‘An exhibition like no other…’
Working in partnership to share University of Oxford research with local communities in Banbury
A labyrinth of puzzles and illusions
Stepping into the ‘Your Amazing Brain: A User’s Guide’ exhibition at Banbury Museum & Gallery is a bit like stepping into the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. A kaleidoscope of colours and patterns assaults your senses. The overall effect is momentarily disorientating and simultaneously intriguing. Are those horizontal lines on that black and white tiled wall really straight? Why does the stripy floor look as though it’s got a massive hole in it? And what’s going on in the orange room with the pink slope that makes children look as tall as adults?
This almost psychedelic experience is just the start of a whole suite of illusory exhibits and puzzles that are fascinating visitors of all ages. The first part of the exhibition demonstrates how the shortcuts that your brain has learned in order to make sense of the world sometimes backfire, resulting in a confusing optical illusion. In a different zone, you can have a go at drawing a star reflected in a mirror (harder than it sounds); pick up two different sized cubes and work out which is heavier; and, for the brave, plunge your hand into covered boxes to feel what is inside. These activities provoke curiosity about the brain’s role in our senses and emotions.
A quieter area provides some mental space to consider memory. There’s a spot the difference activity, and information about how your brain changes as you get older, when some connections between brain cells get weaker, and others stronger. A series of boxes with attached funnels is mounted on the wall. Visitors can ‘sniff the boxes’ and describe any particular memories that are evoked by the smell inside.
The exhibition cleverly blurs the line between entertainment and education. The graphics include ‘Custard’ the bird, who guides young children through the space and encourages them to do things like yawning to see if it makes other people yawn too, and hugging someone in their group, to see how it makes you feel. Meanwhile, ‘Brian’ the brain gives instructions about how to interact with the exhibits, and explains some of the phenomena on display — such as the excellent ability of the brain to see faces, even in inanimate objects such as a light switch.
Perhaps the most ‘scientific’ part of the exhibition is the wall that displays a range of images of the brain, each picture showing things about ten times smaller than the previous one. This is the heart of the research undertaken at the University of Oxford’s Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging. Its researchers study the brain by acquiring images through a range of technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. They bridge the gap between laboratory neuroscience and human health, by performing multi-scale studies spanning from animal models through to human populations. The images on display here give a sense of the ‘trillions of connections between billions of brain cells’ that allow us to sense and understand the world, make decisions, react, learn and remember.
Collaboration across sectors
This ambitious interactive exhibition is the result of a creative partnership between the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging at the University of Oxford, and Banbury Museum & Gallery in north Oxfordshire. Stephen Foulger, an independent Museum Consultant working on the project, says it has been
‘one of the most enjoyable and excellent collaborations I’ve ever had in the sector.’
This is largely due to the different strengths brought by each partner, and the willingness to listen and learn from each other. The University of Oxford researchers brought their passion for neuroscience, and their years of knowledge acquired through detailed study of numerous aspects of the brain and its function. The museum staff brought their insight into local audiences, and their understanding of how to present complex information in an appealing way.
Vicki Wood, Education Lead at Banbury Museum & Gallery, said: ‘The support, expertise and enthusiasm from the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging is enabling us to raise our game…We are delighted about this and very keen to increase science capital for people in Banbury.’ This shows how valuable it is for academic researchers to work with community partners to achieve sustainable public engagement goals. The Wellcome Trust is committed to engaging a wide variety of people with academic research, and provides funding to centres like this one at the University of Oxford to enable it to run good quality public engagement programmes. The vision is not only to increase community access to science, but also to inspire researchers to communicate what they do — and to discover how this process can in turn inform their own understanding of their work.
Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg, Director of the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, said:
‘Our researchers have loved collaborating with Banbury Museum & Gallery to put together the exhibition and we are excited to hear what museum visitors think about it. We always appreciate opportunities to view our research from fresh perspectives.’
So how was the project developed? Five years ago, neuroscientists at the University of Oxford collaborated with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on ‘Brain Diaries: Modern Neuroscience in Action’. The success of this exhibition led to discussions about taking it on tour, in order to reach different audiences. After much networking, negotiation, planning, and the untimely intervention of a global pandemic, ‘Your Amazing Brain’ was born. Its successful implementation has relied not only upon the two main partners of the University of Oxford and Banbury Museum & Gallery, but also external consultants, designers, and producers. It’s a real team effort.
Associate Professor Stuart Clare, who is Director of Operations at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuromaging, said: ‘During the scoping of the project it became clear that the profile of visitors to Banbury Museum & Gallery was quite different from the profile of visitors to University of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History, and a different type of exhibition was needed. Working collaboratively with the specialists at the museum was so interesting, seeing how we could shape the way we communicated the research that we do in Oxford to reach a brand new audience.’
Alongside the exhibition itself, a rich and varied events programme is drawing in a whole host of other partners. This includes EncounterEdu, a specialist online education company who will run a live brain experiment lesson with local primary schools, and local branches of MIND and Parkinson’s UK, with whom University researchers are collaborating on bespoke events. Later this year an Escape Room will be added to the mix, and residents should also look out for a ‘Museum Late’ when dozens of neuroscientists will be on hand at the Museum to entertain and inform audiences about their research.
The impact of the exhibition
Professor Kevin Talbot, Head of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, had this to say after his visit to ‘Your Amazing Brain’: ‘This terrific exhibition is a model of how to bring science to our local community, and also great fun! Do go and see it with your families, and be inspired to communicate what you do’. Such an enthusiastic reaction from a senior member of University staff who had not had any involvement in the exhibition’s creation is testament to three things: the cleverness of the overall concept; its gradual refinement with input from all partners; and the consistently high quality of its implementation.
But so much for an academic perspective: what of the target audience? What do they think of what the University and the Museum have put together? A quick trawl through the comments book at the end shows that people are enjoying the novel experience: ‘An exhibition like no other that I have seen — brilliant!’; ‘Thank you I have really enjoyed this, I’d like to come back IT WAS SO FUN!’, ‘This is one of the bestest days ever’. It is also clear that the exhibits are provoking thought: ‘Makes you wonder how your brain has developed over the years’; ‘Absolutely crazy, first room is still in my mind’; ‘Very good exhibition — fascinated a 15-year-old and an 82-year-old!’; ‘Makes me think about my old brain — hope it keeps going a little longer.’
The exhibition and events programme is being evaluated over the course of the six months by an external consultant working closely with the team. But these quotes from visitors are an early indication of the impact that the project is already having. Everyone involved is clear that this impact has only been made possible by the commitment of all parties to working together. Carinne Piekema, Head of Public Engagement at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, says: ‘It has been such a privilege to work in close collaboration with all the people involved in this project. Each member of the team brought their own unique expertise and I have learned so much from each one of them. The visitors’ excitement and engagement when interacting with the exhibition is a testament to the strength of the collaboration and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved.’
Written by: Jacqueline Pumphrey (@NovelJacqueline)
Communications and Public Engagement Manager, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
All images by the author.
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