The Manchester Science Festival 2013

If you’re a geeky traveller and in Manchester from late October to early November, then you’re in for a treat. The Manchester Science Festival 2013 is taking place and offers you the opportunity to play, create and experiment with over 100 different events including hands on activities and experiments. If you’re travelling with the kids, then this event is perfect for you as many of the things to do are suitable for people of all ages.

For the true geeks out there, you should take a visit to the Digital Retro display. Here you’ll get a chance to relive the early days of home computing where you’ll be able to get hands on with classic machines from Sinclair, Acorn, Apple and Commodore. There is a retro game challenge for those wishing to take part where the winner is the person that scores the highest on one of the retro games within a specific time. You’ll also get the opportunity to compare the computers of yesterday with more contemporary devices, such as the Raspberry Pi.

We all love a bit of TV and probably don’t like to admit how much time we spend sitting in front of one. Take a look at the Television Showcase if you get the opportunity during the Manchester Science Festival and you’ll be able to see how far televisions have come; from the grainy, black and white images of the early twentieth century to the 3D TVs of today.

Even more so than the TV, we probably don’t want to admit how much time we spend on our mobile phones. Find out how science has shaped the way we communicate at the From Semaphore to Smartphone display and learn what people did before mobile phones. You’ll also learn how telephones work and how radio enables global communication.

As well as technology, there are numerous displays covering a huge range of topics such as evolution, astronomy and chemistry. If you cannot find something you’re interested in at the Manchester Science Festival, then you cannot call yourself a geek.

If you haven’t booked a hotel to stay yet, then take a look at Ibis, where you can book a hotel online. They currently have a number of hotels in Manchester available from late October to early November.