From taking a journey around the human body, to discovering the birth of computing, and more, there’s so much happening Science and Industry Museum this February half term.
If you’re looking for some science-filled fun and discovery when the schools are out in Greater Manchester from Saturday 12 to Sunday 27 February, then one of the city’s most-loved museums is giving you the chance to explore a whole host existing exhibitions and take part in some exiting experiments during the holidays.
Here’s everything you can be getting up to.
___
Exhibitions
Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope
ADVERTISEMENT
One of the most-popular exhibitions currently at the museum is the Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope, which the first “major object-rich exhibition” to reveal the past, present and future of how cancer is prevented, detected and treated.
Through never-before seen objects and stories, cutting edge treatment and research, reflection, new artist commissions and installations, film, photography, interactive exhibits and a breadth of personal stories, the museum says the exhibition will present the stories of people affected by cancer and those who study and treat it.
You can discover the fascinating science behind our bodies through activities especially created to mark this world-first exhibition, as the museum’s team of Explainers will be presenting activities that reveal some of the different ways we can see inside our bodies at ‘Science Stops’ across the museum every day.
There’ll be everything from microscopes and magnets, to high-tech cameras, and the chance to make a model cell badge to take away.
The charming final work of one of Britain’s best loved artists, sculptors, and famed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang creator, Rowland Emett, is now on display in Manchester for the first time in the museum’s Textiles Gallery until April.
Constructed in 1984, the unique moving sculpture named – which is named ‘A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley’ – was saved for the UK after being purchased for the Science Museum Group Collection with support from Art Fund, the Science Museum Foundation, the Friends of the National Railway Museum and private donors, and visitors are now able to see two scenes from the work of art telling the story of a journey aboard the imaginary ‘Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway,’ based on one of his cartoons.
A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley / Credit: Science and Industry Museum
The two scenes – Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway, featuring the ‘Wild Goose’ locomotive, and Oyster Creek – will come to life twice a day at 11.30am and 2pm to treat visitors to the “whirring of cogs and characters toasting teacakes and diving”, while also revealing what this whimsical sculpture has in common with the museum’s thundering textiles machinery.
During the Revolution Manchester Show, the museum’s expert Explainers put on an action-packed show that tells the story of how science met industry right here in Manchester, building our world and shaping our lives today.
ADVERTISEMENT
You can discover Manchester’s role as a nerve centre of the Industrial Revolution, be amazed by the power of steam as you learn how it powered cotton factories and transport on the world’s first passenger and goods railway, and find out how Manchester continues to drive change, from computing to cutting edge scientific research.
The Textiles Gallery & Experiment / Credit: Science and Industry Museum
Experiment
Experiment is a favourite with families, and it’s where science is brought to life through a series of interactive exhibits – including staring into the mirror of infinity, finding out if you’ve got the strength to lift a Mini, and watching your own skeleton ride a bicycle.
In case you didn’t know, the Science and Industry Museum is currently going through a multi-million pound restoration programme, which means some areas including the Power Hall remain closed to the public – but don’t worry though, as there’s still plenty for families to do, see and enjoy during the holidays.
You can find out more about everything happening at the Science and Industry Museum this February half term, and grab tickets here.
Featured Image – Science and Industry Museum
Sponsored
Parents in Greater Manchester say friendship is one of school’s most valuable lessons
Daisy Jackson
Some of the most valuable lessons that children learn in school are friendship and confidence, Greater Manchester parents have revealed.
It’s been revealed thanks to new research conducted by the Department for Education.
The data has found that 82% of local parents believe school has improved their child’s confidence, with a similar number (79%) believing that the social skills developed at school have also positively influenced behavior at home.
Parents also say that making friends is one of school’s most valuable lessons, with more than four in five (83%) saying that child’s school friendships extend beyond the classroom. This is helping to boost confidence and a sense of belonging for young people.
Reflecting on their own early years, more than two thirds (69%) of parents in Greater Manchester said their school years were the best years of their lives, and two thirds (66%) are still in touch with friends from school.
The Department for Education has found that 88% of parents believe children learn valuable social skills at school, well beyond traditional subjects and education.
The top five lessons gained at school are, according to parents, making friends (52%), confidence (50%), teamwork (48%), respect (42%) and problem solving (40%).
But school absence can really impact a child’s opportunity to learn and develop these social skills and life lessons, making the transition from school to the rest of life more difficult.
Which is why five high-performing schools in Greater Manchester have been selected by the Department for Education to run Attendance and Behaviour hubs.
