Last Chance: Science and Industry Museum celebrates 100 years of codebreaking with Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security

It’s the last chance to see Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum free interactive exhibition exploring 100 years of codebreaking, taking us from World War I to present day – with the last few tickets now available. The exhibition ends on 31 August.

Top Secret: From Ciphers to Cyber Security has been the first collection to take over the museum’s brand new Special Exhibitions Gallery and includes 100 different objects including World War II cipher machines, secure telephones previously owned by Prime Ministers and an encryption key once used by The Queen.

The exhibition also shines a light on the extraordinary career of Manchester icon Alan Turing and his game-changing work with teams at Bletchley Park to crack German Enigma and Lorenz cipher systems, allowing enemy messages to be read and helping to shorten the second World War. Visitors can inspect marketing materials featuring Turing related to one of the world’s first digital computers, the Ferranti Mark 1, alongside messages shared between Turing and the then-Director of Government Communications Headquarters, Eric Jones.

Curated by the Science Museum Group and advisors from the UK’s intelligence and cyber agency GCHQ, the exhibition also features interactive puzzles and first-person interviews, each chronicling the challenges of maintaining digital security in an ever-changing world. Meanwhile, kids can enjoy a specially designed trail around the building which shines a light on key people and stories from the spy world and the crucial importance of science, technology, engineering and maths skills in keeping our country safe.