BLAB was created for Forest of Imagination 2019 at the Holburne Museum, Bath, alongside a professional learning day on inclusive education and design at Three Ways School, a SEN school in Bath.

Inspired by the childhood idea of a hidden laboratory, BLAB (Bee Lab) was concealed within the museum gardens, inviting visitors to pass through a secret entrance and step into the world of bees. The installation explored the extraordinary lives of bees and their vital role within wider ecosystems, offering a glimpse into how they perceive and interact with the world around them.

The work operated as a continuous series of participatory workshops, bringing together science, art and installation. Visitors were invited to take part in hands-on experiments, puzzles and sensory encounters, encouraging learning through discovery and exploration.

The experience began along a meandering sensory pathway through a small pocket of wilderness. Surprising facts, the scent of wildflowers and recordings of bees built intrigue and curiosity before leading into a hidden clearing containing the main workshop space. Here, a series of tools and experiments invited visitors to view the same environment in unfamiliar ways.

A combination of digital and analogue approaches was used, including VR and AR headsets, UV-vision simulations, lenses and mirrors. These immersive devices encouraged visitors to consider how bees process complex sensory information, while also questioning how humans perceive the world.

Further along the path, a second clearing revealed a 3.5-metre cardboard geodesic dome. Entered by crawling inside, the structure evoked the interior of a beehive, creating a more intimate space for workshops, discussion and film screenings.