Futuristic fun was unveiled for Manchester Science Festival on Wednesday 19 October 2022, featuring world first experiences including headline exhibition Turn It Up: The power of music and a journey through the galaxy with acclaimed choreographer Corey Baker. The Manchester Science Festival which returns from Friday 21 – Sunday 30 October 2022 will celebrate science, reveal wonder and inspire innovation through world premiere events and experiences, immersive performances, after-hours amusement and interactive activities. Through its packed line-up, the festival promises 10 days of fun, discovery and entertainment as it explores one of life’s most crucial questions, ‘what does the future hold for humanity?’.
Highlights include world-first headline exhibition, Turn It Up: The power of music, which will explore the science of music’s mysterious hold over us and how it drives us to create, perform, feel and share. Premiering at the festival before embarking on a national and international tour, 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. Visitors can also explore never-before-seen musical inventions, hear first-hand accounts from renowned musicians and uncover cutting-edge research, all with the aim of discovering the science behind music and what the future holds for melody making.
Audiences can get involved in another world premiere as they join acclaimed choreographer, Corey Baker, on his mission to create the first dance in space with an out-of-this-world immersive experience, Giant Leaps. Festivalgoers will see themselves and their movements transported to outer space, where they can influence the journeys of stars and space dust as they float through the cosmos. This fun, playful experience has been specially commissioned for Manchester Science Festival and will support Corey’s ambition of working with the European Space Agency to understand how humans’ movements are impacted by different atmospheres, with the ultimate ambition of designing a dance for astronauts. Set against an immersive backdrop of our galaxies, this interactive experience will also encourage visitors to view earth from a different perspective, appreciating its vulnerability and the need for humans to work together creatively to protect it.
FUTURISTIC FUN
The museum’s iconic 1830 Warehouse will be a hive of futuristic fun for people of all ages throughout the festival, giving visitors the opportunity to play with the technologies and explore the ideas shaping the future of our cities and communities.
Families won’t want to miss the opportunity to welcome time travellers from the year 2122 during an interactive Live Action Role Play (LARP) experience led by climate change communications researcher, Francesca Kilpatrick. Inspired by the past, present and future of the 1830 Warehouse, visitors can meet fictional scientists from the future and be taken on a journey of discovery to reveal how technology and nature will change over the next 100 years.
Compete against a prosthetic counterpart in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors when joining the HandBuild HandAssess Project at the University of Salford, supported by a Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious Award, to investigate the future of prosthetics. Visitors can also use their own muscles to control a robotic hand and discover if this technology could catch up with the capabilities of real-life limbs, or take part in a beatbox battle against a musical AI and explore what life on other planets might sound like with the University of Manchester’s NOVARS research centre.
We’ve all seen tables created from wood and chairs woven from wicker, but have you heard of furniture made from fungus? Join Sow the City to explore what our future cities, homes and belongings might be made from as they reveal the ‘biomaterials’ that could be used in sustainable manufacturing of the future. Or take part in their interactive Carbon Supermarket challenge to see how to make healthier choices for the planet. Sow the City will also be on hand to offer tips on how to grow sustainable food for the future, helping visitors to reduce their carbon footprints even further.
For those wanting to get closer to nature, City of Trees will be uncovering the role trees play in helping to reduce the effects of the climate crisis and helping families to get hands-on in supporting the green revolution by planting, taking home and nurturing saplings of their own. Budding conservationists can also discover how to keep nature in their neighbourhoods thriving in future eco-systems with Lancashire Wildlife Trust or create an entirely new city of the future through craft activities with STEM ambassadors.
Amazon will be running a series of drop-in workshops and interactive experiments. Whether it’s using technology to clean up our future world, exploring the real-life impact of robotics or discovering just how far virtual assistants can help us, innovators of tomorrow will be inspired by tech and entrepreneurial expertise.
