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54-652: We The Curious (previously At-Bristol or "@Bristol") is a science and arts centre and educational charity in Bristol , England . 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 . The centre describes its aim as being "to create

108-407: A culture of curiosity". 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

162-463: A fire broke out of the building's roof, prompting evacuation of visitors and staff and closure of a section of Anchor Road. Birds dropping stones on a solar panel were blamed. Although the fire was extinguished by firefighters within an hour, the water used for firefighting caused extensive damage to the upper floors of the building. Following the fire, it was announced that We The Curious would remain closed until at least January 2023, In November 2023, it

216-462: 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 , a more traditional style hands-on science centre, which contained features on mechanics , sound and light, computer science , space and the human brain ; Wildwalk , a biodiversity centre showcasing life on earth through

270-418: 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

324-461: A hands-on approach, featuring interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to experiment and explore. Recently, there has been a push for science museums to be more involved in science communication and educating the public about the scientific process. Microbiologist and science communicator Natalia Pasternak Taschner stated, "I believe that science museums can promote critical thinking, especially in teenagers and young adults, by teaching them about

378-466: A mix of live animals and plants, multimedia footage and exhibits and hands-on activities, including an artificial rainforest , aquariums and other ecology -related exhibits; and an IMAX theatre . Wildwalk and the IMAX Theatre closed at the end of March 2007 due to lower popularity with the public, running cost and a lack of funding and government support. Despite At-Bristol's insistence that

432-451: 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

486-854: A product of the 1960s and later. In the United Kingdom , many were founded as Millennium projects , with funding from the National Lotteries Fund . The first 'science centre' in the United States was the Science Center of Pinellas County, founded in 1959. The Pacific Science Center (one of the first large organisations to call itself a 'science centre' rather than a museum), opened in a Seattle World's Fair building in 1962. In 1969, Oppenheimer 's Exploratorium opened in San Francisco , California , and

540-881: A small part of the complex. This combination of interactive science museum, planetarium and Omnimax theater pioneered a configuration that many major science museums now follow. Also in 1973, the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) was founded as an international organisation to provide a collective voice, professional support, and programming opportunities for science centres, museums and related institutions. The massive Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (City of Science and Industry) opened in Paris in 1986, and national centres soon followed in Denmark (Experimentarium), Sweden ( Tom Tits Experiment ), Finland ( Heureka ), and Spain ( Museu de les Ciencies Principe Felipe ). In

594-730: Is Ecsite , and in the United Kingdom, the Association of Science and Discovery Centres represents the interests of over 60 major science engagement organisations. The Asia Pacific Network of Science and Technology Centres (ASPAC) is an association initiated in 1997 with over 50 members from 20 countries across Asia and Australia (2022). Their regional sister organisations are the Network for the Popularization of Science and Technology in Latin America and The Caribbean (RedPOP),

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648-578: Is a large ocean tank, where an underwater walkthrough tunnel offers close views of reef fish. In 2007, the aquarium opened the Blue Reef Beach Club, a new outdoor activity area incorporating a wet play zone for children with fountains and giant showers. These locations remain under Aspro Parks ownership but are now branded under more generic names. The Tynemouth branch is located in Tynemouth , England, and opened on February 9, 2002. It

702-749: Is a national chain of public aquariums in England owned by Aspro Parks . Blue Reef was formed as Newquay Leisure Limited in January 2000. In July 2001, Blue Reef acquired the Sea Life Centers in Portsmouth and Tynemouth and announced their intent in November 2001 to refurbish them under the Blue Reef name for an opening in 2002. In November 2007, Blue Reef announced they had acquired

756-416: Is being re-fitted with brand new exhibits in 2020. 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

810-453: Is home to over 40 living displays which include tropical sharks, lobsters, seahorses and tropical fish. At the Aquarium’s heart is a large ocean tank, where an underwater walkthrough tunnel offers close encounters with the tropical coral reef fish. Other displays are home to octopuses, puffer fish, electric eels, tropical sharks, terrapins, and giant Amazon river fish. It is the only aquarium in

