I have enjoyed working with visitor attractions, developing immersive scents, designing smell stations and advising on scent use. Many projects remain top secret, but here are a few interesting examples that can be shared...
SCENT DEVELOPMENT & CONSULTATION
Nemesis Reborn roller coasterI developed several bespoke blends, based on a brief for an 'alien' scent from Alton Towers Resort. The final scent would be diffused in the loading station of the newly refurbished Nemesis Reborn roller coaster. Some of the blends I developed were informed by my research into the original scent formula for Nemesis: Sub-Terra, the sister attraction of Nemesis Reborn; for Sub-Terra's recent reopening, I had created a bespoke Alien Egg Nest scent, inspired by the original formula. The blends for Nemesis Reborn were tried as samples by the client, before their final selection was made.
The chosen scent was meaty and slightly smoky to emphasise the red colour of the ride, and the colour's connotations of horror, danger and fierceness. The scent was intentionally unfamiliar, with it belonging to an alien. A fishy note provided some raw unpleasantness. While developing this particular blend, I was focussed on the ride's character, and also how I wanted riders to feel (scared but excited). 2024, under AromaPrime. Warner Bros. Studio Tour LondonFor London's Harry Potter film set attraction, I developed a bespoke roast dinner scent for the Dursley's home, and scents for seasonal events, many of which involved those of food and smoke in the Great Hall. I also advised on diffusion methods.
2023, under AromaPrime. Scratch-and-sniff mapI was asked to design a scratch-and-sniff map of Amsterdam to accompany an app tour. This project was led by Odeuropa's Sofia Ehrich, in collaboration with Scent the Brand, who printed the maps. Designing for scratch-and-sniff taught me about the process, including costs, and practical considerations such as how big each scent spot must be for it to work effectively.
2022, independent. National Trust sitesThrough AromaPrime, I have worked with multiple National Trust sites to advise on ambient scenting and smell stations. For Croome's Pages From Nature exhibition, I advised on the best ways to create outdoor smell stations so that the scents would maintain longevity and protection from weather.
2024, under AromaPrime. Merlin Magic Making consultingI visited the headquarters of Merlin Magic Making in London to give a talk about the ways scents can be used in visitor attractions. We discussed different Merlin attractions, with a focus on LEGOLAND parks and current projects.
2024, under AromaPrime. Batman EscapeI developed unusual scent blends, with elements like popcorn and toxic sewage, to represent classic Batman villains. These scents would be diffused in scenes at Paris' Batman Escape, for which I recommended atomising machines for different room sizes, and timings to use for staggered shows.
2023, under AromaPrime. Caribbean exhibition
For Weston Park Museum's Caribbean Footsteps exhibition, I developed the scents of saltfish, jerk seasoning and soursop. Samples of the scents were assessed by members of Sheffield's African Caribbean community to ensure accuracy.
This was a similar process to that in a recent project for the Anaesthesia Heritage Centre; I created an ether scent that was assessed by a retired anaesthetist, who had experience with ether. When it comes to recreations, the input of those who are personally familiar with the original scents is always valuable. 2024, under AromaPrime. Nemesis: Sub-Terra drop rideIn this drop ride, an unfamiliar odour of an alien nest can be smelt as riders plunge downwards. For the reopening of this attraction, I found out the formula of its original scent and reworked it to enhance its effect.
2023, under AromaPrime. Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
Photograph by Garry Jones
For the Collecting Coventry exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, I explained to the team how to make smell stations using conical flasks. The smell stations would accompany displays, providing the scents of badger poo, cars, penguins and a football pitch. Controlling scent potency was a challenge for the client; even a tiny amount of scent oil in the flasks would be too strong, so I recommended that they filled the flasks with scent beads instead. The benefit of the beads was that when the scent was too strong, they could simply remove some beads until a desired level of potency was reached.
2024, under AromaPrime. |
British Museum exhibitionFor the British Museum's Silk Roads exhibition, I developed scent oils to represent musk, balsam and incense. Each scent related to objects and information on display, such as an incense recipe that included Himalayan musk.
The museum sought advice on how to use the scents, particularly while minimising possible damage to artefacts. I recommended dry diffusion with Aroma Blocks, which were concealed inside specially made smell stations. The exhibition's protective glass cases further took the risk of damage from minimal to near-impossible. However, the scents' ingredients were still assessed before use. 2024, under AromaPrime. Odeuropa research projectOdeuropa was an academic research project about the use of scents in museums. They ran multiple events, for which I was grateful to give talks and to contribute to workshops, based on my experiences.
