Science and Industry Museum's Power Hall roars back to life in Castlefield

For generations of Manchester families, a trip to the Science and Industry Museum meant one thing above all: the Power Hall, with its gleaming engines hissing and turning. In October 2025 that experience returned, as the gallery reopened to visitors for the first time since 2019.

Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery reopened on Friday 17 October 2025 after a major repair and restoration project. It forms part of a wider £40m programme of work across the museum's historic Castlefield site.

The work has been extensive. Coverage of the project describes a new visitor entrance and improved circulation, a new roof, repairs to the building's timber trusses and a series of energy efficiency measures designed to secure the hall's future.

Those changes matter for the planet as well as the building. The museum expects the decarbonisation work to cut its yearly carbon dioxide emissions by 515 tonnes, a significant step for a venue that tells the story of the industrial age.

Inside, returning visitors will find plenty that is familiar. The gallery keeps its working engines and retains the much-loved exhibits that people might remember from before the closure, now presented around three themes: Making More, Powering Lives and Connecting Places.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which supported the project, has highlighted the reopening as a milestone for the museum, and the Museums Association reported on the hall's return after its major repairs. Place North West published a gallery of images of the engines ahead of the reopening day.

For Manchester, the Power Hall is more than a collection of machines. It is a vivid reminder of the inventiveness that shaped the city, told in a building that is itself part of that history. Seeing the engines move, rather than standing still behind glass, helps visitors of every age understand how steam power transformed daily life and work across the region.

The Science and Industry Museum sits in Castlefield, within easy walking distance of Deansgate and the city centre. Details of current exhibitions, events and visiting information are available on the museum's website.