Parapl'ouïe

A Sound Adventure

Parapl'ouïe is a cultural mediation project led by Maxime Le Moing, aimed at elementary school students. Through a series of fun and creative workshops, children are invited to become explorers, authors, and sound makers for a day. Their mission: to create stories inspired by the nature around them… to listen to under a sound umbrella during an original and immersive walk.

A journey in three parts:

1/ Listening to the World
The workshop begins with a session discovering the role of a sound maker: exchanges, listening games, and sound experiments introduce students to the richness of auditory landscapes. This is followed by a sensory exploration of the school surroundings, with a notebook in hand, to gather observations, ideas, and sounds.

2/ Imagining and Writing Nature
From this collection, students write short stories (about one minute long) in small groups that re-enchant their daily environment. These narratives are rooted in reality but willingly drift into fiction and imagination.

3/ Creating the Sound Universe
Each story is then brought to life through sound design, recording, and sound capture, done collectively. A sensitive initiation into sound creation that allows children to dress their narrative as one would compose a small audio film.

The project concludes with a sound walk under an umbrella, during which students, with umbrellas on their heads, listen to their creations in the very places that inspired them. A joyful and quirky way to re-invest in natural space, enrich their perspective, and open their ears wide.

Maxime Le Moing: sound artist, nature guide

With students from four classes of elementary schools in Witry-lès-Reims.