News / We The Curious
We The Curious reopening date delayed again
“Utterly unique” exhibits and “a challenging and complex project” within a Grade II listed building have led to a further delay for the reopening of We The Curious.
Following a fire in April 2022, an initial target of a 2023 reopening was revised to early 2024 and has now been pushed back further to early summer 2024.
Science centre bosses say that building reinstatement works “are continuing at pace” but have blamed construction and supply chain delays for the latest hold-up.
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“We remain absolutely committed to reopening but we’re being ultra cautious on naming exact dates until we have greater certainty so that we don’t let anyone down,” a We The Curious spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“We hope to be in a position in the next few weeks to share a further update.”
Project What If opened in 2021 takes up most of We The Curious’ ground floor – photo: Lisa Whiting
The spokesperson added: “It’s disappointing to have a few more months of closure ahead of us than we’d originally hoped and we know our audiences will be disappointed too.
“Nevertheless, we’re starting the year optimistically, with the repair work moving towards the final completion phase, our staff back working in the building, and new members of the team being recruited ready for reopening.
“Since the fire closure, we’ve completed a brilliant programme of free Out and About activities and school takeovers, with over 260 events more than 36,500 interactions with people across Bristol.
“We’re currently looking at whether we’ll be able to deliver some of our free school Takeover Days in February and March, for schools with bookings that we’ve had to move, and that meet our priority criteria, as well as other Out and About activities.
“After the Easter holidays, our teams will be pivoting to focus on reopening.
“We’re so grateful for the support we’ve had during this closure period that has really kept us going during this challenging time.
“We can’t wait to be able to confidently announce our reopening date and look forward to welcoming everyone back into our building.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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