The Sun at the Science and Industry Museum

Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor

Visit now

The Sun

20 July 2019-29 November 2020

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Science Museum Group
Book now

This blockbuster exhibition was due to close at the end of March, but has been extended until 29 November as part of the museum’s reopening programme. The Sun is now free to enter, but you do need to book a free general admission ticket to visit the Science and Industry Museum.

Certainly since the arrival of photosynthesising cells at least 2.4 billion years ago, the energy provided by sunlight has been foundational to life on Earth. It underpins our existence and has been worshipped by cultures around the world since the earliest chapters in human history. Yet today, the damage we have done to the atmosphere through mistreatment of the planet and its natural resources has led to a situation where the primary life source is also posing a threat to many species, including our own.

The Sun has been worshipped by cultures around the world since the earliest chapters in human history.

The Sun, the Science and Industry Museum’s blockbuster exhibition, orbits around our solar system’s central star, exploring it from various cultural and scientific angles. Ancient artefacts, including a Bronze Age Norse golden cup, a Byzantine sundial calendar and Nicolaus Copernicus’ treatise On The Revolutions Of The Heavenly Orbs, will sit alongside objects and scaled models of ground-breaking technology from the last 50 years, from the Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly, heralded in 1958 at the Atoms for Peace Exhibition as ‘A Sun of Our Own’, through to NASA’s Solar Orbiter, providing an insight into the international space agency’s ambitious project to fly closer to the Sun than ever before.

The Sun will also focus on the scientific and engineering community’s latest efforts to find methods of harvesting the Sun’s energy in less harmful ways and to move away from our reliance on fossil fuels; one example being the invention of photovoltaic HeliaFilm in Germany just last year. Meanwhile, a range of interactive activities will offer the opportunity to ‘try on’ sunglasses from different eras and cultures, bask on an indoor beach, pose in a giant sunbeam and experience a solar storm.

The Sun sets out to bring us as close to the star as many of us are likely to ever come.

Despite the story of over-reaching Icarus and his melting wings, humanity has never lost its fascination with the fiery celestial body that illuminates our lives. The Sun at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum sets out to bring us as close to the star as many of us are likely to ever come without getting burnt. You don’t even need sunscreen.

Where to go near The Sun at the Science and Industry Museum

Manchester
Restaurant
Teppanyaki Chinatown

A Japanese teppanyaki restaurant in the centre of Chinatown. The focus is on high-quality food with a minimum of theatrics. It doesn’t disappoint.

Manchester
Music venue
Castlefield Bowl

The Castlefield Bowl is an outdoor events pavilion in the inner city conservation area of Castlefield in Manchester. The 8000-capacity arena is often used for food festivals and music events.

Great John Street Hotel in Spinningfields in Manchester.
Castlefield
Hotel
Great John Street Hotel

A converted Victorian school house nestled on the edge of Spinningfields, the Great John Street Hotel has a relaxed and decadent atmosphere.

Castlefield
Bar or Pub
Cask

Cask is a well-loved pub on Liverpool Road in Manchester. It has an excellent selection of continental beers and a cosy beer garden.

Castlefield
Event venue
Castlefield Viaduct

Launching in summer 2022, the National Trust and Twelve Architects and Masterplanners will be bringing a new lease of life to Castlefield Viaduct.

Manchester
Restaurant
Fenix

Modern Greek Mediterranean cuisine from the team behind Tattu.

Altrincham
Shop
IDAHO

Every piece in IDAHO has something special and will guarantee to make your homes, offices and wardrobes feel a little more inspiring.

Castlefield
Theatre
Versa Manchester Studios

Formerly the Old Granada Studios, VERSA Manchester Studios is evolving into a dynamic Studio Campus with TV, Film, Motion Capture and VR / AR Studios alongside a glamorous new Soho House.

What's on: Exhibitions

The Same Deep Water as You at PINK
ExhibitionsStockport
The Same Deep Water as You at PINK

Get involved in this artistic and ambitious takeover of PINK’s three-storey venue, weaving together live performance, video, sculpture and sound.

Free entry
Wolf in Yellowstone
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Wild at Manchester Museum

Manchester Museum explores the concept of ‘wild’ nature as a means of tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis in a new exhibition.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Cinema in the North

Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

Isabel Galleymore in conversation
Literature Events in the North

There's a lot of experimentation going on in our Literature guide, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.