One of Bristol's biggest visitor attractions won't now open until next year following a huge fire on the roof back in April.
We The Curious has announced that it won't be reopening until January 2023 at the earliest, because of the 'extensive water damage' which has got into the building's heating and cooling systems. The science and discovery centre said it would be going out and visiting the rest of the city and taking 'the We The Curious experience' to every postcode in Bristol while the museum remains closed.
The fire, on Saturday April 9, was caused by birds damaging the wiring for the solar panels on the roof of the building in Millennium Square. The blaze sent a plume of smoke high into the sky over Bristol, prompted an evacuation of a large area around the harbourside and even scuppered one couple's wedding plans - who were about to get hitched in the venue.
As it happened: Major fire at We The Curious
But it was the efforts by firefighters to put out the blaze that has caused the lasting damage, ironically enough, with thousands of gallons of water pumped onto the building from firefighters on ladders and from below.
That water cascaded through the building, and got into the heating and cooling systems, and that - as well as the structural damage to the roof itself - is causing the biggest headache for the centre's bosses. "We now know that we won’t be open before January 2023," said a spokesperson for We The Curious. "The water damage is quite extensive, and crucially, it’s in our building systems – so we need to replace our heating and cooling systems," she added.
She said the attraction was thinking about changing the way its building is heated - to try to cut down carbon emissions - anyway, so replacing the systems is timely. "We’re committed to becoming carbon net zero by 2030, so this work falls in line with our project pathway to reach that target, and will significantly reduce our energy consumption once reopen.
"The assessment surveys are still taking place, so we don’t have a reopening date yet – but hope to have some clarity on a reopening timeline later in the summer," she added. We The Curious staff are now organising outreach - and will be heading out into the city for the rest of the year, bringing We The Curious' mix of science and fun to communities across Bristol.
"In the meantime, we're heading to every postcode of Bristol," she said. "We’ll be visiting every postcode in Bristol while our building is closed; we’ll be taking the We The Curious experience out and about! Starting this summer, find us popping up at free community events and city festivals across the city. We'll be posting details of events on our website, so do keep an eye out," she added.
Read next:
- Four things you can do to help We The Curious
- Firefighters praised for saving wedding cake in We The Curious fire
- Everything we know about We The Curious Fire
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