A new series of live music and comedy nights is coming to Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Museum in Widnes as the organisation expands its ‘After Hours’ events offering.
Based on Mersey Road near the Silver Jubilee Bridge, the venue is best known for its interactive science galleries, hands-on workshops, family activities, observatory experiences and museum collections, attracting thousands of visitors each year from across Halton and the surrounding region.
Live entertainment will now become part of its wider evening events activity, following a launch event delivered earlier this year in partnership with Halton Borough Council and The Narrative, a Liverpool-based arts and culture organisation.
The initiative has been supported through Culture 26: Made in Halton funding, which aims to support cultural and community activity across the borough.
Nikki Burton Mallott, Chief Executive Officer at Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Museum, said:
“Lots of people locally know Catalyst from school visits or family days out, but we want to show another side to the venue.
“These events are about introducing more evening activity into the building and creating new reasons for people to visit throughout the year. We’ve seen growing demand for community events, private hires and adult-focused experiences in recent years, so introducing live music and comedy nights felt like a natural next step.
“Catalyst has always encouraged curiosity, learning and shared experiences, and we want to continue building on that through different types of events and activity.”
The first events announced as part of the series include live music nights on September 10th and November 26th, alongside a comedy night with The Giggle Shack, a North West comedy events brand, on October 9th.
“Comedy felt like a really good fit for the space because we want these nights to feel relaxed, welcoming and social”, Nikki added, “We’re also really pleased to be working with organisations like The Giggle Shack and starting to build relationships with performers and creatives from across the region.”
Alongside the live events, the team is also exploring plans for future interactive experiences, including a science and heritage-themed escape room.
Catalyst is now encouraging musicians, performers and creatives from across the region to get in touch with them to get involved in future events as the evening programme develops. Nikki added:
“We really want these nights to evolve over time and showcase a mix of established names, emerging talent and people from all of the areas around us.
“It’s going to be a really exciting rest of the year here at Catalyst and we want as many people as possible to come along and be part of it.”
Further details can be found at catalyst.org.uk.