Frequently asked questions

Due to the latest coronavirus restrictions, the museum is temporarily closed. 

We hope to re-open the Science and Industry Museum on Wednesday 19 May, government guidance permitting. Book your free tickets now to explore our incredible galleries and special exhibitions. 

We look forward to welcoming you back. 

During term time the museum is open from 10.00–17.00, Wednesday – Sunday. 

During school holidays the museum is open from 10.00–17.00, Monday – Sunday. 

The museum is home to ideas that change the world, and we will continue to inspire you with examples of world-leading science and innovation from the past 250 years.   

The three permanent galleries in our New Warehouse will reopen along with some of our outdoor space in the Upper Yard, meaning there will be plenty to see and do. Visitors can explore Revolution Manchester and the Textiles Gallery on Level 0 and enjoy Experiment, our interactive gallery on Level 1.    

There will also be two special exhibitions to enjoy. Top Secret: From ciphers to cyber security will open in our new Special Exhibitions Gallery on the lower ground floor of the New Warehouse from 19 May – 31 August. Use Hearing Protection: The early years of Factory Records will be in our Level 1 exhibition space from 19 June – 3 January 2022.  

We advise you allow at least 90 minutes for your visit. 

We will continue to ask visitors to observe social distancing, wear face coverings, pre-book tickets to allow us to manage numbers and follow one-way routes around the museum. There will be additional measures in place to ensure safety, including hand sanitiser stations throughout the museum and enhanced cleaning regimes.    

Full details of what to expect will be sent to you as part of your pre-visit email, and we will update our website regularly. 

We are very keen to get your feedback following your visit. If you have any suggestions about how we could improve your experience, please let us know by emailing info@sciencemuseumgroup.ac.uk. 

Yes. We have introduced a system of free ticketing to help us manage the volume of visitors and ensure social distancing. You will be able to select a date and time to visit.  

You will also need to book tickets for the Top Secret and Use Hearing Protection exhibitions if you would like to explore them during your visit.  

Tickets for Top Secret are free and tickets for Use Hearing Protection cost £8 for adults and £6 for concessions. Children aged 12 and under go free.

Tickets are available to book online now. 

If you are unable to book online, please call us on 033 0058 0058. Please note, you will only be able to book a few weeks in advance of your visit.  

We are limiting the number of tickets available to book so that we can manage the number of visitors to the museum, maintain social distancing and ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all visitors.  

Sign up to our newsletter to find out when more tickets are released. 

You will receive your ticket by email. You will need to bring this with you, either on a mobile device or a print-out, as it will have a bar code that needs to be scanned on arrival.

You can also access your tickets by logging in to your Science and Industry Museum account.

You will receive your tickets by email, which you will need to bring with you, either on a mobile device or as a print-out. As part of our commitment to sustainability we ask that you avoid printing tickets where possible.  

The tickets will have a barcode that will be scanned by a contactless scanner on arrival at the museum.   

If you are unable to find the email, you can log into your account on a mobile device and access your tickets from there.  

To maintain social distancing, we ask that you avoid passing anything to our staff by only using the contactless scanners provided to self-scan tickets. 

We cannot guarantee that tickets will be available on the day.  

If you do come to the museum without a ticket, we will still ask that you book, either using your smartphone or by calling the Contact Centre on 033 0058 0058. Depending on the number of visitors already in the museum, it may be that you can book a ticket for the current time, or you may need to wait until the next available time slot.

We will do our best to accommodate you. However, if you miss your time slot and the museum reaches capacity, you may be asked to wait or to book again for an alternative date and time. 

This is for the safety of visitors and colleagues, so we can maintain social distancing inside the museum.

Yes. You need to book free general admission tickets to the museum as well as a separate ticket for our exhibitions.

If you have already booked tickets but are not able to visit as planned, please get in touch so we cancel or rearrange your visit. This will also enable us to make your original tickets available for other visitors. Call 033 0058 0058 or email info@sciencemuseumgroup.ac.uk.

We recommend that you set aside an hour and half for your visit (90 minutes), but of course you are welcome to stay longer.

Signs outside the museum will tell you what to expect and members of staff will be on hand if you have any questions. 

Please ensure you have your ticket with you, preferably on your smart device, as you will be asked to scan this on entry.  

You will also receive an email with more information the day before your visit.

The Science and Industry Museum is conveniently located in the heart of the city. You can visit on foot, by bike, use nearby city-centre car parking, or by tram, train and bus.  

We recommend you visit the Transport For Greater Manchester website to plan your journey and get up-to-date government guidance on travelling by public transport. 

Yes, we have measures in place to ensure everyone can maintain social distancing.   

This includes asking you to book free, timed tickets in advance to allow us to manage the volume of visitors, and using e-scanners and contactless payments when inside the museum.   

We are also limiting the number of people within our gallery spaces for special exhibitions. This means that tickets for Top Secret and Use Hearing Protection must be booked before your visit, along with your general admission ticket.  

We will also be asking visitors to use easy-to-follow, one-way routes that will be clearly marked. 

Screens have been installed at the main reception points, ticket desks and information points. 

Hand sanitiser stations are located throughout the museum, including at key points such as entrances, exits, interactive experiences, picnic areas and high touch areas, and enhanced cleaning regimes are in place throughout the museum.  

We have also taken all reasonable steps to provide adequate ventilation in enclosed spaces, in line with government guidance.

