Hannah More Primary School seagulls
We The Curious is helping to change attitudes to the thousands of seagulls in the city through a unique project co-created with east Bristol schoolchildren at Hannah More Primary School.
Open City Research is about giving everyone the opportunity to be part of science research.
It’s about challenging what it means to be a science centre, discovering new things and valuing the knowledge we create together.
Everyone should have the opportunity to contribute to, and benefit from, scientific research. We recognise that diverse experiences need to be at the heart of what we do.
As a charity, we work with our local communities to help create a future where everyone is included, curious and inspired to build a better world together.
What is Open City Research?
It’s about evolving the way that we’re working to make science a process of discovery, for everyone.
We’re doing this by…
- Creating interactive experiences that support a broader range of people to influence research and improve the quality of research.
- Trying to overcome challenges that separate people from scientific research, so that research can be more relevant and benefit more people.
- Supporting communities to lead their own research through our Research Collective programme.
- Introducing people to the whole research process, from ideas generation, ethics and experimenting, to data collection and analysing, as well as shaping the direction of future research.
Open City Research
Open City Research is an exciting way that We The Curious is working with researchers. It is all about getting our audiences working alongside researchers and exploring the whole process together.
Open City Research (A note on names: our Open City Research pledge used to be called 'Open Source Science', but in 2023 we conducted a spot of our own research with our partners, audiences and staff, and felt that 'Open City Research' better described this area of work.
The video above was filmed during the 'Open Source Science' years, but the same concept about about giving everyone the opportunity to be part of research remains.)
Open City Research in action
We work alongside our community and researchers, to co-develop exciting, interactive activities that you can get involved with, to influence active research. Our audiences have already started to have a long-lasting impact on scientific research through Open City Research.
John James Theatre of Curiosity
Educational charity We The Curious reopening (2021) with a bold new experience Project What If, which will feature the ‘John James Theatre of Curiosity’ – a central discussion space which encourages visitors to explore how science works.
Open City Lab
Educational charity We The Curious reopening (2021) with a bold new exhibition Project What If, which will feature ‘Open City Lab’ – a unique research space dedicated to ‘open source science’ and democratising science.
I think what We The Curious are wanting to do is to make research part of the experience of being at We The Curious, and that is a completely different way of doing science.Dr Nathalia Gjersoe, University of Bath
Want to work with us?
Open City Research is your opportunity to work together with a range of different people to generate new ideas in science.
We want you to leave thinking differently about your research after working together with new people.
We also want to support those who aren’t always recognised within science research. Research Collective is our programme for supporting people from Bristol’s communities to find answers to their questions – however big or small.
We run these activities online, out and about in our city and in spaces across We The Curious, including our Open City Lab where anyone can take part in active research in our working lab space.
If you’re curious about how public contributions could improve your research, whether you’re an established academic researcher or a member of Bristol’s underrepresented communities, get in touch to find out more about our current Open City Research opportunities.
To find out more, contact our Open City Research team on info@wethecurious.org or call 0117 915 1000.
Helen Della Nave
Head of Open City Research
Helen Della Nave
Head of Open City Research
To follow
Graham Johnson
Open City Research Manager
Graham Johnson
Open City Research Manager
To follow
Joe Daly
Open City Research Programme Developer
Joe Daly
Open City Research Programme Developer
To follow
Hannah Lawrence
Open City Research Community Developer
Hannah Lawrence
Open City Research Community Developer
To follow
A huge thank you
Thank you to everyone that has already contributed to Open City Research projects, including our visitors, volunteers, staff and researchers. And to all the funders and partners whose generous support makes Open City Research possible.
Open City Lab was opened in 2021 as part of Project What If, the first major science centre exhibition in the UK inspired entirely by the curiosity of a city’s residents. We couldn’t have done this without the support of our lead Open City Lab funder, the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
