Durham University

A child with long hair looks at an exhibition in a window

Street Cosmos

Project goals:

Dissolve the barriers between our communities and our research
Co-design activities that respond to the interests and passions of communities, forging long-term relationships between community centres and the Ogden Centre
Test a Street Cosmos model that can be shared with a wider range of our communities and still maintain hyper-locality

With funding from the Digital Innovation and Engagement Fund (DIEF) in 2021, Durham University launched its highly successful Street Museum, which transformed the streets of underserved neighbourhoods in County Durham into museums.

Involvement in Mindsets + Missions has secured the next step in Durham University’s innovative and inclusive Street Museum programme and sees the launch of Street Cosmos. Together with partners East Durham Creates and Blackhall Community Centre, they are connecting underrepresented communities across County Durham with the world-changing advances in space science research from Durham University’s Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics.

A creative programme of co-produced community events is underway: co-developed community days held within community spaces and an organised trip to Centre for Life in Newcastle are some recent highlights.

The project is seeing the team working across a wider geographical region than before. The distances involved and lack of public transport in the areas are proving to be significant barriers to engagement, and the team is taking on a more experimental and flexible approach for staying connected to communities and coordinating events.

Planning is already underway with community members in the three locations for the project’s culminating event which is giving a clear focus to the collaborations and a target to work towards for celebrating science in the community.

Being part of Missions + Mindsets has really pushed us to further dissolve barriers between our labs and communities, bringing world-class research and innovation into the heart of our local so-called ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods. The project will provide a community-led approach to discovering the most equitable practices when it comes to enhancing engagement and providing opportunities for two-way learning from underserved communities and science teams.

Ged Matthews, senior manager: cultural engagement, Durham University

DIEF supported UK museums and science centres in delivering on innovations designed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. You can find out more about Street Museum and the other projects on the DIEF page.