A major new cybersecurity exhibition with displays starring Alan Turing, Russian spies and code-breaking will mark the grand reopening of Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum in May.
Top Secret: From ciphers to cybersecurity will pore over a century’s worth of secret communications and intelligence in an exhibition containing over 100 objects from GCHQ and the Science Museum Group.
The Manchester exhibition will include, for the first time, objects related to Alan Turing and his team’s work intercepting German comms at Bletchley Park.
Visitors can also explore how Britain protected its skies during WWI, how codes were cracked in WWII, and the ways in which intelligence agencies foiled one of the most successful spy rings operating during the Cold War.
The exhibition will also explore modern digital security – considering recent examples of major cyber hacks such as the WannaCry attack on the NHS.
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M209-B Cipher Machine/Image: Science and Industry Museum
Jeremy Flemming, GCHQ Director, said: “At GCHQ we believe with the right mix of minds anything is possible.
“We hope Top Secret intrigues, excites and maybe even inspires the next generation of recruits from the area to consider a career with us.”
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Top Secret will be the first exhibition in the Science and Industry Museum’s new £5m Special Exhibition Gallery – which is set to host some of the biggest displays in the north over the coming months.
The showcase will also highlight the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills in regards to cybersecurity – taking a closer look at the skills required for a career in this field.
Top Secret: From ciphers to cybersecurity/Image: Science and Industry Museum
Sally MacDonald, Director of the Science and Industry Museum, said: “Our museum tells the stories of Manchester’s pioneering past and ideas that started here and went on to change the world.
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“STEM skills have been at the heart of this innovation, and I’m delighted that we’re hosting Top Secret, which showcases the incredible heights that can be achieved through the application of these skills,at a time when the importance of STEM across the region is more important than ever.”
The Science and Industry Museum has been closed since November 5, but will spring back into life with Top Secret on May 19 .
The exhibition will run until August 31.
Attendance is free but booking is required. You can grab a ticket online or by calling 033 0058 0058.
Stunning Manchester hotel The Alan is offering luxury rooms for only £20.25 in the new year
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most stunning hotels is offering luxury rooms at a bargain rate to celebrate the new year.
With only a couple of days to go until 2025 is officially here, The Alan – which opened to huge success on Princess Street, in the heart of Manchester city centre, back in 2022 – says it wants to give guests the opportunity to stay at the hotel at a “massively reduced” price on selected dates throughout the new year.
This means that, in a clever nod to 2025, a selection of key dates throughout next year will be priced at just £20.25 for an overnight stay at the former warehouse.
You may remember that The Alan already attracted headlines for a similar move, as back when the hotel first opened in 2022, it was giving out rooms to guests for just £1 each.
Having launched on Boxing Day and announced across The Alan’s official social platforms, the limited-time sale is now live, and rooms are to be allocated on a first come, first served basis – with the offer only valid on a selection of room types.
A number of other discounts will also run throughout the new year too, including ‘Signature’ rooms priced at £40.25, ‘Signature Deluxe’ at £60.25, and even a Suite at ‘£80.25’.
You can stay at The Alan for just £20.25 a night in the new year / Credit: Supplied
As well as the 137 rooms set across six floors of the hotel, The Alan is also loved by guests for its facilities, especially its restaurant and bar, as well as by workers thanks to its large offering of meeting room spaces.
The hotel is also well-known for offering co-working for guests and locals too, with a set menu and unlimited coffee priced at just £20 per day.
To make the most of the £20.25 offer, you just need to book online using the code 25WINTERSALE under the ‘Group Attendee Code’ option, which will be valid on specific evenings (excluding peak dates) from New Year’s Day up until 21 March 2025.
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 30 December 2024 – 5 January 2025
Emily Sergeant
Can you believe it’s time to say goodbye to 2024, and welcome in 2025 this week?
The presents have been opened, the mince pies eaten, and you may have even taken down your tree too, but while all the fun of the festive season may’ve been and gone by now, this doesn’t mean there isn’t lots of things to look forward to in 2025, as Greater Manchester‘s events calendar already seems very exciting.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide to help you out.
Here’s some of our recommendations.
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Skate Manchester 2024
Cathedral Gardens
Monday 30 December 2024 – Wednesday 1 January 2025
Skate Manchester 2024 / Credit: Matt Eachus (via Supplied)
Skate Manchester is festive staple, and this is your last few days to get on the ice.
