We The Curious (previously @Bristol) is a science and arts centre and educational charity in Bristol, England.
We The Curious is "an idea and a place for everybody", and its aim is "to create a culture of curiosity". It features over 250 interactive exhibits over two floors, and members of the public and school groups can also engage with the Live Science Team over programming in the kitchen, studio and on live lab. We The Curious is also home of the United Kingdom's first 3D planetarium.
As part of its charitable status, We The Curious has an extensive community engagement programme. In regular weekends throughout the year We The Curious hosts "Hello!" weekends for communities who are currently under-represented in their visitors while also providing a community membership for charities and groups working in and for the community. Alongside this, We The Curious is working with local schools and community groups to plan exhibits and programming for the future.
@Bristol opened in 2000 as the successor to the Exploratory, a science museum and demonstration centre, founded by Richard Gregory in the former terminus train shed at Bristol Temple Meads railway station (later home to the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum). The Exploratory was a separate organisation and none of the exhibits or staff were transferred when Bristol's new museum opened in a city centre site as part of the regeneration of the historical Floating Harbour. The project was funded with £44.3 million from the National Lottery, Millennium Commission, South West of England Regional Development Agency, and a further £43.4 million from commercial partners (including a controversial donation from Nestlé) and Bristol City Council. The selection and design of exhibits were criticised by Gregory and other scientific adviser as being "totally inappropriate to the spirit of science". Goéry Delacôte served as Chief Executive from 2005 until 2012.
The centre is situated on the former Canon's Wharf. Wildwalk and the IMAX cinema occupied a modified 19th century former lead-works building, and Explore occupied a 1906 railway goods shed measuring 540 by 133 ft (165 by 41 m). The goods shed was one of the first buildings to use reinforced concrete and both buildings are Grade II listed buildings. The buildings are located around Millennium Square - also part of the regeneration — and Pero's Bridge, a footbridge across the harbour which links it to the Arnolfini art gallery, Bristol Industrial Museum and Queen Square.
At its opening the centre consisted of Explore, which contains features on mechanics, sound and light, computer science, space and the human brain; Wildwalk, a science centre comprising two artificial rainforests, aquariums and other ecology-related exhibits; and an IMAX theatre.
In September 2017, At-Bristol reopened as We The Curious, with a new mission to "create a culture of curiosity", in response to a consultation showing that the previous mission to "make science accessible to all" was no longer unique. Testing showed that the audience wanted the centre to be more challenging, to feature art as well as science and to be more inclusive. A new manifesto was produced in response to these themes, and the over 400 new names were considered before deciding on We The Curious. The name was tested with members, focus groups, volunteers and staff and it tested at 92% positive. We The Curious is currently working on Project What If, funded by the Wellcome Trust as part of the Inspiring Science fund. We The Curious is currently run by a team of over 150 part time and full-time staff, led by Anna Starkey and Donna Speed as Chief Creative Officer and Chief Operations Officer respectively.
The exhibitions are themed into various areas, some of which are permanent features, others change on a periodic basis. The ground floor of We The Curious is being re-fitted with brand new exhibits in 2020.
- The Planetarium - The UK's first 3D planetarium with seasonal, presenter-led star shows for all ages.
- The Tinkering Space - Opened in July 2016. A space on the first floor to design, create and invent with a giant ball run, a Baxter (robot), Nao (robot), 3D printers and an air table.
- Food - A kitchen and living greenhouse with exhibits about the science of food and programming spaces to have a go at making your own.
- Live Lab - An evolving lab space where visitors can experience current science including practical lab skills, research and dissections.
- All About Us - This opened in Spring 2011 and has 50 interactive exhibits which allow visitors to discover how amazing the human body is.
- Real Brain - As part of the All About Us exhibition, We The Curious has an exhibit that displays a real human brain. Real Brain has been produced to give visitors an understanding of medical science research.
- Animate It! - this exhibition was developed with Aardman Animations. Visitors can make their own animated films (2D and 3D), see a film set from Wallace & Gromit's 'A Matter of Loaf and Death', or make Morph spin in a Praxinoscope.
- Our World - Allows visitor to discover the world around us through investigation. Includes Icy Bodies, Giant Bubbles and the Turbulent Orb.
- Your Amazing Brain – The second large section on the ground floor, this area deals with the human brain, in particular optical illusions and memory.
- Curiosity Zone – Incorporating most of the upper level, this area deals with sound, light, force, magnets.
- Space Gallery – This area includes exhibits about space travel and discovery, and the 3D Planetarium, in which 6-8 shows are given daily.
We The Curious has its own exhibition workshop on site. Many of the interactive exhibits on the exhibition floor have been made by the workshop team in house, including the distinctive 'Hamster wheel' of the 'Wet Move-it' exhibition.
We The Curious is housed in a former railway goods shed, which was renovated to house the centre. The renovations included the addition of a large glass atrium to the North of the building, and stainless-steel sphere to the south, housing the planetarium. The architect behind the renovation was Chris Wilkinson.
The building includes a eutectic tank, which is a 10 metres (33 ft) high transparent tube filled with thousands of balls containing eutectic salts. As the temperature within the building rises, the crystals within the balls melt, taking in the heat and cooling the building. As the building cools, the salts crystallise again, giving out heat. In this way, the tank helps keep the temperature within the centre constant.