Summer of senses family fun at the Science and Industry Museum

Explore everything from brains to bogies with silent discos, Explainer experiences and a bogie lab at one of the region’s favourite museums this summer.

From 19 July to 31 August, the Science and Industry Museum will reveal how amazing our bodies really are with six weeks packed full of free activities inspired by the science of our senses – a theme that is also explored in its current blockbuster exhibition, Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You.

Whether it’s disco dancing around a giant brain, taking home pots of super-sized snot, unveiling the science behind optical illusions or journeying through a giant ear canal, there’s something for everyone during the museum’s sense-sational summer.

Free activities

The ‘Bogie Lab’ will be full of sticky surprises for visitors wanting to explore more about their sense of smell. Interactive workshops will inspire future scientists by unearthing the brilliance of bogies, and visitors can get hands-on with this magical mucus by creating their very own pot of snot to take home.

How the brain processes all our senses will be explored through a host of interactive activities that put visitors’ minds to the test as they grapple with brain-boggling challenges. 

Little ones can also dance their way around the museum’s very own super-sized brain during daily silent discos that explore how our bodies respond to sound. Our senses of sight and sound will be examined in a brand-new interactive Explainer experience, unpicking optical and audio illusions that bamboozle our brains.

World-premiere exhibition

The sense-sational fun continues with the gloriously gross Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You. 

Visitors can add a ticket to this family exhibition, inspired by the hit BBC Children’s show, Operation Ouch!, and go on a journey through the senses by exploring Dr Chris’s brain.

Intrepid explorers squeeze through an ear canal covered in gooey wax before encountering rooms dedicated to each of our senses, packed with interactive activities. The experience comes to a suitably snotty end as adventurers don a bogie hat before being sneezed out of a giant nose.

A live appearance from presenter of Operation Ouch!, Dr Xand, is due to be announced soon.

Ultimate gaming experience

Budding gamers can put their senses to the test in Power Up, the ultimate gaming experience. Visitors can rock out with Guitar Hero, see a whole new world with virtual reality headsets or show off their moves with Just Dance on the big screen. Annual passes are available to purchase, meaning gamers can unlock a new level of play and gain access to the experience for a whole year.

Tash Camberwell, Interpretation and Content Developer said:

“We’re celebrating the summer by exploring the snotty science behind Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You. With activities from disco dancing to exhilarating experiments and brain boggling illusions, you won’t want to miss this summer of fun. We’ll be throwing open the doors to the Bogie Lab and even hosting a giant brain at the museum.

“Everyone is welcome for six weeks of family fun celebrating our amazing bodies, how our brilliant brains see the world and the surprising significance of snot. We’ve got brains, we’ve got bogies, now all we need is you!”

Free museum tickets, plus charged-for tickets for Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You and Power Up can be booked now.

Details of all the activities taking place at the museum over the summer holidays, including special events to celebrate Manchester Pride, can also be found on the website (www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/summer-2025)

The museum is currently undergoing a multi-million-pound restoration programme to restore some of its best-loved spaces, including the Power Hall, due to re-open this autumn, and 1830 Station. While these buildings remain temporarily closed, there is still lots to enjoy.

Visitors can see science in action in the museum’s interactive gallery, Experiment, meet mighty machines in the Textiles Gallery and discover world changing ideas in Revolution Manchester. Incredible objects from Professor Stephen Hawking’s office are also on display in its highlights display.