Skip to content
Home | Events | Campus Sensory Room

Campus Sensory Room

The Center on Disability Studies (CDS) and the OFDAS Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) collaborated to establish a sensory room at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), located in Kuykendall Hall 106. Sensory rooms, increasingly popular in schools, hospitals, and community spaces, provide controlled sensory environments to promote self-regulation and stress management. This initiative positions UH Mānoa with its peer and benchmark institutions, 55% of which offer some form of sensory-friendly spaces.

Funded by the UH Foundation and the Oak Foundation, the project includes a fully equipped 13-item sensory room and the CAMP+U professional development program for UHM faculty, administrators and staff. The free online course focuses on disability awareness, Universal Design for Learning, learner-centered educational technologies, and strategies for fostering classroom belonging and sensory integration.

“It felt calming overall. It was exciting to choose which station to interact with. It was inspiring as a parent and educator.”
FacultyCompany Name
“It was very peaceful and relaxing. I appreciated the low lighting and large space to move around and experience different spaces/items.”
FacultyCompany Name
“Unique experience. I’m wondering if my students will stop by on occasion if they need it… If this helps others, I’m glad it’s a resource available for them right here on campus.”
FacultyCompany Name
“The room was welcoming and relaxing. Each section provided a unique and different experience, and I enjoyed how they work on each sense.”
StudentCompany Name
“I feel as if I’m able to pause time and allow myself the ability to process the thousands of thoughts and voices in my normally chaotic mind, quieting it in the process. It’s such a relief.”
StudentCompany Name
“It was a really great place to turn off everything (mentally and physically) and just engage with the items provided.”
Student
“I sat down in the corner with the stars and auroras and became unable to leave that spot until the room closed. For those 30 minutes, I felt a calm I rarely experience.”
Student

2024-2025 Sensory Room Report

Campus Sensory Room report by the Center on Disability Studies from the 2024-2025 academic year.

2024-2025 Executive Summary of the Campus Sensory Room

Executive Summary: Sensory Room report by the Center on Disability Studies from the 2024-2025 academic year.
Hexagonal lights
Lights in a corner
Projected lights in the Calming Corner
Light orb projected on wall
Projected circular, color-changing lights
Blue fiber optic lights
Tactile fiber optic lights
A photo of artificial green luminescent jellyfish in a tube of water.
Artificial luminescent jellyfish
Photo of the sensory room workshop.
Sensory room workshop
Photo of a woman explaining the lights on a mat.
Maria T. explains the features of the Touch Corner.
Photo of the fidget table.
Maria T. talks about the Fidget Table.
Visit the CAMP+U website for more information on the professional development program.
View the Sensory Room Infographic (PDF) for more information.
Upcoming Events