Exhibitions and galleries

Urban legend has it that electricity usage soars during ad breaks and at the end of big football games. But is it true? We investigated…

Or, how a bunch of children helped us re-interpret our Textiles Gallery…

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena, and have inspired countless artists, explorers, philosophers and scientists over the centuries, including Manchester’s own John Dalton.

We see structures transporting electricity across the country every day. But how many of you know what they’re actually called?

How the magnificent John Rylands Library got its electricity is a fascinating look at the growth of 19th century Manchester, early electricity developments, and may even hold lessons for more sustainable power in our future.

Zap away the post Christmas blues and power up your 2019 with our Top 10 electricity-themed songs, inspired by our Electricity: The spark of life exhibition.

As 2018 draws to a close, we take a look back at your favourite blog posts this year. 

Here’s a question you probably haven’t been asked: in a game of museum object charades, how would you act out an ornate 19th century glass lamp shade?

Curator of Engineering Sarah Baines takes a look at the innovative thinking of James Joule, whose ideas on heat and energy were initially thought to be so revolutionary they were rejected by the scientific establishment.

Consultant curator Paul Bonaventura talks about the thinking behind the amazing artworks that were specially commissioned for Electricity: The spark of life.

Years of work by curators, archivists and designers go into making each of our exhibitions a reality—but very few people have the chance to speak to them in person about the ideas behind each show. 

We take a look at the work our conservation team did with two of the more unusual objects in our Electricity exhibition, the electric eel and the red phonebox.