For the last fifty years, the Science and Industry Museum has told the stories of how Manchester’s innovators and entrepreneurs have changed the world. 

From its original foundation on Grosvenor Street to its re-opening on Liverpool Road in 1983, and its incorporation into the world-leading Science Museum Group in 2012, years of work by many hundreds of passionate volunteers, dedicated staff and generous supporters have created a place enjoyed by millions of people from all over the world.

Many people would say that this is a site where the modern world began. Here, you can walk through the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station and railway warehouse, crucial to the growth of Manchester as the world’s first industrial city. Star exhibits highlight how ideas born in Manchester have changed the world, from Arkwright’s water frame, which revolutionised cotton manufacturing, to ‘Baby’, the world’s first stored programme computer.

Our special exhibitions and events programmes showcase some of the world’s best contemporary science exhibitions and experiences. In recent years we’ve seen a heady mix of Robots, Tim Peake’s Soyuz capsule and Stephenson’s Rocket. We are currently showing a major exhibition. The Sun.

Forty years ago, the museum was a catalyst for the regeneration of Castlefield, the world’s first urban heritage park. Now, alongside our partners at Manchester International Festival and The Factory, we are helping to create an exciting new destination together with culture at its heart. Revolution is in our DNA.

We are restoring our internationally significant buildings to ensure we can provide our visitors with unforgettable experiences for generations to come. We are currently restoring our beautiful Power Hall, one of our best-loved galleries, and creating a new gallery for world class exhibitions. Our next projects will be to landscape our lovely outdoor spaces and create interactive galleries and learning spaces to inspire the next generation to become scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs, with ideas that will change the world.

Make sure you come and visit us!

www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk

Written by Sally Macdonald, Director of Science and Industry Museum