 Entrance structure reflecting its science/industrial themes | |
  Location within Greater Manchester | |
| Established | 15 September 1983 |
|---|---|
| Location | Liverpool Road,Manchester, England |
| Coordinates | 53°28′37″N2°15′20″W / 53.47694°N 2.25556°W /53.47694; -2.25556 |
| Type | Science museum |
| Visitors | 556,523 (2019)[1] |
| Public transit access | Metroshuttle – Green Route |
| Website | scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk |
| Science Museum Group | |
TheScience and Industry Museum inManchester, England, traces the development of science, technology and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields. The museum is part of theScience Museum Group, anon-departmental public body of theDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, having merged with theNational Science Museum in 2012.[2]
There are extensive displays on the theme of transport (cars, railwaylocomotives and rolling stock), power (water,electricity,steam andgas engines), Manchester'ssewerage andsanitation,textiles,communications andcomputing.
The museum is an Anchor Point of theEuropean Route of Industrial Heritage and is on the site of the world's first passenger railway station –Manchester Liverpool Road – which opened as part of theLiverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830. The railway station frontage and1830 warehouse are bothGrade I listed.
The museum was called the North Western Museum of Science and Industry when it opened in 1969 in temporary premises on Grosvenor Street inChorlton-on-Medlock. It had close ties with theUniversity of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology, having mostly grown out of the Department of History of Science & Technology, and UMIST'sRichard L. Hills was the museum's first lecturer in charge.
In 1978,Greater Manchester Council purchased the earliest part of the formerLiverpool Road station fromBritish Rail, which had been closed in 1975. The council paid the nominal sum of £1 for the site. The museum opened at this site on 15 September 1983 and later expanded to include the whole of the former station.[3]
Since 2007 the museum has organised an annualscience festival in Manchester.
In 2014, Sally MacDonald became the director. MacDonald left her role as head of collections atUniversity College London and succeeded Jean Franczyk as director.[4]
In 2021, the permanent closure of the Air and Space Hall was announced. Objects were returned to their original owners, and those owned by the museum displayed in future exhibits.[5][6][7]
Exhibits at the Science and Industry Museum include:
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Previous permanent exhibition galleries which have now been decommissioned include:
Until 2018, demonstration passenger trains ran within the museum grounds on selected dates. Trains were hauled by the museum's two operational steam locomotives:
The museum's railway line was connected to the national rail network near Ordsall Lane Junction. However, construction byNetwork Rail of theOrdsall Chord railway link, which was completed in 2017, severed this connection and significantly shortened the museum's running line despite a legal battle to save it.
As of 2019, railway operations at the museum were suspended indefinitely. In June 2024, the museum confirmed that the railway would not resume operations, citing both the shortened line and concerns over loadbearing issues on the historic structures on the site. The tracks will be incorporated into a redevelopment of the site that will improve accessibility to the area.[10]
The museum exhibits the large collection of stationary steam engines,hot air engines, diesel engines,hydraulic pumps, large electric generators and other similar machines. Most of these machines are operational and occasionally can be seen running. This exhibit includes the last stationary steam engine built to power a mill.
There is also the exhibit of spinning and weaving machines, covering all the steps from wool to textile. These machines are run for a few minutes at scheduled times.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2025) |
The museum is adjacent to a £1 billion redevelopment area on the former site ofGranada Studios. Work on the area, which will be known asSt John's Quarter, is expected to be completed by 2022.[11] TheManchester International Festival's newFactory venue opened alongside the MSI in 2023 as part of the redevelopment.[12][13]
The MSI have been granted planning permission to build a new Special Exhibition Gallery on the ground floor of the New Warehouse. Architectural firm Carmody Groarke won a competition to design the new gallery which is set to be complete by October 2020.[14]
In July 2016 the council stated that, along with development partnerAllied London, they had been in talks with the MSI "exploring how the presence of Factory opens up new possibilities for revitalising the whole area belowDeansgate as a creative hub, with a joined up and extensive public realm. MSI's own developments plans are being aligned with this creative vision and the museum itself will become part of the creative public realm, with MSI's creative science offer balancing the creative and cultural production of Factory."[12]
Buildings and structures inManchester, England | ||
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| Skyscrapers (over 100 metres) |
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| High-rises (over 50 metres) |
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| Notable low-rises (city centre or Grade II* listed) |
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| Mills andwarehouses |
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| Religious (Grade I or II* listed) |
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| Transportation | ||
| Entertainment | ||
| Sports venues | ||
| Memorials and sculptures | ||
| Bridges | ||
Italics denote building under construction | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
