Curiosity Studio Director Ellen Byrne was awarded a Wellcome Trust People Award to design, create and produce a 4-story immersive exhibition URBAN ESCAPE for people of all ages to explore the effect our day-to-day environment can have on our brain and our bodies.

Using the latest research in neuroscience, participants wear biosensors as they explore a series of immersive rooms where they track in realtime how their brainwaves change and respond to different stimuli. Each room provides a different stimulus from nature to sound and colour immersion. These included an immersive 360° Mirrored Infinity Nature Garden, an Immersive Colouring Room and a Sensory Sound Bath.

At the end of the exhibition there is a surprise ‘Drunk Tank Pink’ room which acts as a comical but cautionary tale for believing everything you are told, the importance of sourcing information and equipping participants with tools on how to spot fake news and pseudo-scientific claims. ­

The Curiosity Studio worked with National Geographic explorer Dr. Tierney Thys to respond to her cutting edge Neurobiophilia research and bringing it to life for a public audience to explore.