864-570: Is made possible by the work of volunteers who have been part of We The Curious since 2006 We The Curious has also recently embarked on a career ladder scheme with partnership school City Academy. There are rooms and roof terraces above the exhibition space that are used for private hire. These have been used by organisations such as Sky News , the BBC and FameLab as well as other conferences, meetings and events. These spaces have also been used for weddings and civil partnerships. We The Curious also hires out

918-519: Is working with local schools and community groups to plan exhibits and programming for the future. The centre was closed for over two years following a fire and consequent water damage in 2022, but reopened on 2 July 2024. At-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

972-551: 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

1026-470: 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 ,

1080-484: The Renaissance period, aristocrats collected curiosities for display. Universities, and in particular medical schools , also maintained study collections of specimens for their students. Scientists and collectors displayed their finds in private cabinets of curiosities . Such collections were the predecessors of modern natural history museums. In 1683, the first purpose-built museum covering natural philosophy ,

1134-725: The Science Museum, London , founded in 1857. In the United States of America, various natural history Societies established collections in the early 19th century. These later evolved into museums. A notable example is the New England Museum of Natural History (now the Museum of Science ) which opened in Boston in 1864. Another was the Academy of Science, St. Louis , founded in 1856, the first scientific organisation west of

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1188-848: The original Ashmolean museum (now called the Museum of the History of Science) in Oxford , England, was opened, although its scope was mixed. This was followed in 1752 by the first dedicated science museum, the Museo de Ciencias Naturales , in Madrid , which almost did not survive Francoist Spain . Today, the museum works closely with the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas). The Utrecht University Museum, established in 1836, and

1242-478: The Aquarium’s heart is a large ocean tank, where an underwater walkthrough tunnel allows visitors a closer view of the tropical coral reef fish. Other displays are home to giant Pacific octopus , triggerfish , nautilus , cuttlefish , turtles , and terrapins . In 2008 the aquarium opened "Tropical Shark Lagoon". Themed as a mangrove lagoon, the display is home to a variety of tropical shark and ray species. The display allows for close-up views, both above and below

1296-661: The Exploratorium's exhibits. The Ontario Science Centre , which opened in September 1969, continued the trend of featuring interactive exhibits rather than static displays. In 1973, the first Omnimax cinema opened at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center in San Diego's Balboa Park. The tilted-dome Space Theater doubled as a planetarium . The Science Centre was an exploratorium-style museum included as

1350-478: The Hastings-based attraction Underwater World from Hastings Heritage and would refurbish it as a Blue Reef Aquarium in time for 2008. On the same day, they also announced that they would also begin to operate Smugglers Adventure attraction nearby. On 7 April 2008, Aspro Parks announced the purchase of Blue Reef Leisure for an undisclosed amount. The purchase was for Aspro to expand its UK offerings. On

1404-545: The IMAX cinema being used to show nature and wildlife films. The Aquarium owners took the decision to stop screening IMAX films in November 2011, but the space is still used for venue hire events. Though the charity had no problems securing short term funds and grants to cover this when the centre was set up, enabling them to run the three attractions for just over six years, by 2005/2006 most of these had either decreased greatly or ended altogether. This left only two options: close

1458-563: The IMAX would be used to show nature and wildlife films. The £4 million plan by Newquay firm Blue Reef Aquarium , intended to provide a site for tropical marine and freshwater creatures, which opened in October 2009. Explore rebranded to At-Bristol in June 2010. Since opening in 2000, At-Bristol had had an annual operating deficit of around £1.5 million to be filled by fundraising. In September 2017, At-Bristol reopened as We The Curious, with

1512-511: The Mississippi. (Although the organisation managed scientific collections for several decades, a formal museum was not created until the mid-20th century.) The modern interactive science museum appears to have been pioneered by Munich's Deutsches Museum (German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology) in the early 20th century. This museum had moving exhibits where visitors were encouraged to push buttons and work levers. The concept

1566-626: The Museum of Science and Natural History (now the Saint Louis Science Center ) was formally created by the Academy of Science of Saint Louis, featuring many interactive science and history exhibits, and in August 1969, Frank Oppenheimer dedicated his new Exploratorium in San Francisco almost completely to interactive science exhibits, building on the experience by publishing 'Cookbooks' that explain how to construct versions of

