The Science and Industry Museum hosts a fun-filled programme of wonder throughout the Summer Holidays

Running throughout the summer holidays, the Science and Industry Museum hosts a dynamic programme of family fun and educational entertainment across its incredible galleries and exhibition spaces.

Open until 9 Jun 2024, the delightfully immersive exhibition Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You unites silliness and science in an entertaining, educational voyage through the human digestive system. Visitors can explore the wonder of our fascinating digestive process while moving through the body as a poo. Starting at the mouth, the exhibition leads tract travellers through the oesophagus, stomach and intestines, each section filled with interactive games, objects and explanations. Led by digital appearances from Dr. Chris, Dr. Xand and Dr. Ronx, the exhibition brings the hit BBC Children’s TV series to life with a captivatingly curious tour of our inner workings.

Inspired by the exhibition, the museum transforms into a Teddy Hospital with a programme of free activities from Sat 22 Jul to Sun 3 Sep. Mini-medics can bring their favourite fluffy companions and learn more about the workings of our bodies and how to take care of them, with a range of engaging activities across the Department of Bones, Department of Hearts, Department of Heads and the Department of Bottoms.

On hand to illuminate secrets of science, the museum’s expert Explainers return with a brand new interactive show packed with astonishing facts and ‘wow’ moments, as they explore our incredible human bodies and uncover the ways in which we’re all the same, but different too.

From there, kids can explore the magic of science in action in the museum’s free, permanent galleries. Families can get hands-on in Experiment, an interactive gallery for all ages in which visitors see through walls, shake hands with themselves, build towers, create glow-in-the-dark art and more. In the Textiles Gallery, families can meet the machines and people which made Manchester the first industrial city, before exploring its rich legacy of innovation in Revolution Manchester.

Open until Jan 2024, Stephen Hawking at Work offers breathtaking insight into the achievements, personality and professional life of the renowned physicist, with rare and lesser-known artefacts on display from his office, including a copy of his PhD thesis, a jacket gifted by the creators of The Simpsons and his specially adapted spectacles.

Open daily during the school holidays, and every weekend during term-time, ‘ultimate gaming experience’ Power UP welcomes players of all ages to enjoy hundreds of classic titles spanning the last five decades of gaming evolution, from early iterations of Atari to cutting-edge virtual reality systems.

Dani Bryers, Schools and Families Producer at the Science and Industry Museum, said: “We can’t wait for our visitors to turn into mini medical professionals for the day when we transform the museum into a teddy bear hospital for summer and share the amazing secrets of the human body.

“We’re celebrating our weird and wonderful inner workings with everything from a skeleton puppet to giant jigsaws all about poo. Our brand-new science show will be full of audience interaction as we champion our differences and try to find the ‘rarest person in the room’. We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors of all ages to discover more about what goes on inside all of us.”

Entry to the museum and programme of summer activities is free. Add a ticket for Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You from £9 and for Power UP from £6.

For more information on the Science and Industry Museum’s sprawling summer programme, click here.