News / We The Curious
New mural at primary school celebrates unlikely hero
A colourful new mural of an unlikely UK bird species now adorns the playground walls of a school in east Bristol.
The mural will be developed to create an exhibit inside We The Curious when it reopens in early summer.
The Seagull Project, launched by We The Curious, hopes to change attitudes to the UK bird, which is still vilified and misunderstood by much of the UK.
is needed now More than ever
Inspiration for the project actually came out of the fire that forced We the Curious to close two years ago.
The cause was believed to be a rare occurrence of a seagull dropping a stone into its solar panels. The building closed for an extensive repair programme after hose water damage from extinguishing the fire.
Since then, the charity has been going into schools and communities to deliver its education programmes through its Out and About programme.
We The Curious closed in April 2022 after a seagull caused a fire when it dropped a stone into the building’s solar panels – photo: Martin Booth
As part of the project, children at Hannah More Primary School explored the lives and characteristics of seagulls and asked questions about who belongs in cities.
The children’s ideas were brought to life by Bristol-based artist Billy, who helped the children create a vibrant seagull-inspired mural on the school playground walls.
Hannah More Primary School headteacher, Kevin Hawkins, 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.”
The Seagull project is one of hundreds of activities delivered by the science centre across Bristol since it closed for repairs following the fire.
Main photo: Freia Turland
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