Learning to love seagulls with local school children

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.

After its building caught fire – with the cause believed to be a rare occurrence of a seagull dropping a stone into its solar panels – and had to close 22 months ago for an extensive repair programme because of the hose water damage extinguishing the fire, the science and education charity has been collaborating with the school to cultivate curiosity in the natural world.

As part of We The Curious’ ‘Open City Research’ which seeks to give everyone the opportunity to be a part of the scientific research process, We The Curious and the schoolchildren have been exploring the lives and characteristics of seagulls and getting curious about who belongs in cities. The children’s ideas are being brought to life by Bristol-based visual artist Billy, who is helping the children create a one-of-a-kind seagull-inspired mural on the school playground walls. Their ideas will also be developed to create an exhibit inside We The Curious when it reopens in early summer 2024.

Hannah More Primary school seagull mural

The project is part of We The Curious’ vision as an educational charity to create a better world together, where everyone is included, curious and inspired by science.

With the building closed for ongoing repairs until early summer 2024, the team has been delivering its activities across the city through its Out & About programme, with a particular focus on schools and communities experiencing socio and economic inequality.

Kevin Hawkins, headteacher, Hannah More Primary School, said: “Our children have loved learning all about seagulls with the brilliant We The Curious team – the way the children have been able to co-create the project has been fantastic for their confidence and creativity and it’s not the sort of thing that we would be able to do within the day to day curriculum. Everyone has got really involved and learnt lots and it’s given both teachers and children plenty of food for thought. We can’t wait to unveil the new mural and share the project with everyone.”

Julian Welsh, special projects producer at We The Curious, who has led the Seagull Project, said: “It’s the start of a really interesting partnership, and we hope it’s a new way of engaging children in thinking about the world they live in, where we decide what to investigate together. We started with the seagull project, from which we’ve all learned a lot – and it’s been an interesting journey for the We The Curious team too, considering it is likely that seagull damage resulted in us taking our activities into a school with the children rather than in our building.

“Along the way, we found out so much about seagulls: they are actually dinosaurs; they’re monogamous; they are a species in decline – UK numbers have nearly halved since 2000; some individuals live to 30 years old; one study showed only 25% of gulls steal food from people; attacking people is the very last behaviour when protecting their young; they seem to be scared of eye contact with people.

“Now the school parliament has said it would like to talk to children in another local school about how they started a campaign to improve air quality, and it is also keen to visit We The Curious after Easter once we have reopened – both of which we’re making happen. So we’re really looking forward to seeing where the children lead us.”

Hannah More is a diverse school in the centre of Bristol with around 250 pupils, who together speak more than 60 different languages. Hannah More has community at its heart and the school works closely with local businesses, charities and community groups to provide opportunities that celebrate its fortunate position on the edge of Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. 

We The Curious has delivered over 260 free activities reaching more than 37,000 people in schools and communities since it closed for repairs following the fire.

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About We The Curious

We The Curious is an educational charity and South West England’s leading science centre. We produce experiences that bring people together to play, get creative with science and explore different ideas. We work with partners locally and nationally, supporting people to be inquisitive, develop new skills and improve their wellbeing.

Our vision asks ‘what if everyone is included, curious and inspired by science to build a better world together?’

For more information about We The Curious please contact Jen Forster, Communications Lead – jen.forster@wethecurious.org or 07967 334152. 

You can follow We The Curious on X/Twitter (@wethecurious_) Facebook (wethecurious) or Instagram (@wethecurious_). Visit www.wethecurious.org for more information.

Film credit: Produced by Abdull Nurdin-Hussein