THE University of Bolton will be playing an explosive role in this year’s Manchester Science Festival.

The event is one of the UK’s biggest public science festivals with Bolton enjoying its fair share of flashes and bangs along with the rest of Greater Manchester.

The university is staging 12 free workshops and demonstrations aimed at children, young people and their families.

Events include: flashes and bangs which are four special fire and explosion related demonstrations, open heart, an interactive mock accident scene with lifesaving surgery; could you be a medic; and scintillating science which involves interactive hands on table top experiments based on physics and biology.

For the fourth year running university staff — together with partners Bolton Museum — are hosting special “meet the scientist” events at the museum where young people can talk to real scientists and engineers and take part in interactive workshops.

Dr Gill Smart, from the University’s institute for Materials Research and Innovation, leads the university’s partnership with the festival.

She said: “Science and engineering are at the heart of everything around us. For children and young people the science festival activities give an insight into how our world and our bodies work.

“It is a fun way to open minds to the possibilities of science and it is part of the university’s commitment to community outreach.

“The world needs more scientists and engineers, and the young people of Bolton and Greater Manchester are the next generation of inventors and innovators.’

For the full programme of events, including timings of each session and booking information, see manchesterscience festival.com

Dr Smart added: “Everyone is invited to join us at the university or at the museum and get stuck into science.”