Pop-up bars, speed dating with leading scientists, 3D imaging and more – Manchester Museum’s late night event is a fun, free and just a little bit geeky.

Ever wanted to know what a piece of the moon looks like up close? Or meet the first frog to have its genome mapped? Or perhaps you’d be keen on speed dating with some of the country’s leading researchers. For Manchester Museum’s next late night opening, Science Uncovered, there’s all this and more: on Friday 25 September 50 leading scientists will be descending on the building for an event that’s part of the European Researchers’ Night and in partnership with the Natural History Museum. There will be workshops and discussions, research stations, flash talks and performance – and, best of all, it’s completely free.

50 leading scientists will be descending on the building for a one-off late night event

Science Uncovered is a unique chance to delve deeper into science on an evening out: you can go on a behind the scenes tour of the museum, hear spotlight talks on how we can have so many bacteria in our bodies and not get sick, plus, you know, the history of the earth in three minutes – and even make a bracelet based on the structure of graphine. There will be a performance of the Circuit Bent Orchestra, a trio of electro-experimentalists who produce their sound entirely from well-loved childhood toys, as well as pop-up bars, and a fantastic chance to see Manchester Museum’s incredible new facility, The Study, in action.

Perhaps most unusual of all, Science Uncovered is an exclusive chance to meet curators and researchers from organisations including Chester Zoo and Liverpool John Moores University, who’s research ranges from mummified animals to meteorites. There will also be a trailblazer event for the museum’s next major exhibition Gifts for the Gods: Animal Mummies Revealed. So, to finally hear the answer to your most burning science-y question (how do we understand the chemistry of a T-rex’s teeth, for instance) as well as have a rather remarkable night out, head to Manchester Museum this Friday.