February half term holidays (Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 February 2025) will see a junkbots takeover of People’s History Museum (PHM) in Manchester, with families invited to create their own colourful mini makes. The inspiration behind the Family Friendly creativity is the Deceptioncon robot costume, which is the latest addition to the museum’s collection and is currently on display in the foyer.
Deceptioncon was created by members of the GMB union and worn symbolically on the picket line by Amazon workers who went on strike in November 2023 because they felt like they were being treated like robots. They were campaigning for better working conditions, fairer pay and union recognition. Once visitors have met Deceptioncon they will be able to have a go at making their own junkbot in the Playful Protest Space and discover stories about the fight for workers’ rights throughout the galleries.
The Playful Protest Space is somewhere for families to create, play and relax. A whole host of colourful junk will be waiting to be recycled into a junkbot and when you’ve finished you can take your new bot friend home or add it to the imaginary picket line! You can also have a fun photo moment trying on one of the junkbots heads!
Half term Junkbots at People’s History Museum is a free Family Friendly activity that is suitable for children aged 5 to 12 years. It is also part of the SUPER DUPER Family Festival which is taking place from Saturday 15 to Tuesday 18 February 2025 offering free half term fun across the city. Deceptioncon is on display at the museum until Monday 24 March 2025.
Junkbots are powered by ideas worth fighting for, but for visitors the perfect way to refuel is at Open Kitchen Cafe at PHM. Hot drinks, snacks or a light lunch are served alongside a Kids Meal Deal that includes any sandwich, kids drink and selected pastry, bag of crisps or a piece of fruit, priced £4. And there are plenty of places inside the museum for those who want to bring their own lunch or snacks.
People’s History Museum’s opening hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm, every day except Tuesdays. Museum entry is free, with most visitors donating £10. To find out about visiting PHM, its full exhibitions and events programme visit phm.org.uk and you can keep up to date with the latest news by signing up to receive PHM’s e-newsletter.
ENDS
For further information, to arrange a visit or interview please contact Fido PR:
laura.sullivan@fidopr.co.uk / clare.short@fidopr.co.uk
Notes to editors:
About People’s History Museum
People’s History Museum (PHM) in Manchester is the UK’s national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future. Through an eclectic and colourful mix of historic and contemporary collections, featuring banners, badges, posters, photography and more, the museum celebrates the radical stories of people coming together to champion ideas worth fighting for.
Offering an engaging programme of exhibitions and events, collaborating with communities to create authentic content, the museum is Family Friendly throughout – inspiring the next generation to be active citizens.
People’s History Museum encourages visitors to be empowered by the past to make a change for the future. We are all together in the fight for a fairer world.
About Arts Council England (ACE)
PHM is an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). The work of PHM is supported using public funding by ACE, the national development agency for creativity and culture. ACE have set out their strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 they want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. From 2023 to 2026 they will invest over £467 million of public money from government and an estimated £250 million from The National Lottery each year to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.
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