One of the Science and Industry Museum’s most iconic attractions will reopen this summer – and the beloved museum has revealed a sneak peak of how things will look.
The museum has shared CGIs of the reimagined Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery, where visitors will be able to explore a lively working gallery full of engines and rail vehicles.
The popular part of the museum closed for urgent repairs in 2019 and has since been undergoing conservation work and a new look created by award-winning designers Studio MUTT.
The sounds, smells and sights of Manchester’s past and present industry will be brought to the Power Hall when it reopens.
Visitors will soon again be able to rediscover objects and learn the stories behind those who powered Manchester’s industry.
There’ll be three main themes within the Power Hall – Making More, which will explore how engines helped people make more, faster, with steam engines installed at factories and mills.
Then there’ll be Powering Lives, which will examine how engines power the electricity network we all plug into every day.
And also Connecting Places, which looks at how locomotives have connected communities around the world, starting at the site of the museum which sparked a transport revolution in 1830.
Science and Industry Museum reveals CGIs of iconic Power Hall that’s been closed for years
Kate Chatfield, Interpretation and Content Manager at the Science and Industry Museum, said: “Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery will be a must-see Manchester experience – a living gallery that showcases a unique collection of historic 19th and early 20th century working engines to tell the story of Manchester as an epicentre for the engine-driven ideas and industry that shaped the world as we know it today.
“Our most iconic objects will be available to explore like never before as we bring to life the people behind the power through stories of the engineers, makers and technicians who use their skills and senses to create and care for engines, both today and in the past.”
The work on the Power Hall is part of a multi-million-pound regeneration project across the Science and Industry Museum, which is conserving and reimagining these historic buildings.
The Power Hall has been future-proofed in the six years it’s been closed to the public, including urgent roof and timber repairs.
Further information about what to see and do and the Power Hall’s opening date will be announced in the coming weeks. Sign up to the museum’s mailing list to be among the first to hear more.
Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery project has been made possible with support from The Law Family Charitable Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Headley Trust, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Atmos International, The Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust, The Zochonis Charitable Trust and other donors who choose to remain anonymous.
Special thanks to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for their significant contribution to the gallery, and to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for funding the decarbonisation of the Power Hall through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, delivered by Salix Finance.
Featured image: Supplied
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A big Taylor Swift listening party is coming to Manchester to celebrate her new album
Thomas Melia
An iconic Manchester music venue is hosting a Taylor Swift listening party to celebrate the release of her upcoming album this autumn.
The devil may work hard, but Ms. Swift sure works harder – as less than 500 days since the release of her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor has announced her twelfth LP titled The Life of a Showgirl, meaning the pop titan is back in full force with an era full of glitter, glitz, and showbiz glamour.
To celebrate, Manchester’s historic Deaf Institute is hosting a night dedicated to the newest era, and you’ll certainly be able to make ‘make the whole place shimmer’ as you walk into this Grade ll-listed building this October.
Get ready to hear everything from Taylor Swift’s stacked discography – including her humble beginnings like ‘Tim McGraw’, all the way through to her claiming the title as the ultimate ‘Anti-Hero’.
The DJs on the night will be spinning every single new track from Swift’s twelfth studio album too, all while mixing in some of her other standout songs.
Anyone keen to attend this Taylor Swift ‘Wonderland’ must be over 18 years old, and have their ID with them on the night, as unfortunately, there’s no ‘invisible string’ you can use to sneak yourself into this venue.
And if you’re turning 22 -or celebrating any other birthday – between 4 and 18 October, then you can score yourself free entry into this live music venue too, isn’t that ‘Gorgeous’?
Festa Italiana returns to Manchester city centre for three days of feasting this bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
Festa Italiana is set to return to Manchester city centre this bank holiday weekend with its ‘biggest and best’ offering to date.
Are you ready for three days of Italian feasting?
Festa Italiana, which is now in its eighth year in Manchester, has gone of to become one of the biggest – and the most successful – Italian festivals in the UK, and features dozens food and drink stalls, live entertainment, and a whole host of celebrity chefs.
Founded by Maurizio Cecco – who is also behind Manchester’s legendary collection Italian restaurants, Salvi’s, the family-friendly festival will be free for all to attend.
Taking place this year, as it does every year, over the August bank holiday weekend and turning Cathedral Gardens into an Italian paradise while the sun beams down, anyone heading to Festa Italiana can expect a three-day foodie feast featuring freshly-made pizza, pasta, cannoli, and loads of other Italian delights.
Festa Italiana returns to Manchester city centre for three days of feasting this bank holiday weekend / Credit: Festa Italiana (via Facebook)
Festivalgoers can also expect to take part in pasta-making workshops, sip a tipple from an Aperitivo bar or the Limoncello Garden, and try endless free samples.
There’ll also be the Piccolo Mercato Italiano mini market, featuring a range of independent and artisanal producers showcasing the very best of Italy’s food, drink, and crafts.
To top it all off, plenty of well-known chefs will also be making special appearances during the festival, including Great British Bake Off star Giuseppe Dell’Anno, chef Francesco Mattana, Carmela’s Kitchen author and tutor Carmela Hayes, and of course, founder Maurizio Cecco himself.
“Festa Italiana is so much more than just a food festival,” Maurizio explained. “It’s a celebration of everything I love about my culture – the passion, the hospitality, the flavour, the music, the chaos.
“Every year it gets bigger, louder, and more exciting and 2025 is going to be the best one yet.
“We’ve got amazing chefs, incredible vendors, fantastic music and some brilliant new surprises. I can’t wait to welcome everyone back to our piazza in the heart of Manchester.”
Daisy Jackson -
24th April 2025 
