Glimpse of new Power Hall facilities ahead of reopening this summer

New images of how the Science and Industry Museum’s reimagined Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery could look when it reopens this summer have been released.

The images, created by designers Studio MUTT, give visitors an idea of what they can expect to see in advance of the reopening of the hall, which was closed to the public for urgent repairs in 2019.

In this time, the museum has collaborated with architect and lead designer, Carmody Groake, to reimagine and improve the Power Hall experience and conserve the building’s history, and with Studio MUTT to create an engaging interpretation of the historic collection through the exhibition design.

The museum says this reimagined space will allow visitors to rediscover their favourite objects from fresh perspectives, and uncover the stories behind those who powered and continue to power Manchester’s industry.

The Power Hall will explore the building blocks of the relationship between human and engine that was born in Manchester and endures to this day.

Alongside these new experiences, the exhibits and atmosphere that visitors will recall from before 2019 will be retained. The space will provide a sensory experience through the sounds, smells and sights of Manchester’s past and present industry, and be a lively, working gallery full of engines and rail vehicles.

Three main themes will guide visitors through the hall:

Making More will explore how engines helped people to make more, faster – featuring the steam engines factory and mill owners eagerly installed to boost their productivity and profits from the 1800’s onwards, at a cost to people and the environment.

Powering Lives will examine how engines power the electricity network we plug into, and touch on how today’s scientists and engineers are developing greener ways to power our lives.

Connecting Places will take a closer look at how people used locomotives to connect communities around the world. Starting at the site of the museum, which in 1830 was the Manchester terminus of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway, it will explore the factors that sparked a transport revolution.

Kate Chatfield, interpretation and content manager at the Science and Industry Museum, said: “Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery will be a must-see Manchester experience – a living gallery that showcases a unique collection of historic 19th and early 20th century working engines to tell the story of Manchester as an epicentre for the engine-driven ideas and industry that shaped the world as we know it today.

“Our most iconic objects will be available to explore like never before as we bring to life the people behind the power through stories of the engineers, makers and technicians who use their skills and senses to create and care for engines, both today and in the past.”

The work to reimagine the hall is part of a multimillion-pound regeneration project currently taking place across the Science and Industry Museum.

This regeneration aims to conserve the museum’s historic buildings and reveal new spaces for all visitors to enjoy, play and learn in. Since closing in 2019, the hall has undergone crucial restoration works to futureproof it for years to come, including urgent roof and timber repairs, new windows and doors and wider building conservation. 

The accessible gallery will complement the building’s grand, historic industrial architecture, with the design working seamlessly with the new architectural interventions in the space to create a visitor experience that engages all the senses.

The Power Hall sits at the heart of the Science and Industry Museum’s vision to deliver a sector-leading programme of decarbonisation, that places zero carbon technologies at the centre of the visitor experience and creating a sustainable museum for the future.

Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery project has been made possible with support from The Law Family Charitable Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Headley Trust, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Atmos International, The Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust, The Zochonis Charitable Trust and other donors who choose to remain anonymous.

Special thanks go to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for their significant contribution to the gallery, and to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for funding the decarbonisation of the Power Hall through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, delivered by Salix Finance.