picture of a child at we the curious museum

Listings for We The Curious – February 2022 onwards

NEW EXHIBITION - Project What If

When: Ongoing. FREE with general admission.
Target audience: All ages
Web link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/project-what-if

Have you ever wished you could slow time down or wondered whether there is such a thing as the soul?

Inspired by real questions from the people of Bristol, Project What If is an invitation to escape into a mysterious world of possibilities for anyone who is curious and loves to play.

It’s also home to Open City Lab, a collaborative working laboratory, where you can meet scientists, join them in their explorations and take part in research.

You’ll find the ground floor of We The Curious transformed into a space where art and science collide, with 69 new exhibits clustered around seven questions on very different themes.

There’s plenty of light and colour in Rainbows; a chance to reflect on what makes you unique and explore the habitats of aliens in Universe. Illness sparks conversations about the nature of disease, health inequalities and how our experience of illness can shape our lives.

Taking ideas from the natural world, it’s easy to disappear in Invisibility. Peer inside the Tardis and discover how you measure something you can’t even see in Time and come face to face with an early ancestor in Sand. Meanwhile, moral puzzles, the beauty of our brains and a heart-to-heart with the resident robot await you in Soul.

What’s on? Activities taking place around the venue

A Better World Is Possible – running until Easter holidays

What could a better world look like? And what do we need to do to get there? Our world has changed so much in the past year and continues to do so – so our current programme of activities is all focussed around the theme of ‘A Better World Is Possible’.

How To Be A Human – starting from Easter holidays

From Easter onwards, we’ll be taking a closer look at how life works. From the mechanics of our body, to why food can make us feel good, to developments in healthcare and robotics research to virtual reality experiences, all of our activities will help to explore what it means to be a human in 2022.

COVID-secure activities for all ages across our spaces including the Open City Lab, Theatre of Curiosity, Food exhibition, The Box, Tinkering Space and Planetarium. https://www.wethecurious.org/event/daily-activities

IN OPEN CITY LAB

Open City Lab is a working laboratory which is dedicated to ‘open source science’ and democratising science. Come to take part in current scientific research and to meet scientists and researchers.

Can machines understand emotions?

When: Daily until end of March. FREE with general admission. Drop in, check times on arrival.
Target audience: Perfect for kids aged 5+ but also good for older children and adults, a great way for the whole family to get involved
Web link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/can-machines-understand-emotion

Could a computer tell how you are feeling from looking at your face? How about from reading your social media? Join us for a chance to get involved in scientific research as we explore how machines can be taught to understand human feelings and emotions.

This activity is part of our brand-new Open Source Science programme; your input and responses will help our research partners, Dynamic Genetics Lab at the University of Bristol with their research into learning about people's feelings from social media sites. You'll also be helping them to create new 'crowd-sourced' algorithms for teaching machines emotions.

IN THE THEATRE OF CURIOSITY

The Theatre of Curiosity is a space that encourages questioning, dialogue and discussion. Explore questions, discuss ideas and connect with others in one of our events here, and enter your questions in our digital question space.

How can we see baby stars?

When: Running on weekends until end of March (but not during February half term). FREE with general admission. Timed sessions, check times on arrival.
Target audience: Perfect for kids aged 7+ but also good for older children and adults, a great way for the whole family to get involved
Web link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/how-can-we-see-baby-stars

Come and explore the early universe and the birth of stars! Join our Live Science Team as we celebrate the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope; we'll use infrared to peer through clouds of smoke to discover some of the fascinating missions that the James Webb Space Telescope will undertake.

Take part in the demo yourself and chat with our team about the life and death of stars; both what we hope to learn from the new James Webb Space telescope in the future, and what its predecessor the Hubble telescope has discovered.

