Museum of Science and Industry

Children will get a chance to operate the hoses used to put out some of Manchester’s biggest fires, and learn how to be fire fighters for the day. The fire engine, which was once used in Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, will be at MOSI to help demonstrate the valuable work of fire fighters, and basic fire safety advice.

The Transport Weekend will include a 1960s-style classic car rally, in aid of the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust, for which firemen will take collections. The rally leaves MOSI at 11am on Sunday 3 August. All the cars will be on display in Macclesfield town centre from 12 Noon before continuing to the Children’s Adventure Farm at Millington in Cheshire.

Record-breaking power boat Miss Windermere VI, which at 155 mph still holds the world speed record for propeller-driven hydroplanes, will be on display at MOSI during the weekend. There will also be a free bus service to the Manchester Transport Museum (one of the biggest collections of buses in Britain), and visitors can take a ride on the Museum’s reproduction 1830 Planet steam train.

Nick Forder, transport curator at MOSI said: “Manchester led the world in transport innovation when the Liverpool & Manchester Railway opened here in 1830. One hundred years later Manchester opened Britain’s first municipal airport and now we are looking forward to another great change in Manchester’s transport systems.

“Transport Weekend is a chance to experience first hand some of Manchester’s rich transport heritage and record your views about how we should travel in the future. You’ll be able to try out a real fire hose, watch a classic car rally and meet a world record-breaking speed boat!”

An exhibition on the proposed changes to Manchester’s public transport, including the congestion charge, will visit the Museum on Saturday. This is part of the 14-week consultation carried out by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, about planned investments through the Transport Innovation Fund.

Transport Weekend at the Museum is Saturday and Sunday 2-3 August 2008.

For more information about Fire for Hire, please call Andrew Roberts on Tel: 0845 634 4596.

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