YOU:MATTER is a multi-sensory, narrative-led experience inviting audiences to explore their profound connection with the cosmos, each other, and the living world. Blending art, science, and technology, the exhibition transforms complex ideas into emotionally resonant encounters—intellectually accessible for ages 8+—inspiring wonder, reflection, and a renewed sense of interconnectedness.
Designed for accessibility across generations, cultures, and physical and sensory needs, YOU:MATTER engages visitors individually, in small groups, and collectively. From the opening moment beneath a vast projected sun, bathed in golden light and spatial audio, guests share a sense of collective awe that sets the tone for a journey that is both personal and planetary.
The experience unfolds through a sequence of immersive environments, each revealing a different layer of our relationship with the natural world. A sculptural reimagining of the human body visualises its elemental makeup, reminding us that we are made of the same matter as stars, earth, and water. This poetic framing grounds the experience in a simple yet profound truth: we are not separate from nature, but part of it.
One of the most distinctive innovations is the custom-built breath interface, enabling participants to connect directly to a living digital forest. Breathing into a sculptural device transforms exhaled air into visible, real-time breath that disperses into the virtual ecosystem. This intuitive interaction turns a simple human act into a metaphor for interdependence, illustrating how our lives sustain—and are sustained by—the world around us.
The playful Head in the Clouds sculpture envelops visitors in a sonic interpretation of the water cycle. These tactile, shelter-like forms invite touch, play, and quiet contemplation, using sound and form in harmony to convey the scale and beauty of ecological processes through embodied experience.
A physical augmented reality interface offers a window into the human vascular system. By placing a hand on a sculptural platform, visitors see their blood flow mapped in real time—oxygenated and shimmering across a branching network of arteries and capillaries. Paired with poetic narration, this moment bridges science and emotion, turning the unseen into something tangible and beautiful.
The journey culminates in a large-scale immersive environment celebrating the biodiversity of our planet. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors extend projected landscapes into infinity, creating a seamless 360-degree experience. Visitors’ faces, scanned in 3D, become shimmering “star stuff,” placed among constellations of microorganisms and endangered species—a living reminder of the beauty and fragility of life on Earth.
While YOU:MATTER employs cutting-edge technologies—custom interfaces, spatial audio, augmented reality, and real-time 3D rendering—its strength lies equally in its poetic storytelling. Every design choice deepens immersion, sparks curiosity, and fosters empathy, inviting participants not just to witness but to feel the interconnectedness of life.
Its cultural value lies in bridging scientific understanding with artistic expression in a way that transcends barriers of language, age, and background. Visitors leave not just with memories, but with renewed awareness of their place within the web of life. This emotional resonance has extended YOU:MATTER far beyond the exhibition walls, generating millions of organic impressions through social sharing and media coverage.
Crucially, this approach marks a first for both the Science Museum Group and the city of Bradford—an ambitious step into fully immersive, narrative-led experience design that unites art, science, and technology at this scale. It represents a new mode of museum innovation: one that is sensory, emotional, and inclusive. In this sense, YOU:MATTER is not only an innovation in itself but a gateway, opening new creative and curatorial possibilities for future projects. Recognition through the blooloop Innovation Award would help cement this pioneering direction, demonstrating the transformative potential of interdisciplinary, emotionally driven storytelling within the cultural and scientific sectors.
At its heart, YOU:MATTER asks three simple yet profound questions: What are we made of? How are we connected? How can we nurture the world that nurtures us? By engaging the senses, sparking imagination, and translating scientific truths into lived experiences, it becomes more than an exhibition—it becomes a call to presence, empathy, and action.
Through its seamless integration of art, science, and inclusive design, YOU:MATTER embodies the spirit of the blooloop Innovation Awards’ Exhibit – Culture category: a groundbreaking, original work that immerses audiences, inspires dialogue, and leaves a lasting cultural and emotional impact.
Partners
- Marshmallow Laser Feast
- National Science and Media Museum
- Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture
