Museum of Science and Industry

This year's Christmas party guests at MOSI are set to be entertained by the Museum's new science chefs, who will wow the festive crowds with science tricks performed with food. Chefs Adam Flint and Stephen Howe use everyday food items and a little theatre to demonstrate simple physics and chemistry. As part of their repertoire the science chefs show how surface tension between molecules in water or milk is disrupted when washing up liquid is added. This creates a swirling effect which can be clearly observed when food colouring is added.  In another neat party trick eggs balanced on the top of tubes on a tray do not move when the tray is pulled away because the friction between them and the tubes keeps them in the same position. This enables them to fall into glasses below. The chefs also demonstrate how a boiled egg can be sucked into a bottle when burning paper inside the bottle goes out and cooler air on the outside pushes the egg into the bottle.

The new science chef shows have been introduced for Christmas parties ahead of the opening of MOSI's redeveloped building, which is due to open on 10 December and will be available for Christmas party bookings, as well as the Museum's four other buildings. The Museum's new gift shop, coffee shop and conference centre are already open for business and a new restaurant and learning centre will open within the next month. A stunning new interactive gallery about Manchester innovations - Revolution Manchester gallery - will also be available for corporate hire.

Terry Hudghton, Head of Marketing and Business Development at MOSI said: "MOSI will be a fantastic place to be celebrating this Christmas and the science chefs provide a quirky entertainment act that you won't get elsewhere. Our newly redeveloped building is almost complete, with a beautiful new conference suite, showing off all the best features of the original 19^th century railway warehouse. The new interactive Revolution Manchester gallery will showcase some of Manchester's greatest innovations and will provide a unique backdrop for any business event."

By December two new permanent galleries will become part of the Museum site. Revolution Manchester gallery promises to bring the museum experience bang up to date, with breathtaking digital interpretation and games alongside intriguing collection items displayed for the first time. A new, expanded version of the popular hands-on Experiment gallery, which attracts thousands of children every year, will move from the second to the first floor.

Funding for the redevelopment project comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Garfield Weston, SITA, and a number of other trusts and foundations.

To watch the science chefs in actions, click here.

For Christmas party bookings or information please call 0161 606 0174/5.

For more information please call Sarah Roe, Press and Publicity officer on Tel: 0161 606 0176 or look up www.mosi.or.uk

Notes to editors

ERDF in the Northwest

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is making a real difference to people and businesses in the Northwest. With €755 million to invest between 2007 and 2013, ERDF is enhancing the competitiveness of the region's economy by supporting growth in enterprise and employment.

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