Yes, visitors to our museums will be required to wear face coverings, in line with Government guidance, for your safety and the safety of other visitors and staff.

I have a specific exemption from wearing a mask. Will I be welcome at your museum?

We welcome everyone and recognise there are circumstances where, for health, age or accessibility reasons, some visitors will not be able to wear face masks or coverings.

We hope that fellow visitors will be respectful and if you feel anybody's conduct towards you is inappropriate, we would urge you to speak to a member of staff who will assist you immediately.

The government lists specific 'legitimate reasons' why people do not need to wear a face covering, including:

• Children under the age of 11
• Not being able to put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability
• If putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress
• If you are travelling with or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading to communicate

Is it fine to remove my face covering in your café?

You are asked to wear face masks or coverings until you have sat down with your food or drink. Once at a table all visitors are welcome to remove their face coverings and to enjoy their meal or drink.

We will be following the latest government guidance on this and ask you to do the same.  

Please note that for the purposes of NHS Test and Trace, we are required to ask for contact details for all members of your group over the age of 16 when you make a booking. We will retain these details for as long as necessary for the purposes of NHS Test and Trace.  You can find out more in our privacy policy. You can find out more in our privacy policy.

Yes, face coverings will be available to buy when you arrive at the museum and on sale in the museum shop.

By booking your free ticket to the museum, you are already taking part in the NHS Test and Trace service. If you'd also like to use the NHS COVID-19 app to scan in when you arrive, you'll find the QR code on display near the museum entrance.

We will be re-opening the galleries and spaces in our Grade II listed New Warehouse (the main museum building with its entrance on Lower Byrom Street).   

This means that our shop and café will be open during the museum's open hours, and our bistro area will be available as an indoor picnic space.   

A long-term, multi-million-pound restoration programme is also underway at the Science and Industry Museum to carry out crucial restoration work and reveal new spaces and perspectives for all visitors to enjoy, play and learn in.  This means that there is a lot of scaffolding and there are areas that are closed, but there’s still much to enjoy on your visit. Find out more about the developments here.

All galleries inside the New Warehouse will be open. This includes: 

• Revolution Manchester  
• Textiles Gallery 
• Experiment 
• Special Exhibitions Gallery

 We are keeping interactives open where possible. However, exhibits deemed to be high risk (for example, those that involving close contact with the face) will be temporarily closed. For those interactive exhibits that remain open, we will introduce an increased cleaning regime and additional control measures to ensure the safety of visitors and colleagues. We will be reviewing our gallery content and experiences regularly to identify where any changes need to be made. 

Hand sanitiser stations will be located at key points in or around all galleries and exhibitions that contain interactive experiences e.g. entrances, exits and high-touch areas.

Unfortunately, we cannot host any live performances until further notice, in line with government guidance. 

However, our expert Explainers will be on the museum floor to give you insights into the collection and the chance to explore some additional science.

We are working on plans to welcome educational groups back to the Science and Industry Museum and bookings will be open from 10 May.  More information on school visits can be found on our Learning page.  

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer general (non-educational) group bookings at the moment. This will be reviewed according to government guidance, and we will share more information as soon as possible.

Our café will be open, serving serve hot and cold drinks, snacks, sandwiches and cakes.

The bistro will not be serving food, although hot drinks and snacks may be available to buy here during the school holidays. The space will be open as an indoor picnic area that visitors are welcome to use.

You are welcome to bring your own food. Picnic areas will be clearly signposted.

Our shop will be open, selling a range of toys, games, books, science kits and more.  

Our online shop is also open. Not all items sold in the online shop are available to purchase on site at the museum.  

Every purchase you make supports the museum and our vital work. 

We would be grateful if you could use contactless payments where possible to limit the need to pass anything to our colleagues. However, we will accept cash.

Toilets and baby-changing facilities will be open, and we have introduced new hygiene measures and enhanced cleaning regimes in these areas.  

To help you keep to social distancing, we will be operating alternate sinks and alternate urinals only. Disposable paper towels will be offered in place of hand dryers, with the exception on single-occupancy toilets, where hand dryers will still be available.

Unfortunately no cloakroom or locker facilities will be available when the museum first re-opens due to the facility being located in a historic part of the building where social distancing cannot be maintained. We will continue to review this. 

Yes, anyone who wishes to attend must book a free ticket as the link to the event will be sent via email.

Unlike booking tickets to the museum, you only need to book one ticket per device for our virtual events. If your household would like to watch on more than one device, please book more than one ticket using different email addresses and accounts.

Questions can be submitted as you book your ticket for an event. A selection of audience questions will then be posed to the speakers.

If you can no longer attend a virtual event, please speak to our Contact Centre team who'll be able to return your tickets and give your place to someone else. Unfortunately we aren't able to refund donations.

If an event is cancelled, rescheduled or postponed for any reason, we will notify you by email as soon as possible.

If an event is rescheduled or postponed, your booking will be automatically updated in your account. You can log in to your account to view your online event bookings at any time.

If an event is rescheduled and you can no longer attend, please call us on 033 0058 0058 (line open 09.00–17.00 daily) and our team will be able to return your tickets and give your place to someone else. 

Unfortunately we are not able to refund donations.

If you have booked a free ticket, you will be emailed on the day of the event with the link to the virtual event, which will be hosted on our online booking system. You will need to log in to your account to watch the event, so make sure you keep your log in details safe. If you have questions, please speak to our Contact Centre team on 033 0058 0058.