Real Life Science project receives award

Manchester Museum, the UK’s largest university museum, has won the prestigious Lever Prize 2015.  The award, now in its ninth year, is given to arts organisations in North West England who are judged to be regionally distinctive, showing a high calibre of existing work and able to demonstrate exciting future developments.

The award, which also comes with £10,000 of funding and the opportunity to collaborate with some of the region’s most influential business leaders, was made off the back of the Real Life Science programme at Manchester Museum, which encourages secondary and post-16 students to develop practical investigative skills through science workshops – participants were able to meet scientists from across The University of Manchester and learn from the Museum’s collections and displays.

Awarded by the North West Business Leadership Team (an independent group of influential business leaders promoting sustainable economic development and long-term well-being of North West England) in partnership with Arts & Business, previous winners have included the Manchester International Festival in 2007, TATE Liverpool in 2008 and Halle St Peter’s in 2013.

Geoffrey Piper, chief executive of NWBLT commented “Manchester Museum, which is situated at The University of Manchester, has developed some really creative ideas for working with the NWBLT membership throughout the year. The Real Life Science project links in well with some specific areas which we are focussing on and we very much look forward to a rewarding partnership with our worthy Lever Prize winners.”

The news clearly delighted Manchester Museum, whose Director, Nick Merriman, added  “We are delighted to have won the 2015 Lever Prize. This prize will enable us to strengthen our existing secondary and post-16 science programme, by showcasing cutting-edge applications of science in industry and inspiring the innovators of the future.  The opportunity to benefit from the advice and support of the NWBLT will make a huge difference in the future development of this crucial aspect of our work, and we are greatly looking forward to a productive partnership over the course of the coming year.”

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