The Science and Industry Museum is gearing up to mark a monumental milestone.
It’s been a long time coming, but in just a few weeks time, it’ll be welcoming visitors back inside one of the UK’s most significant industrial heritage buildings – the Power Hall.
Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery is a free working gallery where visitors can immerse themselves in the sights, smells, and sounds of the engine-driven ideas and industry that started in Manchester and went on to change the world.
Officially set to reopen Friday 17 October, it’s the latest building to open as part of a multi-million-pound regeneration project currently taking place across the Science and Industry Museum to conserve its historic buildings and reveal new spaces for all visitors to enjoy, play, and learn in for generations to come.
When the building throws open its doors, you can expect the return of iconic engines – including some that will be running for the first time in more than a decade – alongside a whole host of new interactives, perspectives, and people stories that reveal the innovation of Manchester’s industrial heritage.
ADVERTISEMENT
Originally built as a shipping shed for the world’s first inter-city steam powered passenger railway, Power Hall is Grade II-listed building of ‘global importance’.
It was the building that the museum first opened back in September 1983, when it became home to one of the UK’s largest collections of historic working engines.
ADVERTISEMENT
Power Hall temporarily closed in 2019 to allow for urgent repair works to be carried out, as well as a ‘pioneering’ de-carbonisation project to reduce the building’s carbon emissions, and a reimagining of its displays, interpretation, and visitor experience.
The Science and Industry Museum has finally set its grand reopening date for iconic Power Hall / Credit: Science Museum Group
But after more than five years, it’s now thundering towards its reopening, and is bringing a train load of working machinery, hands-on interactives, and brand-new stories to discover along with it.
“This is a hugely significant moment for our museum and for Manchester,” said Sally MacDonald, who is the Director of the Science and Industry Museum.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Power Hall symbolises the city’s innovation, creativity, and resilience, and we are overjoyed that visitors will soon be back to enjoy all the amazing objects and stories on display. Ideas that began in this city have impacted people and places across the world and shaped life as we know it, and Power Hall showcases this in a very physical way.
“Our colleagues who first set up this gallery in 1983 knew that science and engineering have always been crucial to Manchester’s success and future growth.
The Grade II-listed Power Hall closed in 2019 for urgent repair works / Credit: Science Museum Group
“Many people have told me that the Power Hall was inspirational for them as children, and I hope now it can inspire a new generation of inventors and technicians.”
Sally added that she wants to say a ‘massive thank you’ to the museum’s fantastic collaborators, partners, and funders for helping them to create this ‘must-see’ Manchester experience.
She concluded: “Of course, thank you to our visitors for their patience and sustained interest while Power Hall has been closed.
“I speak on behalf of everyone at the museum when I say we can’t wait to welcome you back.”
Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery will reopen on Friday 17 October, and visits are free and included as part of a museum ticket.
Featured Image – Science Museum Group
News
Manchester’s libraries to become ‘warm spaces’ with free hot drinks and WiFi this winter
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s libraries are set to become ‘warm welcome spaces’ offering free hot drinks and internet access to those in need again this winter.
After millions of local residents visited the ‘stigma-free safe spaces’ to escape and take refuge from the cold each year since they were first introduced in 2022, Manchester City Council has decided to reintroduce its popular ‘Warm Welcome Spaces’ scheme again this year during the chillier months.
All 22 of Manchester‘s public libraries are, once again, taking part in the scheme this time around.
Designed to ‘provide support to people who need it’ over some of the most challenging months of the year when temperatures drop, the Council’s scheme is offering a range of different services – and they’re all for free of charge.
Free hot drinks, WiFi and internet access, data SIM cards, and newspapers are just some of the things people can make the most of inside these ‘warm spaces’, as well as get access to information, advice, and extra signposting to other support services they made need in the city.
Manchester’s libraries will become ‘warm spaces’ with free hot drinks and WiFi again this winter / Credit: Haydon Waldeck | koolshooters (Pexels)
There will be age-friendly spaces to connect with others, story times once a week at 11am for children under five, and even weekly digital drop-ins too.
Manchester Central Library, Miles Platting Community Library, Hulme High Street Library, Beswick Library, Longsight Library, and Abraham Moss Library are just some of the libraries taking part this winter.
All 22 libraries will be free to enter, and the Council says people can stay in them ‘for as long as you like’.
“For many years, the Council has been a proud supporter of the Warm Welcome Spaces initiative,” explained Councillor Thomas Robinson, who is the Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care at Manchester City Council.
“In Manchester we have been all too aware of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the hardships people have suffered as a result.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say this work has the potential to be lifesaving. The simple act of offering a person a safe place where they can interact with other Mancunians, to not feel alone or get the help they need, can have a lasting and meaningful impact.”
Find your local free ‘Warm Welcome Space’ in Manchester here.
Featured Image – RawPixel
News
University fees set to increase in line with inflation but Government promises ‘better outcomes’ for students
Emily Sergeant
University tuition fees are set to increase in line with forecasted inflation for the next two academic years, the Government has announced.
Last year was the first year, since 2017, that tuition fees were increased in line with inflation, and now that the Office for Students is forecasting that 43% of institutions will be in deficit without further action to ‘shore up’ their finances, the Government has announced in its ‘landmark’ Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper – published this week – that fees will need to rise again.
To support universities in continuing to deliver world-class teaching and research, tuition fees will rise in line with forecast inflation for the next two academic years.
According to the Department for Education, legislation will then be brought forward, when parliamentary time allows, to enable automatic increases to fee caps in future years in line with inflation – but this will only be institutions that meet tough new quality thresholds set by the Office for Students.
Where standards are deemed to ‘fall short’, the Office for Students will then act quickly to stop the expansion of low-quality courses and will aim to hold providers to account.
University fees are set to increase in line with inflation for the next two years / Credit: PickPik
Universities that underperform could face financial and regulatory consequences, the Government has confirmed, as a way of ensuring public money is spent only on courses that deliver for students and the economy overall.
“Young people from all backgrounds feel they have been let down by a system that talks about opportunity but too often fails to deliver it,” commented Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, as the White Paper was published this week.
“Universities charge significant fees for their courses, but if they are going to charge the maximum, it is right that they deliver the world-class education students expect.
“These reforms will ensure value for money, higher standards across our universities and colleges and a renewed focus on the skills our economy needs.”
The Government has also said it will also work with universities and local authorities to ensure they offer ‘adequate accommodation’ for their students.
It will also support efforts to drive down the cost of living going forward.
Emily Sergeant -
25th September 2025 
