Manchester’s massively-popular Science Festival has confirmed it will be making a grand return for 2024 later this year.
Fancy playing some games in the name of science, and helping to discover the key to maintaining healthy brains and bodies while you’re at it? Well, thankfully, Manchester Science Festival is back once again for 2024 – and it’s giving you the chance to do just that.
Not only is it one of the UK’s most popular science festivals, but this year, Manchester Science Festival – which is produced and staged at Manchester‘s legendary Science and Industry Museum in the heart of the city centre every other year – is offering visitors the unique opportunity to become a genuine part of history.
You’ll do this by participating in what will be the world’s largest online study into “the elusive relationship” between the brain and body.
Returning from Friday 18 – Sunday 27 October, the 2024 festival’s programme of events will “explore extremes” and give festivalgoers a shot at getting hands-on with some of science’s most cutting-edge developments, as well as delving into some of the biggest questions facing our planet.
ADVERTISEMENT
Think multi-sensory experiences, immersive performances, and so much more.
As mentioned, ahead of this year’s event, the festival has collaborated with researchers at Western University over in Canada to launch a pioneering series of online brain gamesthat will help a team of world-renowned neuroscientists to discover more about the links between physical and cognitive health.
ADVERTISEMENT
Manchester Science Festival is making a highly-anticipated return later this year / Credit: Science Museum Group
As well as being fun to take part in, each completed survey will give participants instant results and support them in learning about how their own brain functions, all while helping the neuroscientists identify activities and lifestyle habits that could improve or maintain the functioning of our brains for longer.
Anyone who signs up to the survey will have a chance to to win some Amazon vouchers, and the findings of the experiment will be explored at this year’s Manchester Science Festival.
Speaking ahead of the return of Manchester Science Festival for 2024 later this year, Sally MacDonald, who is the Director of the Science and Industry Museum, said: “We can’t wait for Manchester Science Festival’s return this October.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s a brilliant opportunity to bring together visitors of all ages and interest to be inspired by science in action, and a wonderful way to showcase Manchester’s long-standing position as a leader in progress and innovation.
Manchester Science Festival is held every other year down at the Science and Industry Museum / Credit: Science Museum Group
“We are delighted to be launching the festival with the pioneering Brain and Body study, and giving more people the unique opportunity to be part of contemporary developments in science and play a role in furthering scientific knowledge to benefit our collective future.”
The ‘Brain and Body study’ is being spearheaded by celebrated neuroscientist, Professor Adrian Owen of Western University.
If you fancy taking part in history, the survey can be completed online here using a desktop, laptop, or tablet, and takes around 75 minutes to fill in – with fun brain games and cognitive challenges all part of the process, and the results shared with you at the end.
Find out more about what to expect at this year’s Manchester Science Festival 2024 here.
Featured Image – Science Museum Group
Sponsored
Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display
Daisy Jackson
Spring has really sprung in Salford – legendary pub The Black Friar has just revealed a sensational makeover, with gigantic flowers sprawled across its frontage and a new seasonal menu to go with it.
The historic pub is celebrating the changing of the seasons with both a striking floral installation and a menu that celebrates spring and Salford in equal measure.
Most Mancs will by now have spotted the 4,000 flower-strong installation that now adorns the front of The Black Friar, with bright pink, yellow and purple flowers spilling from a gigantic pink tap.
And all those florals continue inside, with the pub’s Tavern – previously a cosy winter hideaway – now filled with trailing blooms and woodland installations, just off their award-winning garden.
Cheshire-based artist Kelly Louise Chapman is the woman behind this sensational transformation of the much-loved gastropub.
As for the pub’s kitchen, they’ve crafted a new very seasonal and very British menu, with plenty of nods to Black Friar’s Salford roots.
There are dishes like a Boddingtons braised ox cheek (the pub still proudly displays its Boddingtons sign outside), aged beef tartare, butternut squash and ricotta tortellini, and pan-roasted cod fillet.
Spring small plates at The Black Friar pubDelicious spring drinksInside The Tavern at The Black Friar
A popular item from the Valentine’s Day menu – the Cornish crab vol-au-vent – will be sticking around on the spring menu, along with an enhanced grill section that includes a lamb Barnsley chop cooked over coals.
Then for desserts, you’ll be spoilt with a banoffee knickerbocker glory, and passionfruit panna cotta.
And for drinks (because this is a pub, after all), The Black Friar has put together a range of seasonal drinks like a rose sangria sharer, and non-alcoholic sodas like kaffir lime and coconut.
Ben Chaplin, head chef at The Black Friar, said: “This new menu is all about celebrating the best of spring produce.
“We’ve carefully crafted each dish to highlight fresh, seasonal ingredients and bold flavours, adding new depth to our offerings while still delivering the comfort that will always be associated with The Black Friar.
“My top recommendation and personal favourite dish is the Slow-Cooked Boddingtons Braised Ox Cheek.”
Neil Burke, owner of The Black Friar, commented: “We wanted to bring a taste of spring to The Black Friar, inside and out. This floral installation will transform the space and bring sunshine and smiles, whatever the weather!
“My top recommendation on the new menu is the Cumbrian Spiced Lamb Scotch Egg. It’s EXCEPTIONAL.”
To find out more about The Black Friar and to book a table, visit HERE.
You can get a mobile massage treatment in your office – just like us
Thomas Melia
We’d like to introduce you to the pioneering personalised service offering massage treatments on the move at practically any location including direct from your office– including to those of us here in Manchester.
In a world where you can get practically anything delivered straight to your door, it wasn’t going to be long until some genius invented a way to get a massage from the comfort of your own office.
Named ‘London’s first digital beauty concierge’, Ruuby have been pampering the nation’s capital for almost a decade before branching out to further locations.
The gorgeous set up provided by RuubyLook at that lovely branding on the towels.They did wonders with our otherwise plain downstairs office space. (Credit: The Manc Group)
In October 2024, the company expanded beyond its domestic reach in the likes of the capital, the Cotswolds and Surrey into Europe, making its first mark Switzerland: the perfect country for both luxury and essential beauty treatments with a tailored experience.
The month following saw the group moving up North and all the way to Manchester, where people can now book professional treatments best suited to them, right on their doorstep.
If you’re feeling scepticalstill, you can take it from us here at The Manc; we couldn’t tell you how relaxing and comforting these massages are.
There are a range of treatments available and we opted for two bespoke massages, a sports massage and a deep tissue massage.
Each experience is suited to your personal needs meaning each massage therapist will be able to fine-tune their relaxation abilities to what benefits you best.
After choosing the bespoke massage that I felt would work best for me, I went into this with no prior massage experience and I came out feeling taller, broader and more refreshed. Highly recommend.
Mid-day office massage? Yes, please.How relaxing. What a shame you have to go back to work after!Credit: The Manc Group
My masseuse guided me throughout the whole process and we soon discovered that I was able to tolerate much harder pressure than I thought which helped release tension I didn’t even know I had!
The same applies to how firm you’d like your session to be, as the masseuse can help with a brief overview of your time together, but the amount of pressure you like is down to personal preference.
It’s not just massages either: there’s everything from waxing, nails and hair to physio and IV drips; how about getting Marbella ready in less than an hour with a spray tan service set up wherever you are?
As Ruuby is a mobile and remote work environment, there are a number of at any time up and down the country, meaning your next beauty slot could be as little as an hour away, find out more HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
15th January 2024 
