What’s your party animal? A risky rabbit? A persuadable panda? An abstinent armadillo? Come and find out at the oddest party around and join health behaviour researchers to discover how everything from your genes to the shape of your glass can have an invisible effect on the choices that you make.
Party Animals is an interactive experience exploring the factors that influence health behaviour. The project was developed by Einstein’s Garden in collaboration with scientists from the University of Bristol.
Players entered a bizarre funhouse of party games, each revealing a different way that our health behaviour is affected by our genes, our biology, our social context or our environment.
Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink showed how the size and position of items of food can affect what we choose to eat. Balancing Act showed how difficult we find it to judge the volume of differently shaped containers, meaning that we drink at different speeds depending on the shape of our glass. And It’s All in the Genes showed how with some things it’s just the luck of the draw whether you are genetically susceptible to certain kinds of health behaviour.
I think it’s made me more interested to learn how subtle things can impact things that are way bigger.
– Party Animals audience member, Green Man 2017
The results of each party game were in the form of different animals such as a Persuadable Panda or an Oblivious Ostrich, a Perfectly Pouring Pelican, or a Badly Judging Badger and a Risky Rabbit or a Cautious Crab. Players received stamps from each game making up their unique party animal.
I didn’t realise that there was anything genetic involved in smoking at all, or the idea that it might be something that’s influenced by your genes, I thought it was entirely cultural.
– Party Animals audience member, Green Man 2017
Party Animals was supported by Wellcome as part of a three-year award experimenting with new approaches to creative science engagement. It was first presented in Einstein’s Garden at Green Man 2017.
Party Animals was produced by Einstein’s Garden in collaboration University of Bristol scientists and Make Shift.