Parents in Greater Manchester say friendship is one of school’s most valuable lessons
These are networks of schools that will share effective practice on attendance and behavior through collaboration, supporting thousands of children and families by working with other schools in the area to identify absence early, build strong routines, and create positive environments.
It’s hoped that this support-first approach will help schools to understand the barriers that stop children from attending school, and put plans in place to help overcome them.
The five local schools running Attendance and Behaviour Hubs will be among 93 hub schools nationally, which have capacity to support more than 3000 schools each year.
Kersty, a local parent in Greater Manchester, said: ”My daughter really struggled with anxiety and wasn’t able to go to school for a while.
“We got in touch with our local council attendance support team who were so supportive and they directed me to an attendance course to help support my child’s return to school.
“We take things one day at a time and she’s now starting to settle into the school routine, speak to other children, and make friends.
“From my experience, I’ve found that school is about a lot more than just classes, it’s where children gain important social skills. They learn how to make friends, sort out the little fallouts, and feel like they’re part of something.”
Other curriculum reforms coming into action from September 2028 will include an expanded curriculum with more focus on areas like arts, sport, digital skills and financial literacy.
Children will have more regular opportunities for enrichment activities like sport, arts, outdoor learning and community activities.
Schools will also provide clearer information about progress, behaviour and at-home support for parents, plus will identify learning or wellbeing issues to provide earlier support for children who struggle.
And mainstream schools will improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) so more pupils can succeed alongside their peers.
To find out more about the hubs and the government’s wider reforms to support belonging at school, head HERE.
Hordes of people dressed as giant poos run through Manchester for bowel cancer awareness
Danny Jones
If you happened to be in town on Thursday and noticed a bunch of people dressed as giant poos running through the city centre and wondered, ‘What the hell is going on?’, it was this…
We know Manchester has a serious case of the runs, what with the annual Marathon and Great Manchester race, both just around the corner (one literally just next week), but this takes the cake.
On a more heartfelt note, although there is an obvious and innate silliness to this now annual get-together, it’s all for a very important and worthwhile cause.
Uniting for a fourth time, the Pall Mall Medical team (along with a couple of us here at The Manc) are hoping to flush out the stigma and silence surrounding bowel cancer awareness.
Credit: The Manc Group
Starting from Pall Mall’s very own clinic on King St, more than 105 runners laced up their shoes and popped on emoji suits, toilet costumes, daft poo hats and more for a 5k jog around the city centre alongside local run club, Blaze.
They even tried to make the route in the shape of a poo, too.
Why such a specific number, you ask? Well, that’s the exact number of people who are sadly diagnosed with bowel cancer across the North West every single week.
It’s an alarming statistic, but once you pair it with the fact that they make up the rising number of new cases being reported in the country – more than a whopping 41,000 each year – you can see why they’re desperate to get more people talking about the disease.
Moreover, the rate among under 50s has also seen a concerning rise since the 90s, but this also means that the earlier it’s caught, the better people like Pall Mall can help with treatment.
The sooner it’s spotted, the greater the chance of survival, with 90% of those diagnosed at the earliest possible stage surviving for five years or more; that’s why these lot are hoping to better the discourse around bowel-related issues.
Besides offering important scans and blood tests for numerous health conditions, they also boast the dedicated and revolutionary ColoAlert® testing service, which is a German import that’s more accurate (around 85%) and effective than most others here in the UK.
It has quite literally proved to be a life-changing bit of kit for so many, and for Pall Mall’s Dr Chun Tang, this whole initiative has a deep personal connection.
Having sadly lost his father to the illness, as well as his brother being diagnosed with bowel cancer, he knows all too well how important increasing the conversation is – bowel cancer being the second biggest killer in the UK after lung conditions.
Even before you book in a check-up, Dr Tang says it’s simple to spot noteworthy signs at home: “Any blood in the stools, streaks in your poo, on the pan or on the paper; any changes in your digestion such as diarrhoea, constipation and [continued] fatigue, then see your GP or come visit us at Pall Mall.”
Best of all, the money raised with the latest ‘Poo Protest’ all goes towards Bowel Cancer UK, so well done to everyone involved.
For once, we couldn’t be happier to hear so many people talking sh**.
Throughout April, Pall Mall are offering £75 off the ColoAlert® Bowel Cancer stool test, and 20% off the Virtual Colonoscopy in Aprilo. To find out more about the event and book an appointment, you can click right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
4th February 2022 