1620-624: The Netherlands' foremost research museum, displays an extensive collection of 18th-century animal and human "rarities" in its original setting. More science museums developed during the Industrial Revolution , when great national exhibitions showcased the triumphs of both science and industry. An example is the Great Exhibition in 1851 at The Crystal Palace , London, England, surplus items from which contributed to

1674-791: The North Africa and Middle East science centres (NAMES), and the Southern African Association of Science and Technology Centres (SAASTEC). In India, the National Council of Science Museums runs science centres at several places including Delhi , Bhopal , Nagpur and Ranchi . There are also a number of private Science Centres, including the Birla Science Museum and The Science Garage in Hyderabad. Blue Reef Aquarium Blue Reef

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1728-942: The Ontario Science Centre opened near Toronto , Ontario , Canada. By the early 1970s, COSI Columbus , then known as the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio , had run its first 'camp-in'. In 1983, the Smithsonian Institution invited visitors to the Discovery Room in the newly opened National Museum of Natural History Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland , where they could touch and handle formerly off-limits specimens. The new-style museums banded together for mutual support. In 1971, 16 museum directors gathered to discuss

1782-573: The United Kingdom, the first interactive centres also opened in 1986 on a modest scale, with further developments more than a decade later, funded by the National Lottery for projects to celebrate the Millennium . Since the 1990s, science museums and centres have been created or greatly expanded in Asia. Examples are Thailand 's National Science Museum and Japan 's Minato Science Museum . Museums that brand themselves as science centres emphasise

1836-470: 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

1890-713: The aquarium is the coral reef, housed within a large ocean display, with an underwater walkthrough tunnel. In January 2021, the Aquarium went under a 12-week remodeling and reopened in the spring of 2021 as the Hastings Aquarium . The Bristol branch is located in Bristol , England, and opened in November 2009. It is located at the We the Curious science complex, in the former Wildwalk and IMAX Cinema buildings, which had closed in 2007 due to poor attendance. The aquarium

1944-567: The aquarium opened "Seal Cove". The naturally themed 500,000-litre pool includes rocky haul-out areas, underwater caves, and other environmental enrichment features, to ensure the seals are kept in near natural conditions. In July 2019, the aquarium was renamed the Tynemouth Aquarium . The Hastings branch is located in Hastings , England, and opened on 21 March 2008. It was formerly home to Underwater World. The centerpiece of

1998-576: 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. As an educational charity, We The Curious fundraises to fulfil their vision 'to create a culture of curiosity'. This work includes specific inclusion projects, outreach work to groups who are unable to visit We The Curious, and bringing hard to reach groups to We The Curious. These groups include community groups, low-income schools and hospitals. Much of this work

2052-459: The centre was then known) joined the 10:10 project in 2010 in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint. One year later they announced that they had reduced their carbon emissions (according to 10:10's criteria) by 12%. Since 2010 We The Curious has been on an intense sustainability drive to improve its performance in all areas of sustainability whilst also ensuring that the subject is included in its educational and promotional work. In 2011 At-Bristol

2106-521: The coral in half. It also injured a Tang fish . As contact with the venomous bristles at the mouth of the worm can cause permanent numbness , the worm was moved into its own tank. The Portsmouth branch is located in Clarence Esplanade, Southsea , Portsmouth , England, which opened on 25 March 2002. The aquarium has over 40 living displays, home to various species including tropical sharks, lobsters, seahorses, and tropical fish. There

2160-595: The core pillars of its manifesto, and is constantly reviewing its environmental impact in order to try to become carbon neutral in line with the Bristol One City Plan. Part of this is to use the platforms available to educate the public about pressing environmental concerns, such as supporting sustainable palm oil and reducing air pollution. Science centre While the mission statements of science centres and modern museums may vary, they are commonly places that make science accessible and encourage

2214-521: The excitement of discovery. The public museum as understood today is a collection of specimens and other objects of interest to the scholar, the man of science as well as the more casual visitor, arranged and displayed in accordance with the scientific method. In its original sense, the term 'museum' meant a spot dedicated to the muses - 'a place where man's mind could attain a mood of aloofness above everyday affairs'. Museum of Jurassic Technology , Introduction & Background, p. 2. As early as

