‘The world needs curiosity now more than ever’

The world is in a constant state of flux and can feel like a difficult place to navigate, particularly over the last few years.

With climate change, political turmoil and much more awareness of how challenging life is for many people, just ‘being curious’ can seem like an inconsequential way to deal with it all.

This is exactly where curiosity can really come into its own.

Curious minds are explorers; they’re empathic and inquisitive, they’re both interested and interesting – and crucially, have the critical skills and perspectives needed to thrive in the modern era, and to help solve the problems the world needs us to solve.

In the cultural sector, change is afoot, with the recognition that Western science knowledge has long held power and been prioritised over traditional knowledge holders.

Our future isn’t about what we have to say but how we create opportunities to hear and present different opinions, backgrounds and lived experiences together, fostering curiosity and sharing wider forms of knowledge.

When conditions are right, and we’re feeling at our most curious, that’s when we connect with our empathy, our ability to be open, and understand and value different experiences and viewpoints.

These are vital qualities we need today.

Curiosity forms the heart of We The Curious’ Project What If on their ground floor – photo: Lisa Whiting

Be open to what you don’t know

Not knowing can feel scary. Our brains want to feel competent and safe, and enjoy the power of knowing. Not knowing can make us feel vulnerable, but the potential that curiosity has to offer is worth the risk.

As children, the joy of being curious is easy, but our capacity for it changes throughout our life depending on what we’re doing, where we are, and who we’re with. This is the power of curiosity; it has a mercurial quality.

Finding ways to embrace that joy again brings with it the desire to learn and grow and share and shift. And the best part is, you don’t have to get it right. It’s absolutely okay (and encouraged!) to fail.

As your friendly neighbourhood science centre, We The Curious is all about creating connections that empower people, and we love to see and be a part of those transformative connections.

When curiosity brings people together to create, think and play, something magical happens in that potent mix of ingenuity, empathy and joy.

However, having been without our venue for the last two years, we’ve had to rethink how we plant seeds of curiosity across Bristol.

We’ve been able to work with communities in more depth and crucially we’ve learned from our partners about what they need us to be.

Now we’re gearing up for our July reopening (which we’re so excited about), we’ve been thinking about even more ways we can support and encourage people to live their lives with curiosity.

We The Curious will be reopening on July 2 just in time for the school summer holidays – photo: Lisa Whiting

We asked our staff to tell us their favourite ways to get curious and the list they’ve dreamed up is brilliant.

It’s got something for all ages, backgrounds and approaches to learning. The list ranges from playful experiments to mindful activities connecting to nature or other people.

Whether it’s in our venue, or with our teams out and about in the city, we continue to learn from others and be open to what we don’t know.

We want to create a safe space to be curious – where no question is deemed ‘silly’ and where the brilliance of others is acknowledged. You never know where it might lead.

Anyone can be curious, and we’re passionate believers that everyone deserves a voice in shaping our collective futures.

So, give it a go. Try something from our 73 Ways To Get Curious list, learn from others, play, ask questions, get things wrong, wonder at the amazing world all around you.

This is an opinion piece by Bryony Roberts, content director at We The Curious which reopens on July 2

Bryony Roberts is content director at We The Curious – photo: Julian Welsh

Main photo: We The Curious

Read next:

• We The Curious to reopen in July
• ‘In a complex world, we need curious people more than ever’
• New mural at primary school celebrates unlikely hero