A science centre in the UK is tearing up its exhibition floor and rebuilding it around questions submitted by local residents, not curators. The project, called Curious City, addresses a long-standing problem in science communication: museums often present STEM topics in a one-size-fits-all format that fails to engage people who don’t already feel welcome or interested. By letting the public voice and curate their own science questions—then building interactive, theatrical, and art-driven exhibits around them—the centre aims to make the experience feel personally relevant rather than passively consumed. If it works, Curious City could change how science centres operate. An open research lab inside the venue will let visitors watch real experiments and talk directly with scientists, turning the public from spectators into participants. A digital platform called CuriOS will link ticket data, lab activity, and online question submissions, creating a personalised experience that continues after someone leaves the building. For underrepresented communities, the co-design process offers a rare chance to shape what science content looks like and who it speaks to. This is primarily a public engagement and museum design project, not fundamental research. Its success will be measured in visitor behaviour, not laboratory findings—but it could provide a replicable model for how cultural institutions build trust and curiosity across diverse audiences.
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‘Curious City’ transforms our content and space design to fundamentally change the way we operate. It will generate an innovative, emotionally engaging STEM exhibition experience to inspire curiosity, driving the desire to explore and learn well beyond a visit. It will be: participatory: the first major exhibition driven by the curiosity of the city it lives in, taking people’s science questions and exploring them in beautiful interactive experiences that are uniquely relevant. multidisciplinary: re-imagined core exhibition space drawing on cultural sector influences to widen participation by presenting STEM from different angles, in a human, emotional context. theatrical: the exhibition space will inspire audiences to feel a desire to connect. Cohesively designed with the content, an intriguing transition zone and a more open entrance - placing people at the heart of the science centre experience. inclusive: supporting underrepresented communities to voice and curate their questions. Collaborative co-design will produce clusters of experiences around those questions - from large scale audio-visual and art installations to personal encounters with interactive exhibits. authentic: real scientific research going on in-venue. Public participation in ‘Open City Lab’, a new cross-disciplinary research space supporting scientists, young people and the public to engage in meaningful STEM dialogue. connected: a digital architecture, CuriOS, underpins Curious City, connecting ticketing, visitor and lab data to a personalised experience beyond our doors. An online question space allows people to contribute questions, explore and answer others - extending engagement after a visit, or inspiring a first encounter.
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