Membership upgrade policy

Membership upgrade and switchover policy

1.    Purpose

This policy outlines the process, eligibility criteria, and conditions under which ticket holders can upgrade to membership, or under which members can switch their membership option. 

It aims to ensures a fair, transparent, and consistent approach for all of our visitors and members.

Whilst every best effort has been made to create a new membership scheme that is as flexible, inclusive and affordable as possible, there will be some occasions when we might not be able to provide you with the exact membership package that you require.

2.    Scope

This policy applies to 

• Ticket holders looking to upgrade their ticket to membership
• All active members enrolled in the membership programme, this includes
  • Members that signed up to our old membership scheme, before 1 July 2026
  • Members that signed up to our new membership scheme, 1 July 2026 onwards

3.    Definitions & membership types

Definitions

Membership types

4.    Membership packages & auto-renewals

New membership scheme

You’ll be able to select from pre-determined membership packages:

• Adult
• 1 adult, 1 child
• 2 adults
• 1 adult, 2 chid
• Group 4 (max 2 adults)
• Group 5 (max 3 adults)

Standard and concession options are available.

Old membership scheme

It was possible to build your own membership package, self-selecting as many adult and child memberships as you needed. 

Standard and concession options were available.

Auto-renewals

If you are an active member on our old membership scheme and pay by direct debit, where possible we’ll switch you over to an equivalent membership level that still provides you with the same access. 

In most cases your membership will renew onto our new peak membership product. The overall cost will increase slightly (around 15%), but you’ll also access new benefits.

As we’re no longer able to support annual direct debits, we’ll switch you over to monthly direct debit if this applies to you. 

The below table shows the most popular levels available on both our old and new membership schemes, and how they map across to each other. 

Where it isn’t possible to move you over to an equivalent membership level, we’ll be in touch to recommend that you sign up for a different level. 

In some cases, we may recommend that your group splits across two memberships, for example a group of 4 adults would now need to purchase 2 x 2 adult memberships.

At the moment we’re unable to provide membership for groups larger than 5. We’re working hard to make this happen and hope to have it ready very soon.

Eligibility

For ticket upgrade

All paying ticket holders from 1 July 2026 onwards are able to upgrade their ticket to membership and only pay the difference in price, choosing between:

• peak or off-peak membership
• standard or concession membership (we’ll ask for your concession status)
• paying the balance up front in full, or splitting the balance across 12 monthly direct debit payments

For membership switchover

Members may switch their membership if:

• Their membership is due for renewal, i.e. at the end of the 12-month term
• They hold an active off-peak membership and want to switch to peak membership
• They’ve been auto-renewed from standard membership onto peak membership, and they’d like to switch to off-peak membership. This must be done within 14 days
• They have no outstanding payments or breaches of terms
• We have sufficient alternative membership types available (they are subject to availability – see ‘restrictions’).

Process & transition

To upgrade your ticket to membership, a ticket holder needs to contact our team within seven days of their visit:

• The quickest, easiest way to do this is in person at the front desk on the day of your visit.
• You can also get in touch by email or phone, quoting your ticket order number, after your visit. Please bear in mind that it may take us 2-3 days to process your request.
• It’s currently not possible to upgrade your ticket yourself online.

To switch your membership to a different product you’ll need to:

• Respond to email prompts if your membership is up for renewal
• Contact our team if your membership is outside of renewal

Upgrades and switchovers take effect immediately, subject to payment, so you’ll be able to begin enjoying benefits associated with your new membership straight away.

Switchovers that happen mid-cycle will be in effect for the remainder of your original membership period.

Fees & payments

Ticket holders upgrading to membership: 

• must pay the difference between their ticket value and membership value.
• this can be done as a one-off payment up front, or you can spread the cost with monthly direct debit.

Members switching from standard membership or off-peak membership to peak membership, outside of their renewal window:

• must pay the difference between their old membership type value and new membership type value
• this can be done as a one-off payment up front, or you can split the cost across your remaining direct debit payments

Old membership types that been auto-renewed onto our new membership scheme have the right to switch from peak membership to off-peak membership within 14 days. 

• In this scenario we will adjust your direct debit payments to reflect your new membership type.

We The Curious reserves the right to:

• Run general and targeted promotions, including discounts, to incentivise upgrades, switchovers and renewals
• Modify pricing or structure with notice. Any changes will be clearly communicated to you and will only come into effect upon renewal

Restrictions

• Switches from peak to off-peak membership are only possible at renewal. They are not possible part way through the year
• Certain promotional or discounted memberships may not be eligible for switchovers
• Switches cannot be reversed once processed (unless within a specified cooling-off period, see below)
• From time to time we may need to limit availability of either our peak or off-peak membership to safely manage venue capacity and provide a high-quality visitor experience.

Terms and conditions

Key terms that relate to this policy include:

Timely payment of fees

Save for memberships cancelled during the 14-day cooling off period (see below), all tickets, membership payments, fees, and donations are non-refundable.

We The Curious are a charity (registered charity number 1049954). We do not receive any regular government funding and are heavily reliant on ticket income, membership and donations. All failed payments have a direct impact on our finances as a charity.

Members are responsible for ensuring membership fees are paid. If direct debit payments are missed, we reserve the right to pause or deactivate your membership. 

Cancellation of memberships - cooling-off period

You have the right to cancel your membership during the 14 day period after the membership agreement is entered into (the cooling-off period), if any of the following apply:

• You purchased membership online, by email or over the phone
• You were automatically renewed from our old standard membership product onto our new peak membership product
• You were automatically renewed from an annual direct debit to monthly direct debit.

The right to cancel during the cooling off period will be lost if any part of the membership services are provided before the end of the cooling off period and you expressly requested that We The Curious provide those services, for example, by visiting We The Curious or the planetarium.

For full terms and conditions please visit Membership terms and conditions.

Contact our team

If you have any questions about this policy, or your membership package, we’re happy to help:

Email: membership@wethecurious.org

Phone: 0117 915 1000 (9am-4.30pm, Mon-Sat)