This year, skaters can glide across a gleaming ice path and spin around a dazzling seven-metre Christmas tree taking centre stage in the middle of the rink.
Families, friends, and festive fun seekers will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas whatever the weather has in store for our city this year too, as although the rink will be outdoors in the heart of Cathedral Gardens, the ice is fully covered.
Bar Hütte’s legendary karaoke cabins are back in Manchester once again.
Bringing Alpine vibes, cosy furnishings, twinkling lights, live music sessions, and flowing drinks to two city centre locations from this Thursday onwards, dozens of cosy private hüttes neatly-positioned under twinkling lights are now open down at both Kampus and Great Northern Square.
There’s also a handful of other events on the lineup throughout the festive season, including live music and DJs, wreath making workshops, and movie nights.
Wicked The Musical / Credit: Jennifer DiNoia / Limited Engagement
Wicked The Musical has landed in Manchester and has taken over the iconic Palace Theatre stage for the festive season.
Sure, there may be a major motion picture adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande currently on in the cinema right now, but if you’re keen to see the beloved musical production on stage in the way it was originally intended, then you can head on down to the Palace Theatre to see the story of Elphaba and Galinda live.
Of course, this has been one of the hottest tickets in town for quite a while now, but there’ll still some last-minute seats left to get your hands on, so keep your eyes peeled.
Winter Holiday Programme / Credit: Science Museum Group
One of Manchester’s most popular museums has been transformed into an immersive ‘Light Lab’ for the festive season.
This is your chance to escape the cold and brighten up the winter holidays with an adventure though light and colour, as the Science and Industry Museum is currently running its full festive events programme and there’s loads to get involved with.
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You can also explore a gaming extravaganza, and be engrossed by festive-themed science shows at the city centre-based museum this December.
A major Jurassic World exhibition that’s been mesmerising visitors all over the world has now arrived here in Greater Manchester, and it’s recently been announced that it’ll be sticking around until the new year.
Based on the beloved blockbuster film franchise, this official award-winning experience is one of the fastest-selling exhibitions in history.
Manc visitors will be able to walk through the iconic Jurassic World gates, explore some richly-themed environments, and encounter a life-sized Brachiosaurus, Velociraptors, and the most fearsome dinosaur of all, the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex.
A groundbreaking new immersive exhibition exploring our relationship with the natural world is now open at Manchester Museum.
‘Wild’ look at how people are creating, rebuilding, and repairing connections with nature, and how the natural world has traditionally been presented and idealised through Western art, as well as looking at some unique approaches to environmental recovery too.
The exhibition will also crucially look at how we can tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis by making the world more wild.
Across each of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs, there’s plenty of ways to welcome in 2025, but we’d be here all day if we tried to list them all, so instead, we’ve decided to just share a few with you – including fireworks, countdowns, and more.
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Manchester’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks
St Peter’s Square
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Tuesday 31 December
Manchester’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks / Credit: Chris Curry | designecologist (via Unsplash)
Manchester city centre is hosting one of its famous fireworks displays to “say goodbye to the old and welcome in the new” this year.
Families from all across Greater Manchester are invited to the “fun-filled event” from 10pm.
This year’s end of the year celebration marks the first time St Peter’s Square has been used for the New Year countdown event, and also the first time that New Year fireworks will be let off from the roof of Manchester Central Library.
Find out more about the FREE event here, and check out all the road closures and parking suspensions that will be in place on the night here.
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Fireworks Extravaganza
Mayfield Park & Freight Island
Tuesday 31 December
Fireworks Extravaganza / Credit: Freight Island
Freight Island is taking New Year’s Eve into its own hands and kicking 2025 off with a bang by hosting a big fireworks display to remember.
Taking place in Mayfield Park as soon as dusk hits, there’ll be lots of family-friendly festivities – including free sparklers and marshmallow roasting for the little ones to enjoy as midnight nears – all before a spectacular 12-minute firework display lights up the night sky above Manchester to welcome in the new year.
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Find out more and get your last-minute tickets here.
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Featured Image – Bar Hutte | Chris Curry | Skate Manchester
Anna Willis -
30th April 2021 
