Manchester Science Festival 2024
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
Always a highlight of our cultural calendar, we’re delighted that the biennial Manchester Science Festival returns with 10 days of fun, discovery and entertainment for audiences of all ages. Running at the Science and Industry Museum and across the city from 18-27 October, the 2024 edition explores some of our planet’s most pressing questions. Expect a packed programme of fun, family-friendly daytime activities and adults-only evening events spanning never-seen-before installations, live performances and interactive adventures.
Driving exploration around nature, human capability and creativity, the festival’s headline events include some world firsts. The exhibition, State of Mind, is a large-scale installation exploring the impact of smartphones, apps and media on our lives and minds. Created by innovative purveyors of light, sound and technology, Squidsoup, this vibrant, playful interactive audio-visual experience invites visitors to dive inside the human brain. Inspired by the work of artist Piet Mondrian, participants will be invited to sit, stand, walk and explore the installation as they reflect on the effect of daily technology use on mood and behaviour.
The thrilling opening night of Manchester Science Festival sees STEM champion, social entrepreneur and computer scientist, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon sit down with Libby Jackson OBE, the UK Space Agency’s Head of Space Exploration, to discuss AI and space exploration. Expect a captivating interactive forum debating the potential utilisation of AI in space and how the realms of science fiction could become reality.
Following on from this opening discussion, over-18s can book their ticket to the Cosmic Quiz on 19 October, happening as part of the festival’s AI-themed weekend of events. Expect an intergalactic evening of pop-up performances, laid-back cosmic vibes and surprise rounds. Plus, the museum are hosting an adults-only after-hours event on 26 October where you can experience the festival’s attractions alongside gaming fun in Power Up, special exhibition Injecting Hope, demonstrations, the premiere of a new work by Venture Arts and a pop-up bar with its very own AI-created cocktails.
Elsewhere around the museum for the duration of the festival, there’s plenty of family fun to be had too. Head to the iconic 1830 Warehouse where there will be a variety of ‘Activity Zones’, allowing visitors of all ages the opportunity to get hands-on with an array of workshops hosted by the Royal Society, Natural History Museum, National Graphene Institute and more. There’s also a specially curated interactive installation in the Learning Studio where everybody can find out more about the relationship between colour and emotion through hands-on fun and creative challenges. Additionally, the littlest explorers can settle down for a special STEM-inspired BBC CBeebies Bedtime Story, told by CBeebies House presenters and a constellation of special guests.
There’s so much action at this year’s festival that it can’t all be contained within the Science and Industry Museum. Over at Manchester Arndale, a giant eight-legged articulated artwork is set to roam free over the weekend of 19-20 October. Get ready to be terrified and enchanted by Tim Davies’ jaw-dropping Arachnobot, a dynamic spider puppet with a complex cable skeleton and inflatable skin – a fun and educational spectacle – perfectly showcasing the intersection of art and technology. The huge walkabout attraction will be accompanied by a web of free spider-related science activities too.
Meanwhile, over at the Sure Start Centre in Harpurhey, Malandra Jacks and Mindful Mums join forces to present Maternal Instinct, an interactive, pop-up installation examining motherhood and mental health.
With a packed 10 days in store, there’s so much waiting to be discovered – do check out the full Manchester Science Festival programme.
