Be Curious 2021

Be Curious is the University’s annual research open event, which aims to showcase how research here at Leeds is making a world of difference to people’s lives.

Held online in July 2021, Be Curious 2021 saw us ‘go live’ with a jam-packed programme of family events and activities that audiences could join in with at home!

We also introduced a brand-new series of Be Curious LATES: exclusive events for grown-ups to get to grips with everything from the world-leading to the wondrous research that goes on inside a University.

Find out, explore, and investigate by watching Be Curious 2021 events back now!

What's on?

Be Curious x Unlimited Space Agency: LIVE from the Space Shed

Join our team of space scientists, oceanographers, earthquake experts and Antarctic explorers for a fun-filled day of activities.
Be Curious family programme

Design, imagine, make, do and glue: check out our online family events that you can join in with from home.
Be Curious LATES programme

From the world-leading to the wondrous: welcome to our brand-new series of evening events for adults.

Making a world of difference

Be Curious 2021 aimed to spotlight the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and showcase how research at Leeds is “making a world of difference”.

The SDGs make up a global framework to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

We've grouped them into four themes:

1. Caring for health
2. Enabling sustainable lives
3. Inspired innovation and discovery
4. Supporting society

You'll spot these themes throughout the Be Curious live programme and in the amazing 2-minute wow-demonstrations, experiments, demos, and explainer videos that our contributors have created, just for you.

You can read more about the SDGs and just some of the ways we're making an impact on our Sustainability website.

Be Curious themes

Caring for health

From designing the healthcare technology of the future by working with patients, to getting to know your guts and what keeps them happy and healthy, we’re caring for health.
Enabling sustainable lives

From monitoring local air pollution with the help of school children, to measuring climate change from space with world-leading Earth Observation scientists, we’re enabling sustainable lives.
Inspired innovation and discovery

From searching for signs of life on distant planets, to enhancing life on Earth by engineering artificial cells and developing advanced materials, we have inspired innovation and discovery covered.
Supporting society

From using cutting-edge technology to crack criminal cases, to creating community connections to answer local, national and international questions and challenges, we’re supporting society.