A project I did when I worked at Het Dolhuys is The Belfry (De Bovenkamer).
The Belfry (De Bovenkamer)
The Belfry is a journey through the world of the adolescent brain, it is an educational program for young people in the museum Dolhuys. In the The Belfry students can go exploring the world of their adolescent brain. It is an educational program for youth from fourteen to eighteen years old. In which they interactively learn how their brain works and that of others. Why are teens so impulsive, emotional, or susceptible to addiction? In the specially designed braintests students can get an insight in their personality. Teachers also get a nice glimpse into the heads of their students. The Belfry is designed for high-school students and fits well with subjects such as biology, social sciences and philosophy. Pupils learn more about the relationship between physical and mental health. Students also get to know young people who have mental health problems and learn to get respect for them.
The Program
A visit to the The Belfry consists of three parts: The Braincel, The Brainlab, The Brain enhancer.
The Braincel
The journey through the world of the adolescent brain begins with an introduction on how the brains works. In a dark room there is a brain in formaldehyde. What happens in the brain of young people as they fall in love, are anxious or are insecure? In what areas of the brain does this all take place?
The Brainlab
In the ‘Brainlab’, students can test their personality. Do they themselves may also have a history of aggression, fear or difficulty concentrating? And who is susceptible to addiction? Or they take their personality under the microscope: I am introverted or extroverted? The students can see their own personal results and the results of the group are shared anonymously with eachother.
The Brain Enhancer
In the Brain Enhancer the students learn how others deal with their problems. Using questioncards, students can tell if they recognize the problems of these young people. Questions for are example: How would you help Joelle with her problem? If you were Joelle what would you do? By using the person in the film as a mirror, they can talk about personal things without being to explicit about themselves.
Project management
I did the overall project management, briefed the interior designer, the graphic designer, the multimedia company an architect. The building was former boiler house and was rebuilt. The interior design was done by Stag, the graphic design by Palookaville, the multimedia company was IJsfontein, the architect was Slangen Hulsker.
