How to Be Curious Together

Crafting Unforgettable Memories Through Shared Curiosity

What if curiosity wasn’t something you did alone? What if it became the thing that brought you closer to the people you love?

When I first started my year of curious challenges, I assumed it would be a solo adventure. A midlife project. A personal stretch. But something unexpected happened along the way: people joined in. Sometimes reluctantly, sometimes enthusiastically, but often meaningfully. And it changed the whole tone of the journey. It wasn’t just about what I was learning, it became about what we were experiencing together.

And that’s where this idea comes in.

What if you made your own version of a curiosity list – as a family? Not to prove anything. Not to tick boxes. Just to try things. Together. To laugh, reflect, and reconnect in ways that don’t require big budgets or faraway adventures. Just a spirit of shared play.

Here’s how.

Why Shared Curiosity Strengthens Family Bonds

We talk a lot about quality time. But shared curiosity brings something even richer: a sense of surprise. You’re not just hanging out, you’re discovering. You’re doing things that no one in the family has done before. It shakes off routine. It sparks new conversations. And sometimes it makes you laugh, fail, or get covered in flour.

Better yet, it levels the playing field. No one’s the expert. Everyone’s just giving it a go.

Shared curiosity also teaches kids (and reminds adults) that we don’t need to be perfect. We just need to be open. The act of trying something new together becomes the thing that sticks.

Make Your Own Curious Family Plan

You don’t need to do 50 things in a year. (You can, but you really don’t have to.) Try one of these instead:

• Curious 12: One challenge a month for a year
• Curious 5 (or 4 or 3): One challenge each for everyone in the family
• Curious Summer: A short seasonal burst (perfect for school holidays)

And you don’t need rules, but it helps to:

• Keep it light
• Choose together
• Let everyone shape the experience
• Make space for silliness and surprise

Some Easy Starting Points for Families

• Try something no one has done before (cook a meal from a random country, go to a town you’ve never visited, sleep in the garden)
• Do something from a parent’s or child’s childhood (roller skating, board games, camping indoors)
• Trade places for the day (kids make the decisions, parents follow instructions)
• Learn something as a team (a few words in a new language, a dance, a DIY project)
• Host a “curiosity dinner” where everyone brings a question instead of a dish

Tips for Family Curiosity That Actually Works

• Celebrate effort, not success
• Don’t over-plan
• Take photos
• End each challenge with a quick reflection
  (What surprised you? What was the best bit?)
• Repeat the ones that made you laugh
• Give everyone a chance to lead

Curiosity Is Contagious – Especially at Home

One of the best things about doing this kind of thing together is that it builds momentum. The more you do, the more ideas you get. And the more you model curiosity, the more it rubs off on each other. You become the kind of family that tries things. Learns stuff. Makes memories.

And none of it requires a plane ticket.

Want More Ideas?

This blog is inspired by my book How to Be Curious – 50 challenges, one midlife crisis, and a very patient family. You can follow along on Instagram @iamalanarose or subscribe to the podcast how to be curious, where I talk to people who’ve said yes to bold experiments, late-life adventures, and achieved extraordinary things.

Got a family curiosity list? Share it using #CuriousTogether. I’d love to see what you try.

Because sometimes the most powerful way to be curious… is together.