I was also pleased to write an entry for the Olfactory Storytelling Toolkit (a manual for museums), and to write an essay for the Encyclopedia of Smell History and Heritage. 2021-2023, mostly independent, occasionally under AromaPrime. The Curse at Alton Manor dark rideWhen Alton Towers' haunted house dark ride was reimagined as The Curse at Alton Manor, I worked to uncover the original ride's Dale Air scent invoice from 1991. Based on this, I provided samples, as well as new bespoke options, to the ride's design team. Five scents and six scent machines were ordered for opening day.
2023, under AromaPrime. Harry Potter walkthroughI designed a bespoke belch odour for Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience. The odour would would emit from the mouth of the character Grawp, whose figure could be found hiding behind bushes. Hints of banana were used as not to be too repulsive for the family audience.
2021, under AromaPrime. The Evil Engagement eventI wrote and directed The Evil Engagement, a Halloween mystery event at Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum. For this, I devised an interactive scent activity that would carry the storytelling.
The spiritual medium character Lady Con was there pretending to help solve the mystery of the bride's various grooms who kept dying. Lady Con would 'capture' spirits in the drawers of a spice chest. Visitors could sniff these spirits by opening individual drawers; the first smelt of fish and must have been the spirit of the sailor groom, the second smelt of spice and must have been the spirit of the explorer groom, and the third smelt of sweets and must have been the spirit of the groom who died choking on a sweet. The fourth scent was floral, leading Lady Con to speculate whether the bride was a ghost too. The bride character wore the same fragrance as she drifted around the event. Visitors had to work out whether the bride was really a ghost, or whether Lady Con had simply used some of the bride's perfume to enhance her money-making seances. 2022, independent. Crocodile Island sensory tree
Suntago water park's Crocodile Island play zone was created with an interactive sensory tree in the centre. Creative Studio Berlin, leading the project, asked me to develop the unique scents of coffea flowers and durian fruit, so visitors could sniff the scents through holes in the tree. In addition to providing interpretations as samples, I advised on how best to contain the scents and how to prolong their potency in the humid water park environment.
2024, under AromaPrime. Doom Town eventFor this Halloween event, I designed new scents to tie into the story, to make a faux cake seem more lifelike, and to imply the presence of ghosts. The event promoted my novel The Doom Town Dummies, in which a ghost character communicates through smell.
2023, independent. Woolly mammoth scent
A client who ran historical workshops requested the scent of a woolly mammoth. Although the client wanted sweat to come through in the scent, my research suggested that woolly mammoths likely emitted no body odour. Their scents would therefore have come from pieces of the environment attaching to their fur, and from their poo, which would have resulted from a grass diet. British farm animals live and eat similarly to woolly mammoths, so I visited sheep and llamas to experience the surrounding smellscape. I could use this as a basis for the development of what became an earthy, grassy scent.
2024, independent. |
Ghostly Manor dark rideWhen Paultons Park's Ghostly Manor ride was developed, I contributed concept sketches for garden busts, under the direction of Dead Walk Designs. I would later be asked by the park to develop a scent for the indoor queue. Two rounds of samples for the client included bespoke blends, with 'Musty Mansion' being selected as the final choice.
2025, under AromaPrime. Madame Tussauds figuresI was asked by Madame Tussauds Blackpool to create a scent to accompany a new wax figure of YouTuber DanTDM. I watched Dan's videos and made notes about his interests and brand. Various organic elements in the scent reflected the game Minecraft, marine freshness evoked Dan's blue branding, and a hint of sweetness was included to appeal to Dan's young fanbase. I ran a survey on the seafront to gather feedback during development. When the final scent was completed, I visited the exhibit for its launch and installed the scent machine.
Using a similar approach, I developed a scent to accompany a new figure of Queen Elizabeth I at Madame Tussauds Blackpool. 2021, under AromaPrime. 'Butthole' scented candleAfter the H3 Podcast joked about making a 'butthole' candle, I contacted them to help make the joke a reality. The show's host Ethan Klein gave a scent brief (he specifically wanted the scent of a 'fusty' backside, not faeces), before I developed blends to send as samples. Once the final scent was approved, I worked alongside a US candlemaker to coordinate the manufacturing. The candles sold out quickly and were ordered again three years later. The project made international headlines in countries like the US, China and Australia, and it landed an article in LADBible.
2020, under AromaPrime. Tall Ship GlenleeAlong with providing relevant scents, I advised on atomising technology so the Tall Ship Glenlee could develop their own button-activated ambient effects. The Tall Ship became what might be the world's first museum where visitors can control scents diffused around whole rooms.
