Explore @ Bristol in Bristol, England

This science center, generally referred to as simply "At-Bristol," was funded primarily by the Millennium Commission and opened in its current form in 2000. It is located in a former rail transfer warehouse at the waterfront in Bristol. The building is one of the world’s early reinforced concrete structures and is on the historic buildings list (and is therefore difficult to modify structurally).









Originally, there were two additional venues: an IMAX theater and an outdoor environmental venue “Wild Walk,” both of which closed in April of this year because they were not financially viable.

The center has a unique series of exhibits that are for the most part unlike those of most other science centers. The exhibits are grouped into several themes that include the human body, structures, Exploratorium-type physics, optics, and perceptions exhibits, and a few others. It seemed initially as if 30 minutes might suffice for the first floor, but two and a half hours later, it was time for lunch and there was still a lot more to see and do.

The human body exhibits were particularly interesting in that they provided interesting challenges that involved the senses and in some cases took data that could be used by researchers for further study. In one exhibit, for example, visitors watch a video clip that involves a crime and are then challenged to recall various details, ranging from the color of a woman’s hair involved in the story (blonde) to what a running man had in his hand (a cell phone). At the end, visitors see a line-up and are asked to pick the right person. Many of the individuals look very similar, and the exercise immediately made very real the uncertainties associated with police line-ups.

A feature of most of these health-related exhibits was that they provided useful and interesting information on portions of the body without being overly wordy or didactic. One possible exception was a series of exhibits on the brain, which are planned for replacement as soon as funding is lined up.



The center has an area in the corner of the first floor devoted to birth and targeting youth. Museum staff report that this area is of great interest to teens because much of the information in the exhibits here is not readily available elsewhere. Where else can one stand in a squishy, pulsating womb and watch a birthing video, replete with the screams of labor?

Another area on this floor featured exhibits on water engineering and structures, including some excellent opportunities for water play.


The now-closed Wild Walk venue had a number of exhibits related to climate change and global warming. Some of these exhibits, now in storage, will be brought into the science center in the future to help visitors become more aware of trends in the climate and to encourage them to become more curious about the science of climate change. These exhibits ranged from very simple (magnetic poetry on real refrigerator doors) to a computer simulation of world environmental policy in which visitors took the role as decision maker and were able to experience the interconnectedness of the systems that make up our world.

At-Bristol provides regular museum floor programs for visitors. I watched a cart science program in which visitors try to built a boat of tin foil that will hold the largest number of marbles. This type of cart-based floor program is not as common in European museums as in U.S. museums. Programs such as these are wonderful in they engage people of all ages and backgrounds, from 4-year-olds to engineers with PhDs. In this case, the 4-year-old scored more marbles than the engineer...



Some of the exhibits here appear to be Exploratorium knock-offs. In several cases, however, these exhibits, including "Cafe Wall," were actually developed at Bristol by Professor Richard Gregory. In this case, Prof. Gregory noticed this pattern and the optical effect while at a small cafe in Bristol and turned it into the now-famous exhibit that we all have somewhere in our museums and centers.

The center also houses the only one of 8 national teacher training institutes that is located in a science center, and the center places a high priority on teacher education as part of its mission.

Financially, At-Bristol has an interesting financial model. Located in the heart of a newly revitalized waterfront district that was once very rundown, the area is now full of restaurants and nightclubs. The center was given overall management of the local parking garage as well as some of the adjacent real estate, so it receives income from parking at the waterfront as well as a portion of the rent paid by adjacent businesses through sub-leases it offers to them.

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