Operation Ouch! returns to Manchester with new world-premiere immersive exhibition next year

You can plunge headfirst into the incredible world of our senses at a new immersive museum exhibition in Manchester next year.

Back by popular demand after a successful run over these past two years, but with a fresh new adventure lined up for 2025, Operation Ouch! is coming back to Manchester, and this time around, you can journey through an ear canal covered in gooey wax, squeeze past sticky snot, and delve deeper into how our brains interpret the world.

The major new exhibition for children and families, which is titled Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You, will be premiering at the Science and Industry Museum early next year.

Visitors are being told to prepare themselves for an “epic exploration of the senses”.

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You’ll get to enter Dr Chris’ brain headquarters through his giant ear, making sure to dodge the earwax, before venturing through the five senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste with loads of hands-on science experiences, as well as discovering some of the secret senses that help us with our balance, know when it’s time to sleep, and even when to go for a wee. 

This is your chance to joke around inside a giant eyeball, get stuck in with interactive games, and even find out about how our sensory experiences can vary from children who are living with disabilities.

Video appearances from Dr Chris, Dr Xand, and Dr Ronx from the hit BBC children’s TV series, Operation Ouch!, will pop up throughout the exhibition to help visitors understand more about the science behind the fun. 

Steven Leech, who is the Curator of Exhibitions at the Science and Industry Museum, said: “From sight and sound, to some lesser-known senses, our bodies are truly sense-sational. Our brains rely on our senses to help us understand and explore the world around us, and in this exhibition, you will take part in an epic experiment that is bursting with brilliant brain science. 

“Just like our previous Operation Ouch! exhibition, Brains, Bogies and You will offer a playful experience that builds confidence in young people who want to explore science.

“It’s going to be a fantastic exhibition, so get ready for the trip of a lifetime and come and get stuck into the science inside all of us.”

More “delightfully disgusting details” about the exhibition’s return to Manchester is expected to be revealed very soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You will open at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester city centre on 14 February 2025 and will run until 4 January 2026 – with tickets priced at £10 each and now on sale.

Read more:

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• Science and Industry Museum to transform into immersive ‘Light Lab’ as part of 2024 festive events programme
• A massive ‘gaming extravaganza’ is happening at the Science and Industry Museum

Grab tickets to the exhibition here.

Featured Image – Science Museum Group