out to Sonneveld House and complement them on the fine work they had done and ask for some insights. They informed me that they worked with a children’s team to create this experience, and some of those same children voiced a few of the characters you encounter as a story catcher.
This whole approach shows the willingness of the staff to really try to understand their audience and include children in every step of the creation process of these audio guides. At Podego, we are convinced of the same principle. To create interactive audio guide content that resonates with a younger audience, you have to include them in the process from the beginning.
If you haven’t checked out the Sonneveld House Museum in Rotterdam, we can definitely recommend it. Aside from the Story Catchers tour for young people, they offer regular audio guides as well as a VR tour for those who cannot access the upper floors due to wheelchair inaccessibility. They are situated at Jongkindstraat 12, Rotterdam.
If you find yourself in Rotterdam, head on over and catch a story or two.