IN THE STUDIO

Fairytale SOS

When: Weekends until 27 March, and daily during half term. FREE with general admission. Timed sessions, check times on arrival.
Target audience: Perfect for kids aged 5+ but also good for older children and adults, a great way for the whole family to get involved
Link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/fairytale-sos

Our lively and interactive studio shows are back! Join our Live Science Team for a family-friendly show as they help out a cast of fairy-tale characters experiencing a few issues with a pesky dragon - expect a spot of fire, some fun science demos and a few volunteering opportunities for eager adventurers!

THE BOX

Our gallery space, The Box celebrates the synergy between art and science, and features exhibitions and artists that occupy the exciting space where art and science meet.

This Can Change

When: Until Sunday 13 March. FREE with general admission. Drop in.
Target audience: Everyone
Link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/can-change-exhibition

Can a photograph change how we behave towards the world?

While young people were bringing some of the strongest voices to COP-26 in Glasgow, we launched a call-out for photographs in response to the theme 'This Can Change'. Young people around Bristol responded with images of the environment they saw around them.

From the littered docks to the autumn woodland, the resulting exhibition in our Box gallery shows a still-new-to-the-world perspective of our city: what grows, lives, what we discard, as well as artistic ideas to inspire change in the way we treat the world.

This project is kindly supported by LifewithArt.

IN THE FOOD EXHIBITION

A better world is edible

When: Until 27 March. FREE with general admission. Timed sessions, check times on arrival.
Target audience: Perfect for kids aged 7+ but also good for younger children and adults, a great way for the whole family to get involved
Web link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/better-world-edible

How does the food we eat affect the planet, and what can we do about it?

Join us in the Kitchen to cook up some scrumptious sustainable snacks, chat about the food we eat and changes we can make. Join us for The Big Green Grill-off – become a sustainable chef as you invent and cook your own meat-free burgers, and investigate the properties and carbon footprint of different ingredients by making a mug cake, in The Missing Ingredient.

This activity is generously supported by the RSA Climate Change and Education Grant.

IN THE GREENHOUSE

Green Manure

When: Until 27 March. FREE with general admission. Timed sessions, check times on arrival.
Target audience: Perfect for kids aged 7+ but also good for younger children and adults, a great way for the whole family to get involved

How can we grow the best plants without any help from harmful chemicals? Plant a seed to take home and grow, and chat with our Live Science Team about some of the fascinating science behind sustainable growing.

PLANETARIUM

The UK’s first 3D digital Planetarium, with presenter-led shows (all designed by our in-house Planetarium Team) for a range of different audiences – shows include seasonal stargazing (3D), Solar System Odyssey (2D & 3D) and Space Explorers (2D). 3D shows only available for ages 6+ due to health restrictions.

Capacity is limited, and we’re still asking all visitors aged 12 and over to wear face coverings, unless exempt. Tickets must be booked in advance.

NEW SHOW! Life in the Universe (2D & 3D)

When: Launching 16 February. Regular daily shows, 3D: £3.50 per seat (members £1.75), in addition to standard admission. 2D: £2.50 per seat. 3D shows only available for ages 6+ due to health restrictions. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and cannot be added once in the venue.

Target audience: Age 8+. Suitable for families and adults
Link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/life-universe-3d

A brand-new show for our daytime visitors (previously only seen at Planetarium Nights evening events), join us in the search for extra-terrestrial life in our most advanced Planetarium show yet.

Fly to distant worlds, learn how astronomers search for planets, and debate whether humans are ready to meet aliens – and decide how you want the end of the show to go!

Solar System Odyssey (2D & 3D)

When: Regular daily shows, 3D: £3.50 per seat (members £1.75), in addition to standard admission. 2D: £2.50 per seat. 3D shows only available for ages 6+ due to health restrictions. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and cannot be added once in the venue.

Target audience: Age 6+. Suitable for families and adults
Link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/solar-system-odyssey-3d

This epic show takes you on a truly stellar odyssey – with multiple missions and destinations to choose from, no two shows are ever the same. With so many destinations to explore - welcome to your very own Solar System Odyssey.

