Be Curious recognised for inspiring children
Be Curious – our hugely popular annual research open day – has been recognised for helping make Leeds a child-friendly city.
Marty Jopson, resident scientist for the BBC's One Show, will be entertaining visitors at Be Curious 2019
Now in its fourth year, Be Curious aims to inspire children, young people and their families to visit, engage and become familiar with our community and campus, and to see the University as a place for everyone.
And this year’s instalment is no exception, with free, interactive and fun activities planned to engage the public in the pioneering studies undertaken at Leeds.
More than 40 exciting activities will be on offer on Saturday 30 March across several locations on campus, including Parkinson Court and the School of Music, where visitors are given the rare chance to play a Steinway piano.
Attractions for the ‘Brave New World’ theme range from being able to order some sweets from a robot to taking part in a sticker trail and playing a giant game of Operation!
Since the first Be Curious in 2016, more than 1,100 children have visited the research showcase, with the youngest aged just two! And no less than 70% of past visitors to the event have come from Leeds, which together resulted in Be Curious being nominated in the city council’s highly coveted Leeds Child Friendly Awards.
Dr Alexa Ruppertsberg, Head of Public Engagement with Research at Leeds, said: “We were thrilled to be nominated for our overall contribution to making Leeds a child-friendly city.
“We are committed to supporting this initiative and our Be Curious open day provides an ideal opportunity for children and families to come along and explore what goes on at the University. Our ever-popular children’s sticker trail will guide people around campus, including the Steinway experience in the School of Music, which is also running a colouring competition.
“Many of the stalls and activities are specifically aimed at those aged five to 12 and will display the ‘Curio’ curious fish logo.”
One of the highlights this year is a performance of Invisible Worlds with TV's Marty Jopson, from 1pm in the Rupert Beckett Theatre. Take a journey from everyday life, down into the realm of microscopic wonders with the BBC One Show’s resident scientist. Limited tickets will be available on the day on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
Refreshments can be bought at the cafés in Parkinson Court and the Laidlaw Library.
Parking is available in the multi-story car park, payable by debit or credit card on exiting (free to staff if their car is registered). Bus routes, including 1, 6, 28 and 97, all stop outside the Parkinson Building from H10 stop on The Headrow in the city centre.
Be Curious runs from 10am to 4pm. Download the full programme here. You can also access the latest updates on Facebook.