Manchester Science Festival 2022

Always a highlight of our cultural calendar, we’re delighted that the Manchester Science Festival is back with 10 days of fun, discovery and entertainment for audiences of all ages. Running at the Science and Industry Museum and in venues across the city from 21-30 October, this year’s instalment comes with a packed programme of world premieres, inspiring experiences and entertaining events, all exploring one of life’s most crucial questions: ‘What does the future hold for humanity?’.

The Festival’s headline events include some world firsts. The exhibition, Turn It Up: The Power of Music, is an interactive experience that explores the science of music’s mysterious hold over us, and how it drives us to create, perform, feel and share. Another world premiere comes in the form of a fun-loving journey through the galaxy with acclaimed choreographer Corey Baker, who is on a mission to create the first dance in space with an out-of-this-world immersive experience called Giant Leaps. And for adults only, head down for a cheeky after-hours event that pulls back the covers on the Future of Sex – an exploration of the ways technology and education are creating a future that fantasies are made of.

There’s also plenty of family fun to be had, with the museum’s iconic 1830 Warehouse giving visitors of all ages 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. You can also compete against a prosthetic counterpart in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, take part in a beatbox battle against a musical AI, and discover the surprising material that could be growing beneath your feet with the team from Sow the City.

There’s so much action at this year’s Festival that it can’t all be contained within the Science and Industry Museum. Central library will be playing host to a week of family fun and hands-on activities exploring how science is shaping the future of Manchester. Over at The Arndale, meanwhile, the Festival will be popping up with fun, musical moments that investigate how technology and music can come together to create the sounds of the future.

With a packed 10 days in store, there’s much more waiting to be discovered in the Festival’s full programme. Take a look via the ‘Find out more’ button below.