At-Bristol has changed to ‘We The Curious’

At-Bristol, Bristol’s science centre and charity which aims to “to make science accessible to all” has relaunched as We The Curious, with a new direction and focus to “create a culture of curiosity”.

We Are Curious displays interactive hands-on exhibits, produces shows and workshops for visitors from schools and for members of the public, and is also home of the UK’s first 3D planetarium.

As part of its charitable status, the centre has an extensive community engagement programme. In regular weekends throughout the year the centre 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.

We Are Curious states: “We’re really proud of everything  we’ve done as At-Bristol and this new direction will build on everything we’ve achieved together. We asked you what you wanted us to be, and you said ‘be more challenging’, ‘take a stance’ and ‘be for everyone’. Our new name is a reflection of our movement to remove boundaries between science, art, people and ideas.”

The Centre feel their aim to ‘make science accessible to all’ is no longer unique. The advancing pace of technology has changed access to and understanding of science in a way that means that they feel the need to innovate, progress and move forward with their audiences. Curiosity is an innate trait everyone is born with, so it’s something everyone can identify, engage and connect with. 

The Centre continues: “Science will absolutely still be at the core of what we do, and with our new vision to create a culture of curiosity we are not just aiming for more people to access science but to completely shift how people see it. It is messy, creative, collaborative, living and for everyone – an integral part of culture.

It’s time for a new Age of Curiosity to take flight. Together, we can build a future for everyone.”

So what’s changing?

  • Their name – We The Curious highlights their intention to create a culture of curiosity, with a collaborative inclusive mission where We is everybody, our city and beyond.
  • Their vision, mission and values all centred around the organising thought to create a culture of curiosity.
  • Their visual identity – They have a new logo, colour palette, new signage around the venue, and a new photography style. 
  • Physically, the centre’s foyer, café & shop will be revamped and opened out, to create a welcoming public space.
  • There will be a brand new feature exhibit on the ground floor – just the start of the new story on the exhibition floor.  

The Centre continues: “We’ll be working on the café, shop and foyer on 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 September but still open as usual – just using the entrance by the Planetarium. We’re closing for our annual refresh 11-13 September, which is when we normally do a bit of a spruce and clean. This year, we’ll be doing that, as well as revamping our foyer, café and shop, installing all signage and putting the finishing touches to our brand new feature exhibit. 

When we reopen on 14 September, it’ll be under our new name ‘We The Curious’, so you’ll see new uniforms and signage, and all of our digital platforms moving over to We The Curious. This is just the beginning of the work. Over the next 2 years the ground floor will change shape completely – with whole new exhibition experiences being built. ”

We The Curious also states: “We believe that establishing a strong culture of curiosity in people of all ages and backgrounds helps to create a resilient, connected, creative and compassionate society that unites resources and disciplines to find solutions for some of the world’s toughest problems.

Our new logo – which you’ll see in our building and online from 14 September 2017 – along with our new name, We The Curious, are the first opportunities for us to embrace and embody our values and inspire curiosity. Curious City will help bring our new vision to life – connecting science and culture, citizens and research in the first major science centre exhibition generated entirely by the curious questions of its city.

The funding given to us by Wellcome and BEIS only goes part of the way to helping us achieve our new vision, so we are launching a campaign to raise a further £1.3 million to make Curious City a reality. By supporting this campaign you will create equal access to science, technology, engineering and maths for millions of young people and help launch the next generation of innovators on their journey of discovery.

We invite you to join us as we enter a new chapter in our history and look forward to welcoming each and every one of you back through the doors at We The Curious as we build a culture of curiosity, together.”

Links

https://www.wethecurious.org/

 

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