What if scientists could see inside your shopping trolley?
That’s the question that was sparking curiosity at We The Curious, Bristol’s interactive science centre, where our exhibit invited visitors to explore how everyday choices—like what we eat—connect to our health and wellbeing.
We’re proud to be collaborating with We The Curious on this innovative public engagement project, which brings together researchers from the Digital Footprints Lab and curious minds from all walks of life. The exhibit is part of the centre’s Open City Lab programme, which turns real questions from the public into interactive experiences that inspire learning and dialogue.
Our research team is exploring how food purchasing habits relate to broader health outcomes. By engaging visitors in playful, thought-provoking ways, we’re opening up conversations about nutrition, lifestyle, and the science behind public health. It’s a chance for people to contribute to real research—and for researchers to listen, learn, and adapt their work to reflect the lived experiences of the community.
This collaboration is more than just a fun day out—it’s a model for inclusive, curiosity-driven science. It shows how public spaces can become platforms for co-creating knowledge, and how research can be made more transparent, relevant, and engaging. Read Alice’s blog to learn more about what we did!
We’re incredibly grateful to the team at We The Curious for their creativity and commitment to making science accessible, as well as the team at Open City Lab. Also a big thank you to Woven Films and Storm Neech for their work on putting this together.