Review: Science and Industry Museum exhibition The Sun explores the history of our closest star

Sunshine isn’t always a guarantee in Manchester – but it is at the Science and Industry Museum. Their new exhibition The Sun takes visitors on a guided tour of the history behind humanity’s long-standing relationship with our closest star via a series of artefacts, interactive displays and audio-visual installations. The gallery starts by taking you back to the beginning – detailing the ways in which ancient civilisations interacted and regarded our solar system’s main light source. Centuries old tools and objects illustrate how the Egyptians regarded the Sun as a point of worship, before a collection of authentic and replica sun dials tell us how burgeoning societies used the power of the sun’s rays to accurately tell time. Through an interactive projection, attendees can view sunrises from a variety of locations and times, and as the exhibition continues to explain how our continued understanding of the sun led to advances in medicine and science, viewers can kick back and relax to a selection of soothing seaside sounds in the space’s bright and breezy makeshift beach.

Shedding light on all areas of the sun’s role here on Earth, the Science and Industry Museum team move on the teach us about potential risks posed by its harmful rays and the ways in which science has combated these issues. From here, we look to the future and how scientists have tried to harness its power to further mankind. An authentic Tokamak fusion device shows us how engineers have attempted to build an artificial sun here on Earth, while the inclusion of one of President Jimmy Carter’s solar panels, which he had installed on the roof of The White House during his presidency, hit home the importance of our leaders and their responsibility to pioneer a new path in promoting green energy. To round things out, the exhibition invites you to view the sun up-close by watching an eight-minute video that highlights its raw power and just how much we’re yet to understand about our local giver of light and life. All in all, The Sun exhibition is an informative and eye opening look at something we’re forever tied to whilst highlighting just how much more there’s still to discover about this all important star. Explore the exhibition for yourself at The Science and Industry Museum until Sunday 29 March. Tickets are available from just £8 for adults and £6 concessions, with children going free with a paying adult. There’s even free activity sheets available on arrival.