The Science and Industry Museum’s intergalactic exhibition Cosmic Chaos lands this February

The Science and Industry Museum has unveiled details of its upcoming ‘universe-first’ experience, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos.

Premiering in Manchester on Fri 13 Feb, the exhibition marks the first time the much-loved Horrible Science brand has been transformed into a large-scale immersive exhibition.

Inspired by the hit BBC Children’s and Education TV show and the much-loved book series by Nick Arnold and Tony De Saulles, this brand new exhibition blasts off a riotous journey through our astonishing space, where marvellous mysteries, interstellar intrigue and star-hopping surprises await.

Budding astronauts can dress the part and pose against dramatic lunar landscapes, touch a real piece of the Moon that fell to Earth as a meteorite, have a go at launching their own rockets and see remarkable objects, including flight plans from the Apollo 11 mission.

Guests will encounter a series of cosmic zones where they can walk in the shoes of astronauts, explore the Sun’s life-giving energy, marvel at mystifying moons, venture across far-off weird worlds and peer into the depths in search of extraterrestrial neighbours.

The adventure begins in the lair of evil genius, Dr Big Brain, who recruits visitors for a series of cosmic challenges as he plots total galactic domination. From there, space explorers are sucked through a wormhole and dropped into Awesome Astronauts, where life aboard the International Space Station is revealed.

Against stunning aerial images of Earth taken from space, visitors can discover how astronauts eat, sleep, work and train their bodies to cope with weightlessness. Rare star objects bring space life closer than ever, including Tim Peake’s headset from his 2015 mission, which is on display to the public for the first time, examples of real space food, and even a space toilet used by astronauts on the Soyuz-Mir spacecraft.

Next stop: the Mysterious Moon. Here, visitors explore the only place beyond Earth ever visited by humans. Familiar faces will be on hand to guide space explorers, including the Moon character from the BBC’s Horrible Science TV show, still grumpy that no one’s visited since 1972. NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, whose calculations of orbital mechanics have been fundamental in successfully launching spaceflights, will also help to navigate the Solar System.

In Sizzling Sun, a glowing zone dedicated to the star at the centre of our Solar System, Isaac Newton helps visitors grapple with gravity, solar storms and eclipses, chase solar flares, while Weird Worlds boasts a life-size model of Beagle 2, the first UK and European spacecraft to land on another planet, and a chance to programme an interplanetary rover.

Space explorers can wind down on the sensory Planet Quark and enjoy a twinkling starscape in the Cosy Crater, before diving into Dreadful Deep Space, where the most mysterious wonders from beyond the Kuiper belt are explored. Finally, shake off the space dust by visiting an alien Disco Planet, where every day is a party. It’s here that the fate of Dr Big Brain’s evil plans will be revealed, and visitors can release their own energy by dancing with the stars.

Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos opens Fri 13 Feb at the Science and Industry Museum. Tickets are £10 with family discounts available and under-threes going free. Book yours below.