Bristol's We The Curious museum was forced to close early today (July 19) following a pro-Palestine protest.
Bristol ACORN organised a protest and free entry demand at the science centre after it received funds from Leonardo, an aerospace company which has been shown to have ties selling weapons to Israel weapon used in the current Gaza conflict.
A spokesperson for We The Curious informed BristolWorld that they were unaware of the protest and free entry demand by ACORN taking place today, and that they would ultimately prioritise keeping visitors and staff safe.
They explained the funding in question relates to historic funding of the Tinkering Space exhibit area in 2016, which is when they last received funding from Leonardo.
Following questions around this subject in June through X, they removed the funder plaque referencing this company while they conduct a review of their gift acceptance and ethics policy.
00:00I'm Sam, I'm from Acorn Bristol, we're a community union, and we're here today because We The Curious, the Science Centre, receives funds from arms companies that are selling weapons to Israel and they use to kill children. We don't think that's acceptable for funding to come from them to go to this museum, so we're here today opening it up for free to the public, so anyone can come in for free, and we're demanding of the museum that they stop taking funds from arms companies, and that's why we're here for them.
00:27And has the museum responded so far to today's event?
00:32Yeah, so we managed to get the CEO on the phone when we arrived, and she refused to meet any of the demands today, but she has agreed to set up a meeting with us in August, so we look forward to talking about this event, but because they've not met the demands today, we're going to be sticking around and keeping the museum open.
00:49And I guess you've tapped upon it, but what led to the decision of taking the action of today having the museum be free for Bristolians?
00:59We found out, one of our members was doing some digging, found out where some of the funding came from, and Acorn in Bristol, we have a relationship with a sister organisation in West Bank in Palestine, so we talk a lot, we learn from each other, we work together, and so we're doing this today in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine. That's why we decided to do this.
01:18And how has the Bristol public reacted so far?
01:22Very well. People really love the museum being open for free, which is great, and many, many people have signed an open letter to the CEO saying that they don't think it's acceptable for a science centre for kids to take money from arms companies who are killing kids elsewhere.
01:35So the public support has been absolutely massive. We really think it's time for the museum to sort that out.
01:40A spokesperson for We The Curious informed Bristol World that they were unaware of the protests and free entry demand by Acorn taking place today, and that they would ultimately prioritise keeping visitors and staff safe.
01:54They explained the funding in question relates to historic funding of the Tinkering Space exhibit area in 2016, which is when they last received funding from Leonardo.
02:06Following questions around this subject in June through X, they removed the fund that played referencing this company, while they conducted a review of their gift acceptance and ethics policy.
02:17The museum closed early at 3.30pm to ensure that everyone is kept safe.
02:22We The Curious Chief Executive Donna Speed has spoken with an Acornet representative to talk through their letter and demands, and will be meeting with them along with some of the trustees to work through the conversation together.
