About The Southern Centre

Introduction

The Southern Centre is a multi sensory facility located within QEII Park Recreation & Sport Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand. Multi sensory environments focus on stimulating your senses, which means the various pieces of equipment are based around sights, sounds, textures and smells. Originally developed for people with disabilities, they provide a great opportunity for people to interact, have fun and discover at their own pace. The Southern Centre, however is a one-of-a-kind environment and is inclusive to all people!

History

The original concept for multi sensory rooms began in the Netherlands in the late 1970's and grew in popularity in both the UK and Europe. The types and functions of sensory rooms have changed and morphed over the years and the Southern Centre has become an extremely innovative and dynamic version of the early rooms. This innovation and creativity has seen the Southern Centre be recognised on the international stage by winning the World Leisure Award for Innovation and Excellence.

Staff

The Southern Centre team are supported by the Metropolitan Programmes Team within the Recreation and Sport Unit of the Christchurch City Council. We are a small but very fun team who are keen to work with all groups on creating the best session suited to each participant.

Supporters

The Southern Centre is operated under a very successful partnership between the Christchurch City Council and the Southern Centre Charitable Trust. The Christchurch City Council manage the daily operation of the Southern Centre, which includes staffing, general building requirements, processes and overhead costs. The Trust are responsible for sourcing funding for the specialised equipment in the room, which includes new equipment projects and maintenance on equipment.