2023, under AromaPrime. The Dungeons consultingI was invited to London to give a presentation for the world's Dungeon attraction teams, advising on effective ways to use scent. I represented AromaPrime, who supplied The Dungeons with theatrical, historical scents and scent machines. My talk covered tips for using scents in immersive theatre, for using malodours around the public, and for researching historical scents. I also answered questions about safety, and what kinds of technology works best in certain spaces.
The following year, I developed bespoke blends, including attic and rotting flesh scents, for The Blackpool Tower Dungeon. 2024, under AromaPrime. Warwick Castle's KingmakerFor the refurbishment of Warwick Castle's Kingmaker walkthrough, the team wanted to reintroduce the original scents used in 1994. In response, I recovered the original scent invoice, which allowed me to look through AromaPrime's records for the original formulas. While these scents were historically-inspired, their reintroduction could also spark nostalgia for past visitors. I worked with Warwick Castle to make social media content, highlighting this scent reintroduction and the historical relevance of specific scents.
2024, under AromaPrime. FRIGHT NIGHTS scare mazesDuring my time at AromaPrime, Halloween has been the busiest time of year. Events like Alton Towers' Scarefest and Thorpe Park's FRIGHT NIGHTS order with lists of scents carefully devised for individual scare mazes. For me, this occasionally involves creating brand new scents.
In 2022, I developed a scent called Primal for the Survival Games scare maze. This was an experimental cacophony of elements like sweat, dampness, blood and bodily excretions. The goal was to trigger various 'primal' reactions like claustrophobia and repulsion, inspired by emotional memories associated with these scent elements. When creating bespoke scents for scare mazes, I occasionally request insights into the experience, because sights, sounds, lighting, what has come just before etc. can hugely affect what influence a scent will have. 2022, under AromaPrime. Mary Todd Lincoln House
The Mary Todd Lincoln House was having trouble sourcing stable and brewery scents for their new smell stations. Alongside other options, I recommended using organic materials, and I provided an example of an allergy warning sign they could reference to make their own. The museum eventually used real, fragrant hay and hops. I was pleased to make suggestions about how to present the scents in the smell stations.
2025, independent. |
SMELL STATIONS
PlantasiaI developed a concept design for a smell station at Plantasia, an indoor rainforest attraction. Oversized, lidded perfume bottles stood on podiums containing scented material (Aroma Cubes). When a lid was opened, the scent would escape. Each scent, supplied by AromaPrime, represented a different rainforest plant. T3's team created the final features.
2019, under T3. Horrible Histories MazeI conceptualised new interpretation for Warwick Castle's Horrible Histories Maze. After the success of Bolton Museum's foot-operated smell pumps, I proposed similar smell pumps for the Maze. These would be metal to withstand the weather, and also to reflect the Industrial Revolution (one smell pump would represent the Industrial Revolution with an oily, smoky scent). I recommended that each feature contained an Aroma Block near its opening, so the air could push the scent out. T3's team created the final features.
2021, under T3. |
IAAPA ExpoI created AromaPrime's exhibition booth for the IAAPA Expo Europe, including three smell stations. Two of the smell stations were made of foamex panels around cardboard plinths, with Aroma Blocks concealed within. The central smell station was an illustrated table with conical flasks containing scents that could be puffed out. The final results were appealing and kept within a tight budget.
2022, under AromaPrime. Rufford AbbeySome smell stations must be created using a small budget. For the historical Abbey Tales walkthrough at Rufford Abbey, I sourced 'cake tissue boxes' online, proposing that they could contain Aroma Cubes, with their openings covered by perforated metal sheets. So that the cakes would be protected from visitors, I also suggested that semi-transparent mesh cake domes could cover the cakes.
Accompanying the cakes on a table were foamex signs resembling plates. I sourced the stock imagery for these, and wrote the text: 'Banquets are an opportunity for Rufford's wealthy owners to show off the rare and delicious ingredients they can afford. Can you smell what these cakes are made of?' Visitors could sniff different dessert ingredients when leaning over the cakes. 2022, under T3. |
Bolton MuseumDuring the coronavirus pandemic, Bolton Museum planned to introduce tactile smell boxes. However, these would not have been virus-safe, so I designed a foot-operated smell pump as a solution. The client then worked with a signage company to develop and assemble two of these. Cotton wool, holding scent oil, sat at the top of each structure, with simple bicycle pumps being used to push air through them, releasing the scents.
2021, under AromaPrime. Nothe FortNothe Fort's historians showed me sources to inform the recreation of several scents. The purpose of the scents was to evoke the conditions in which Victorian soldiers lived. I sent the Fort sketches and notes about smell stations to display the scents with. I chose colours that would match the qualities of the scents and that would also compliment the surroundings. Finally, I designed and illustrated signage that gave context.
2025, independent. |