Winter Stargazing (3D)

When: 8 December – 6 March
Regular daily shows, 3D: £3.50 per seat (members £1.75), in addition to standard admission. 2D: £2.50 per seat. 3D shows only available for ages 6+ due to health restrictions. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and cannot be added once in the venue.
Target audience: Age 6+. Suitable for families and adults.

Link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/winter-stargazing-3d

With shorter days and clear nights, winter can be the best time of year to look up at the night sky. Wander into the giant silver ball for your very own guided tour.

Discover famous constellations, unveil the secret lives of stars, and discover the fate of planet Earth! Combining our incredible 3D Planetarium with our lively and knowledgeable presenters creates a remarkable show and a truly astounding experience.

Whether you are amateur astronomer or completely new to stargazing, you'll be able to escape the everyday and leave inspired to discover the night sky for yourself.

The Ever-Changing Sky (3D)

When: 9 March – 25 May
Regular daily shows, 3D: £3.50 per seat (members £1.75), in addition to standard admission. 2D: £2.50 per seat. 3D shows only available for ages 6+ due to health restrictions. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and cannot be added once in the venue.
Target audience: Age 6+. Suitable for families and adults.

Our cosmos is always changing. Discover how constellations move over time, investigate Venus, and take a peek at the future sky! This remarkable show combines knowledgeable presenters with Bristol’s 3D Planetarium to create a truly astounding experience.

Space Explorers (2D)

When: Ongoing. Regular daily shows, £2.50 per seat (members £1.25), in addition to standard admission. Under 3s FREE.

Target audience: Suitable for under-6s, and their grown-ups.
Link: https://www.wethecurious.org/event/space-explorers-2d

Astronauts ready! Pack your bag and blast off into space as the Live Science Team trains you up to become a fully qualified Space Explorer! Especially for little explorers, take off from Earth in a rocket ship and zoom all over the Solar System.

Practical information:

COVID SAFE: You’ll find that our spaces are all COVID-safe, we’re still significantly limiting numbers in our venue, we’ve enhanced our cleaning schedule, you’ll see signage around the space and some of our activities will be operating with smaller numbers.

Please note: We’re still asking all visitors aged 12 to wear face coverings, unless exempt, and we’re also asking visitors to take lateral flow tests before coming.

TICKETS: All of our tickets (including Planetarium) must be pre-booked online, it isn’t possible to walk-up and buy a ticket on the day anymore. This is so that we can limit the number of people in our venue, limit queues and keep everyone safe.

Web: www.wethecurious.org

Bookings: Call 0117 915 1000 or information@wethecurious.org (Monday-Friday 9-5)

We’re open Wednesday – Sunday 10am to 5pm during term time, and daily 10am – 5pm during school holidays for pre-booked visitors only.

We’re doing timed slots for arrival every 30 minutes, with a limited capacity in our building throughout the day

Tickets for We The Curious are now on sale for dates up until 31 March. Tickets for 31 March onwards will be available from the end of February.

EVENTS: All of our spaces will be running activities as usual, albeit with a few modifications – including our Planetarium which still has a lower capacity.

A few of our usual events are still on hold, just whilst we get back onto our feet and into the swing of things, so we won’t be running our Planetarium Nights, Planetarium Sounds, After Hours, Toddler Takeover or Early-opening Autism Friendly events for now.

February half term (19-27 Feb):
We’ll be open 10-5 daily throughout Bristol February half term, with a range of activities including a brand-new Planetarium show for 8+ ‘Life in the Universe’, the Fairytale SOS live science show, activities in the Kitchen and Greenhouse, and drop-in activities in Open City Lab. Do check times on arrival for timings of activities, as they may be subject to change due to staffing.

Please note that we’ll still be at a reduced capacity throughout half term, and we’re still asking visitors to wear masks, and take lateral flow tests before they come if possible. All tickets must be booked in advance.