Time bubbles, space travel and more: Manchester Science Festival’s family-friendly programme

Running for ten days from Fri 21 Oct, the Science and Industry Museum’s Manchester Science Festival features an incredible programme of family-friendly fun, exhibitions, workshops and activities throughout the half-term holiday. From immersive experiences, cutting-edge technology and climate change to humanity’s future and interstellar installations, the festival promises a diverse, fascinating itinerary for children and parents alike.

Taking place throughout the festival in the museum’s historic 1830 Warehouse, free Family Zones provide engaging, hands-on activities on the future of prosthetics, sustainability, city planning and more. In roleplay experience ‘2122 Warehouse’, climate change communications researcher Francesca Kilpatrick leads a team of time-travelling scientists, here to take visitors on a journey of discovery. They will explore how technology and nature become intertwined, with interactive research stations and the chance to handle ‘the rare materials inside our everyday tech’. In Sow the City’s ‘Carbon Supermarket’, visitors will explore future sustainable growing methods, while City of Trees and Lancashire Wildlife Trust invite you to consider various ways to help nature in your neighbourhood. Visitors can competitively beatbox against an AI, get crafty in designing a city of the future and much more.

Alongside the incredible array of Family Zones, the 1830 Warehouse hosts new interactive installation Giant Leaps. Specially commissioned for Manchester Science Festival and created by acclaimed choreographer Corey Baker, the experience invites visitors to ‘throw some shapes’ to discover how their movement influences the journeys of stars and space dust. Free to enjoy, Giant Leaps will support Baker’s ambition to work with the European Space Agency to better understand human movement in different atmospheres, with the hope of ultimately designing a dance for astronauts.

Also premiering as part of the Festival programme, world-first headline exhibition, Turn It Up: The power of music, will open on 21 October. Exploring the science of music’s mysterious hold over us and how it drives us to create, perform, feel and share, this multi-sensory exhibition will offer audiences a wealth of new experiences through specially commissioned interactive installations and immersive activities, as well as opportunities to create their own unique sounds.

Beyond the Museum, Manchester Science Festival offers captivating free events across the city. On Sat 22/Sun 23 Oct, the team from Noisy Toys take over the Arndale with Global Grooves’ Rhythmic Robots for a weekend of ‘fun, musical moments to enjoy while you shop’.

From Tue 24 Oct to Sun 30 Oct, the festival sets up at Central Library with a programme of workshops curated to explore the scientific development and direction of our city, and how we can shape it, with Future Manchester.

For the full programme of family-friendly events at Manchester Science Festival, click here.