Ella Wild, Head of Festival and Events at the Science and Industry Museum, said:
“We’re so excited that Manchester Science Festival is returning for a full-scale, live event in October. As a highlight of Manchester’s cultural calendar, it marks a welcome milestone in the city’s cultural recovery but most important of all, it’s a wonderful opportunity for visitors to get hands on with some of science’s most cutting-edge developments while exploring their own ideas and visions for the future.
“We’re working with some incredible partners to give people of all ages, interests and abilities the opportunity to explore science that relates to them. From music to robotics and dance to wildlife, this year’s festival is chance for visitors to play, create and discover as they immerse themselves in some really forward-thinking science and technology. We hope they leave the festival feeling entertained, inspired and hopeful about what the future holds for humanity.”
Manchester Science Festival is supported by Amazon (Principal Sponsor) University of Salford (Lead Educational Partner) Waters Corporation (Major Sponsor), PPG (Major Partner) and AIG (Associate Sponsor).
Tickets for Manchester Science Festival, including Turn It Up: The power of music, are now available to book online (scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk).
For full details about the Festival line up, visit www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/manchestersciencefestival
About the Science & Industry Museum
The Science and Industry Museum tells the story of where science met industry and the modern world began. Manchester was one of the first global industrial cities, and its epic rise, decline and resurrection has been echoed in countless other cities around the world.
The museum’s mission is to inspire all its visitors, including future scientists and inventors, with the story of how ideas can change the world, from the industrial revolution to today and beyond.
The Science and Industry Museum site is on the site of the Liverpool Road Station terminus of the Liverpool Manchester Railway, the world’s first purpose-built passenger railway. Among its internationally significant buildings are the world’s first passenger railway station and the oldest existing railway goods warehouse. In total there are two Grade I listed buildings and four Grade II listed buildings on the site.
The museum is currently undergoing a multi-million-pound regeneration project that will see brand new spaces opened and significant improvements made to some of its best-loved galleries.
The Science and Industry Museum is part of the Science Museum Group, a family of museums which also includes the Science Museum in London; the National Railway Museum in York and Shildon; and the Science and Media Museum in Bradford. The Science Museum Group is devoted to the history and contemporary practice of science, medicine, technology, industry and media. With five million visitors each year and an unrivalled collection, it is the most significant group of museums of science and innovation worldwide.
About the Manchester Science Festival
Manchester Science Festival immerses visitors in the fascinating world of contemporary innovations and shines a light on future developments that have the potential to change our world. It attracts visitors from across the country, welcoming over 1 million people over the last decade.
This year, the theme is ‘Future Human’. Manchester Science Festival will offer the people of Greater Manchester and beyond opportunities to take part in live, interactive events and world premieres, get hands on with some of science’s most cutting-edge developments while exploring some of the biggest questions facing humanity.
Manchester Science Festival is produced by the Science and Industry Museum, part of the Science Museum Group, It shares a vision to inspire audiences through innovation with Bradford Science Festival, which is produced by fellow Science Museum Group site the National Science and Media Museum.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalised recommendations, Prime, Fulfilment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon.
For more information, visit aboutamazon.co.uk and follow @AmazonNewsUK.
About The University of Salford
The University of Salford is located in the heart of Greater Manchester. We have almost 30,000 students, 2,000 staff and a global community of over 170,000 alumni.
The results of REF 2021 confirmed that 78% of the research carried out at Salford is rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.
We pioneer exceptional industry partnerships leading the way in real world experiences by preparing students for life.
We work with industry to co-create the curriculum producing job-ready graduates primarily in health & well-being, engineering, digital and the creative sectors.
We are continuing to invest in our campus and facilities with a £300 million masterplan that will make us fit for the future.
For further information: www.salford.ac.uk
Research at The University of Salford: www.salford.ac.uk/research
About PPG: We protect and beautify the world®
At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty materials that our customers have trusted for nearly 140 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 75 countries and reported net sales of $16.8 billion in 2021. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.