Celebrate Pride with curious hands and clever minds at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum, where visitors can join Alan Turing talks, make colourful Pride-inspired crafts, and try free hands-on STEM activities that highlight LGBTQIA+ scientists and innovators. It’s a bright, brainy addition to any bank holiday weekend plan.

Essential Takeaways

  • Alan Turing talks: Friendly volunteers guide short, accessible sessions on Turing’s life, legacy and Manchester connection.
  • Art and tribute: See a new rainbow portrait of Turing by Baiba Auria, displayed near the £50 note featuring his likeness.
  • Creative making: Design woven paper Pride patterns and colourful protest banners , easy, tactile and family-friendly.
  • Hands-on STEM: University of Manchester runs free activities like quantum demos, code-cracking, spinning thaumotropes and scientist quizzes.
  • Practicalities: Activities form the museum’s Pride Programme; check the museum website for dates and times.

Why Manchester’s museum is mixing Pride with science this bank holiday

The opening hook is simple: Pride meets invention, and it feels joyful. The museum is offering a mix of short talks, displays and craft tables that bring queer histories in science out of the archives and into a weekend you can touch and try. Visitors will recognise the tactile, swooshy feel of paper banners and the quiet thrill of working out a code, so there’s both colour and concentration on offer.

The context is clear , Manchester has a long association with Alan Turing and early computing, and the museum is leaning into that heritage to show how LGBTQIA+ scientists have shaped the modern world. It’s an inclusive way to mark Pride that’s rooted in local history, not just decoration.

If you’re planning a trip, arrive early on busy days and pick up the programme so you don’t miss the volunteer-led talks or the University of Manchester pop-up sessions. The activities are designed to suit a range of ages, so they work well for families, friends, and curious solo visitors.

Alan Turing: the local legend at the heart of the weekend

Turing’s story has emotional weight , his codebreaking and early computing work saved lives and seeded the technology we live with today. The museum’s Friendly Spotlight Volunteers host short talks that make those achievements accessible, while also touching on the personal story that’s made Turing an icon for LGBTQIA+ visibility.

You’ll also find a new rainbow portrait by local artist Baiba Auria alongside the £50 note that features Turing, creating a small, striking shrine to his contribution. Seeing that portrait in person gives the history a human face and a splash of colour, which helps make complex ideas feel intimate.

Expect conversational, visitor-friendly sessions rather than long lectures. If you want more depth afterwards, the museum’s collection pages and displays offer paths to explore Turing’s Manchester experiments and the machines that followed.

Crafts, banners and a hands-on Pride palette

There’s a pleasingly low-tech side to the Pride programme: woven paper patterns inspired by the Pride flag and banner-making that invites playful protest. These activities are tactile, colourful and instantly rewarding , perfect if you want a souvenir that’s uniquely yours and not just another badge.

From a practical point of view, the crafts are quick to pick up and suitable for a range of dexterity and ages. Bring little ones prepared for glue and glitter, and expect to leave with something bright and slightly imperfect, which is part of the charm.

If you’re short on time, focus on the woven-paper sessions for a compact, satisfying project. For groups, banner-making is a fun collaborative option that produces a larger, photo-ready result.

University of Manchester pop-ups: quantum, codes and spinning toys

On Saturday 29 August the University of Manchester brings a programme of free, hands-on activities. You can try simple quantum demos, tackle secret codes, construct a spinning thaumatrope and play guessing games about famous scientists and inventors. These are lightly brainy, easily accessible experiences that spark curiosity rather than require prior knowledge.

The pop-ups are aimed at families and casual science fans, so the tone is exploratory and playful. Try the code-cracking with a friend for a mini-competition, or let children lead , their noses for pattern and play are often brilliant.

Practical tip: some activities may run on a first-come, first-served basis, so get there early if there’s a particular demo you don’t want to miss.

What this Pride programme means for visitors and the city

This is Pride programming that informs as much as it celebrates. By foregrounding LGBTQIA+ STEM professionals and local history, the museum is offering a welcome alternative to parade-only suggestions: a thoughtful outing where learning and celebration sit side by side.

For Manchester, it’s a reminder that queer stories are woven through the city’s industrial and scientific past. For visitors, it means a bank holiday that’s colourful, curious and unexpectedly moving , you’ll leave with crafted keepsakes, a few new facts, and perhaps a different appreciation of how science and identity intersect.

It’s a small change to your Pride itinerary that offers smiles, sparks and a bit of brain-tingle.

It's a small change that can make every Pride trip to Manchester feel brighter and smarter.

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