Science and Industry Museum celebrates our brilliant bodies and incredible insides

The Science and Industry Museum is still undergoing a multi-million-pound regeneration project that will see brand new spaces opened and significant improvements made to some of its best-loved galleries.

It may look a bit different, with scaffolding being erected around the building that houses the museum entrance and four main galleries and some areas will remain temporarily closed, but there is still plenty to do, see and enjoy as visitors explore 250 years of innovations and ideas that changed the world.

The Museum is celebrating its world-premiere exhibition, Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You by calling on anyone curious about the incredible inner workings of the human body to join a month-long medley of anatomy-themed special events, star-studded appearances and half-term transformations.

The exhibition, which takes visitors on a journey through the digestive system, is going out in a blaze of glorious grossness by inspiring all the upcoming ‘brilliant bodies’ events.

Free ‘brilliant bodies’ bank holiday weekender

The month-long bodies bonanza kicks off with a free ‘brilliant bodies bank holiday weekend’ from Saturday 4–Monday 6 May.  Prepare to be wowed by people who have trained their bodies to do amazing things from beatboxing to handstands and hula hoops.

On Saturday 4 May, The Circus House will be bringing all the fun of the fair to the museum by demonstrating the incredible things we can train our bodies to do. Visitors will be able to give them a try for themselves.

Sunday will welcome composer, actor and director, Faz Shah, to demonstrate all the ways the human body can create beautiful sounds by showcasing his pop-tastic violin jams before leading beatboxing sessions that give participants the opportunity to try out what their own chords are capable of.

Professional hula hoop performer, Natasha Moonshine, will also be wowing crowds with her impressive performances before supporting them to give hula hooping a whirl themselves during interactive workshops.

Monday will see modern Bollywood dance academy, Aimz Bolly Dance, performing spectacular routines and teaching some of their most iconic moves to visitors.

See stars of children’s TV in person

Visitors will also get the opportunity to meet two-thirds of the presenting stars of BBC Children’s TV Operation Ouch. Dr Chris Van Tulleken will be at the museum on Saturday 18 May and Dr Ronx Ikharia on Saturday 25.

During each appearance, visitors will have the opportunity to snap a selfie with the doctors. They will also see Chris and Ronx in action when they each take to the stage to answer some of the most probing poo-related questions during live Q&As.

Tickets to grab a photo with the doctors in the exhibition will be available to book online from Tuesday 30 April. All tickets are priced at £10 for adults, £9 children, senior and concessions, with children aged three and under going free.

The Q&A with the doctors will be available to enjoy as part of a free museum visit. All that’s needed is a general museum admission ticket.

May half term

The ‘brilliant bodies’ month will culminate in a medical themed May half-term from 25 May – 2 June. Visitors can bring along their cuddly friends to the museum as it transforms into a teddy hospital, uncovering more about the fascinating inner workings of the human body.

Budding doctors and nurses can visit the departments of Heads, Hearts, Bones and Bottoms and learn how to keep whole bodies healthy with playful and engaging activities for all ages.

A host of body-themed activities will also be available to enjoy each weekend in May. These include interactive activities where the museum’s expert Explainers ‘spill their guts’ for visitors as they explore the contents of a ‘gut bag’ to understand more about the digestive system.

“Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You is the museum’s most epic experiment that encourages visitors to leave their inhibitions at the door as they investigate some of our funniest inner workings”,  said the Museum’s Rebecca Gazey-McGaughey.

“We’ve been inspired by this to create our month-long programme of interactive, anatomy-themed activities. Visit us during May to discover what your incredible body is capable of and get hands on with the science inside us all.”

Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You is the Science and Industry Museum’s most popular special exhibition to date so why not join the 80,000 people who have already taken part in the epic adventure and visit the exhibition before it closes on 9 June.

For more information about what’s on at the museum, click here. 

(All images © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum).