In spite of decades of multi-phase flow research, many intriguing questions are still waiting for answers, particularly with respect to the detailed dynamics of multi-phase flows. In addition, the current shift towards multi-phase flows at smaller scales implies extra challenges in terms of spatial and temporal resolution for both experimental and computational studies. One example of experimental research, one example of a combined experimental and computational approach, and four exclusively computational studies illustrate both the challenges and the promising prospects of fundamental and applied multi-phase research. Computational studies, particularly those using the pseudo-potential lattice Boltzmann model, might provide a most suitable means for probing the details of multi-phase flow dynamics not (easily) accessible to experimental techniques.