Winter Holiday at the Science and Industry Museum

Demi Sheridan, Editorial Assistant

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Winter Holiday at the Science and Industry Museum

20 December 2025-4 January 2026

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

Boy looking at hands behind a shadow wall
Science and Industry Museum
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If you are looking for a way to brighten up your winter days this festive season, dive into a double helping of hands-on science at the Science and Industry Museum. Discover how the world works or just feed your curious mind. 

Museum technician with engine in Power Hall
Science and Industry Museum

Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery is still up and running. Soak up the sights, smells and sounds of Manchester’s industrial past. This exhibition is in its final weeks so you better go quick and see how the gallery brings to life one of the UK’s largest collections of historic engines from mill steamers to early locomotives. 

Get your hands dirty in this immersive space that invites problem-solving and discovery for all ages. Listen to the stories of the engineers and makers whose ideas powered everyday life and sparked innovation that is still part of our world today. 

Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You at the Science and Industry Museum
Science and Industry Museum

Or maybe you might be more inclined to experience something gross and wonderful first. Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You is also in its final weeks at the Science and Industry museum. This is your last chance to experience the playful, multi-sensory adventure through the human body. Have you ever wondered what’s beneath the surface of your own head? well it appears your prayers have been answered. 

Mother and daughter play with smell interactive_Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You
Science and Industry Museum

Walk through an ear canal, push your way past sticky snot and have a look inside a giant eyeball. Discover how our senses help us in exploring the world while you explore our bodies’ senses. Take part in interactive games, challenges and illusions that may just make your head fall off. 

You can also find activities that explore the science of light and illusion. Create shadowy portraits at the Sihouette station, experiment with colourful projections across the playful skyline and don’t miss the live science shows where expert Explainers attempt to challenge your perception. All at the Science and Industry Museum these Winter Holidays.

Where to go near Winter Holiday 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.

Campfield Open Day-3
Castlefield
Event venue
Campfield Market Hall

Having undergone years of transformative and restorative work, the complex will now be known as Campfield Mega Campus, Manchester’s most ambitious creative-tech destination.

Saul Hay Gallery
Manchester
Gallery
Saul Hay Gallery

Saul Hay Gallery, located one of Castlefield’s Victorian red brick buildings, is one of Manchester’s most important commercial galleries.

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: Activity

Until
Activity
The Medieval Quarter Walking Tour

Explore Manchester’s Medieval Quarter on an architect-led walking tour uncovering the city’s oldest streets, historic buildings and centuries of hidden history.

From £20.00
Love Lane Brewery Exterior
Until
TourBaltic Triangle
Love Lane & Higsons Brewery Tour Experience!

Every weekend in Liverpool’s buzzing Baltic Triangle, Love Lane Brewery invites visitors behind the scenes for an hour-long tour through its striking, industrial space. Housed in a converted rubber factory,

From £25.00
Two young visitors looking up at a banner in a case, holding pencils and an activity sheet.
Until
ActivityManchester
2025 Banner Bingo at PHM

Explore the People’s History Museum with your banner bingo card in hand as you navigate their galleries through the lens of craftivism.

Free entry
BD Walls
Until
ActivityBradford
BD Walls in Bradford

Street art takes centre stage in BD Walls, with vibrant murals transforming the city into an open-air cultural gallery.

Free entry
Get Outside with Bradford 2025: An image of a large man made pool with fountains in front of a historic building with a clock tower
Until
FestivalsBradford
Get Outside with Bradford 2025

Explore art in the moorlands, soundscapes through the glen and appreciate how the city has become totally transformed when you get outside with Bradford 2025.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Sepia image of a courtroom with the words 'Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird’
Theatre in the North

Winter brings a huge haul of seasonal shows, as well as productions that resolutely veer away from the fairy lights.

Music in the North

Manchester’s closing out the year – and looking to the new one – with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.

A performer in a bright red costume sits on a snowy stage set, holding a large snowball between their legs with a surprised expression. The colourful winter backdrop features snowflakes, hills, a snowman, and a traffic light with glowing lights.
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

Exhibitions in the North

This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Food and Drink in the North

Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.