Manchester Museum absolutely knocked out of the park on its reopening week, with a whopping 52,000 people paying a visit.
In case you hadn’t heard, Manchester Museum had been closed for around 18 months while it underwent a £15 million transformation project – but it officially reopened on Saturday 18 February, and has been showing off its modern new two-storey extension, revamped cafe and gift shop, and brand new exhibition spaces ever since.
It looks like Mancs have clearly missed the cultural institution too, with the reopening weekend seeing thousands rushing down to check out its new look over the weekend.
And now, it’s been revealed that the total visitor numbers for the first week was an impressive 52,000.
Manchester Museum saw a massive 52,000 people visit during its opening week / Credit: Manchester Museum
The museum’s director, Esme Ward, previously said she was “an emotional wreck” after seeing the now-viral scenes of people queueing down the streets to get in.
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“Manchester, you’re amazing” she added on Twitter.
Having first opened in 1890, and housed inside a neo-Gothic building designed by Alfred Waterhouse, Manchester Museum is one of the largest university museums in the country.
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Inside its doors, the popular attraction has more than 4.5 million objects from natural sciences and human cultures.
The transformation of Manchester Museum has been supported by UK Government through DCMS and Arts Council England, and by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The University of Manchester, and numerous philanthropic supporters.
New spaces inside the museum now include a brand new Exhibition Hall, which has opened with the blockbuster exhibition Golden Mummies of Egypt, and is filled with more than 100 objects and eight mummies, as well as the new South Asia Gallery – a partnership with the British Museum – which is the UK’s first permanent space to explore the lived experience of South Asian diaspora communities.
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All that is alongside the existing collections of fossils and other objects from natural sciences and human cultures.
One of the most immediate differences from the museum’s £15 million transformation though is the new accessible entrance straight off Oxford Road – which brings visitors straight into a stunning new gift shop.
The museum had been closed while it underwent a £15 million transformation project / Credit: Chris Bull (via Manchester Museum)
There’s also a new dinosaur in town too, who’s joined the museum’s legendary T-Rex Stan.
Dating back to the Cretaceous period, and having been found in the US state of Montana, April the Tenontosaurus has taken up her place in the former entrance beside the Fossils Gallery
Other new features created during the transformation project include a Changing Places toilet, prayer room, quiet room, picnic area, and therapy room.
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Find out more about what’s on at Manchester Museum here.
Featured Image – Chris Bull (via Manchester Museum)
Art & Culture
Prestigious Edinburgh TV Festival to move to Manchester for first time in 50 years
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester will become the new host city for the TV Festival from 2027 onwards it was announced today.
For the first time in five decades, following an extensive consultation and competitive bidding process – which was launched in 2025 – the prestigious festival is set to move from its home in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh to our region from 2027 onwards, beating out other major northern cities like Newcastle in the process.
As part of a UK-wide strategic review into the event’s long-term future, the Festival’s board of directors say the review was undertaken in order to ‘examine how the TV Festival could continue to grow’ amid increasing challenges around accessibility, affordability, and sustainability across the television industry.
Greater Manchester‘s ‘successful and comprehensive’ bid included commitments around affordability, infrastructure, industry partnership, and long-term growth potential.
Plans include holding the Festival in locations in the newly developed St. John’s creative and cultural district.
“Greater Manchester presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates,” commented Campbell Glennie, who is the CEO of the TV Festival and The TV Foundation.
“This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes.
“The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance – it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council, said being chosen as TV Festival hosts is ‘brilliant news’ for Greater Manchester, adding: “It speaks to the growth, success and strength of our screen sector in the city region and the strong partnerships and talent we have here.”
The final Edinburgh edition of the TV Festival will take place this August, and dates and further details for the TV Festival in 2027 will be shared later this year.
Featured Image – PickPik
Art & Culture
Spend summer in space as 30ft rocket ship arrives at Science and Industry Museum next month
Emily Sergeant
Get ready to spend the summer in space, as Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum has announced its summer events programme.
And it’s full of free interactive events and activities to get involved with.
As the temperatures rise, schools across Greater Manchester get ready to break up for summer, and parents and carers gear up to entertain the little ones, the Science and Industry Museum has just announced its summer events programme – with some new space-themed activities on the lineup for the first time.
It’s time to embark on an unforgettable adventure through the Solar System, as families can blast off on a journey packed with hands-on experiences and cosmic fun.
Science and Industry Museum has announced its summer events programme / Credit: Science Museum Group
From live space shows and giant rockets, to tinkering activities Martian discovery trails, and the chance to visit the blockbuster exhibition Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos if you haven’t already, budding astronauts are in for a summer to remember.
By far one of the stand-out free events this summer is the arrival of 30-foot-tall rocket ship, Skybolt 2 – hosted by Manchester-based aerospace company, Starchaser – giving visitors the chance to revel at the real-life space craft and meet the team behind the rocket.
Designed to reach speeds of up to 3200mph, Skybolt 2 first flew in September 2017 and still displays some visible marks from its landing.
There’ll also be a new twist on the classic seaside puppet show, as artist Solar Sister brings space stories to life during interactive walkabout performances alongside an astronaut puppet companion.
Little Mancs can even get involved with draw-a-long workshops, take on space-inspired LEGO challenges, and even turn everyday items into instruments by joining a junk percussion jam inspired by space waste.
Then, on Wednesday 12 August, rocket activities will be swapped for a special event to mark the upcoming solar eclipse.
Expect live interactive shows, demonstrations, spectacular images of the Sun disappearing on giant screens, as well opportunities to discover more about this rare celestial event.
Science and Industry Museum’s Director, Sally MacDonald, said free and affordable experiences are ‘more essential than ever’ during the summer holidays.
“Our summer programme will offer families memorable days out to enjoy together, giving them the opportunity to explore the universe without even leaving Manchester,” she added.
The summer events programme will be running at the Science and Industry Museum from Saturday 18 July through to Tuesday 1 September, and you can find out more here.
Emily Sergeant -
6th March 2023 
