Make Sunday Special takes science and history to the streets

Visitors to future Make Sunday Special events can expect to learn about science and history, as experts from the University of Bristol bring their research to the popular street parties. Upcoming neighbourhood events in Easton, Hartcliffe and Avonmouth will include the opportunity to get involved with some of the ground-breaking projects happening on their doorstep.

These include a demonstration of how sensors can be used to learn about health and detect any possible problems.

It’s part of the Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment (SPHERE) project, which uses advanced engineering solutions to detect changes in people’s physical activity, gait and mood. It’s developing a system of sensors to build a picture of how we live in our homes.

Academics from the University's Cabot Institute will be discussing our environmentally Uncertain World, including the impact of global warming, as well as asking attendees how they think this might impact their own lives.

People in Avonmouth are being called upon to share their stories, family histories, memories, films, photographs and artefacts as part of a unique hands-on history project.

Know Your Bristol has been working with local community groups to create spaces in which people can come together to co-produce knowledge about their city.  Together, with Bristol City Council’s Know Your Place team, researchers will be showing old films of Avonmouth, holding guided walks and enabling people to share their stories of the neighbourhood in the ‘history bus’.

Dates and details of the neighbourhood Make Sunday Special events:

  • The Easton and Lawrence Hill event takes place on 23 August from 12noon to 6pm. The SPHERE project and the Uncertain World groups will be there.
  • Then, SPHERE will be on hand at the Hartcliffe event on 6 September, from 11am to 5pm.
  • All three projects will be present in Avonmouth on 13 September, from 11am to 4pm.

More information on Make Sunday Special is available on the Bristol City Council website.