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2268-477: The exhibition floor, Planetarium, Millennium Square and Anchor Square. Since its inception sustainability has been a key part of the We The Curious project. The We The Curious building (formerly Explore and At-Bristol) is an example of low-energy design with a phase-change storage tank enabling air source heat pumps to heat and cool the building using only night surplus electricity. At-Bristol (as

2322-483: The government should have supported Wildwalk, the science centres that were established by the Millennium Commission in 2000 were intended to be self-financing, once established. This proved difficult for some of the 18 centres established in 2000, with The Earth Centre, Big Idea and Wildwalk all closing within 10 years. The Wildwalk building was converted into an aquarium by Blue Reef Aquarium , with

2376-608: The last time on Saturday, 31 March 2007, making 45 people redundant. The Regional Development Agency worked alongside Bristol City Council to find new uses for the buildings, and at the same time the University of the West of England expressed an interest in taking over the buildings to use for public outreach work with schools. In April 2008 it was announced that the Wildwalk building was to be converted into an aquarium and that

2430-544: The possibility of starting a new association; one more specifically tailored to their needs than the existing American Association of Museums (now the American Alliance of Museums ). As a result of this, the Association of Science-Technology Centers was formally established in 1973, headquartered in Washington DC, but with an international organisational membership. The corresponding European organisation

2484-508: The same day, it was announced that Blue Reef would open a branch at At-Bristol in Bristol for 2009 at the former Wildwalk and IMAX Cinema sites under a 65-year lease. The Newquay branch is located in Newquay , England. This is the original branch that formed as part of the chain. It is home to over 40 living displays, from tropical sharks and lobsters, to seahorses and tropical fish. At

2538-618: The scientific method and the process of science, and how by using this to develop knowledge and technology, we can be less wrong." Urania was a science centre founded in Berlin in 1888. Most of its exhibits were destroyed during World War II, as were those of a range of German technical museums. The Academy of Science of Saint Louis (founded in 1856) created the Saint Louis Museum of Science and Natural History in 1959 ( Saint Louis Science Center ), but generally science centres are

2592-431: The waterline, of stingrays , zebra sharks , blue spotted rays , and exotic fish. The display is also home to a variety of juvenile species, which use the mangrove as a nursery before moving on to the open ocean. In 2009, a four-foot polychaete worm , nicknamed Barry, was eventually captured after months of trap laying. The polychaete worm had been damaging the coral reefs in a tank in the aquarium, in some cases ripping

2646-410: The whole centre, or close Wildwalk and IMAX, enabling existing funds to be channelled exclusively to Explore . As Explore was more popular with visitors, and Wildwalk and the IMAX theatre were more expensive to run, it was decided that the second option was viable, and in this way Explore could become financially viable in the future. For these reasons, Wildwalk and the IMAX theatre closed for

2700-459: Was announced the earliest reopening date was pinned to January 2024. In January 2024 it was moved to "early summer", and in March was set for 2 July, and it finally reopened on that day. The closure had lasted 814 days (just under 2 years 3 months). 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

2754-435: Was awarded a Gold Green Tourism Award and a West of England Carbon Champions Carbon Champion Award and in 2012 a Silver South West Sustainable Tourism Award. March 2012 also saw At-Bristol's environmental performance being improved further with the installation of a 50-kilowatt peak solar photovoltaic array to produce electricity for the building from the sun. We The Curious now has 'Strive for Sustainable futures' as one of

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2808-516: Was formerly home to the Tynemouth Sea Life Aquarium. It is home to many aquatic species, such as tropical sharks, lobsters, seahorses, and tropical fish. At the Aquarium’s heart is a large ocean tank, where an underwater walkthrough tunnel offers close encounters with the tropical coral reef fish . Other displays are home to poison dart frogs , nautilus , toxic toads , turtles , terrapins , and otters . At Easter 2007,

2862-584: Was taken to the United States by Julius Rosenwald , chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Company , who visited the Deutsches Museum with his young son in 1911. He was so captivated by the experience that he decided to build a similar museum in his home town. The Ampère Museum , close to Lyon, was created in 1931 and is the first interactive scientific museum in France. Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry opened in phases between 1933 and 1940. In 1959,

2916-533: 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 along with 16 other generous funders. We The Curious is currently run by a team of over 140 part-time and full-time staff, led by Donna Speed as chief executive officer. On 9 April 2022

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