Textiles, gaming and innovation: the Science and Industry Museum hosts a hands-on summer

Between the sixteen-month-long gaming extravaganza, a brand new interactive installation exploring Manchester’s textiles heritage and the jaw-dropping Amazônia exhibition, the new season’s diverse events slate at the Science and Industry Museum continues to provide families with memorable summer holidays without the four-hour airport queues.

From Sat 23 July to Sun 4 September, the museum’s historic 1830 Warehouse becomes Textile City, wherein guests are invited to create moving mechanisms to support modern-day textiles production, meet the local makers sustaining Manchester’s foundational industry, discover the origins of ‘Cottonopolis’ and explore the ways in which the first industrially-produced fabrics are woven into the Mancunian identity. Over six weeks, visitors can check out dozens of free one-off workshops like ‘Create A Creature’ and ‘Drag Queen Design’ or recreate the city’s skyline as part of artist Jenny Steele’s immersive new project, while the expert team of Explainers are on hand as usual with daily drop-in activities, including designing your own textile transport vehicles, producing your own print designs and developing a range of stitching skills.

Taking place every day during the summer holiday, and every term-time weekend until the end of 2023, Power UP allows visitors to play the best video game titles from the last fifty years across over a hundred consoles, from the first Atari to the PS5 and latest-gen virtual reality systems, alongside a new section on the developers nurturing Manchester’s fledgling gaming industry. While younger players are welcome to showcase their mastery of familiar modern platforms, the event is a celebration of cross-generational fun in which parents can introduce kids to the boundless fun of their primitive childhood favourites whilst a selection of Noughties classics bridges the divide. Tickets are just £6, with family discounts available.

Elsewhere, the museum’s Textiles Gallery paints a vivid picture of how cotton transformed Manchester into an urban metropolis. See everything from world-changing innovations to surprising, everyday objects. Visitors can explore Manchester’s rich legacy of industrial innovations, including one of the first Rolls-Royce motorcars and a functional replica of Baby, the first computer to store and run a programe, as part of the Revolution Manchester gallery. Following a comprehensive revamp, the family-favourite Experiment Gallery now features a thermal camera, magnetic art and a shadow wall, while Sebastião Salgado’s heart-stirringly sublime Amazônia exhibition continues until 14 August.