Credit: Manchester Museum
Kicking off the summer holidays with a bang is Manchester Museum as it has recently launched a new immersive experience featuring a huge, snoozing cosmic cat installation. Known as The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years, the installation has been created in collaboration with creative robotics studio Air Giants, it’s a world-first experience unlike anything that the European Museum of the Year has shown before.
Blending cutting-edge technology with handcrafted artistry, The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years installation is Air Giants’ biggest and boldest work to date. Known for transforming spaces with giant, pneumatically-controlled creatures, Air Giants are at the forefront of combining robotics with storytelling to create immersive, emotive experiences.
Credit: Manchester Museum What is The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years?
Open from July 19 and running until September 14, 2025, the free exhibition invites visitors into a world inhabited by a giant, inflatable, robotic cat where they can get up close to the cat, get to know it better, give it a stoke or just peacefully sit and watch. This 10-metre-long feline is not only enormous but also full of personality. As the cat peacefully naps, soft lights shimmer across its body, and it moves in response to the activity around it.
Blurring the lines between museum, theatre and dreamscape, The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years invites visitors to wander among intriguing environments and see curious objects from Manchester Museum’s collections. Inspired by humanity’s age-old fascination with cats, the exhibition gently encourages reflection on care, empathy and the connections we form, even with life forms beyond our usual understanding.
Georgina Young, Head of Exhibitions and Collections at Manchester Museum, said: “We’re beyond excited to introduce this immense, dreamlike creature to Manchester Museum. We’re used to looking after animals, but this is truly unlike anything we’ve ever cared for before.
“Created in collaboration with Air Giants, this is their most ambitious work to date and offers a chance for us to reimagine once again what a museum experience can be. The exhibition invites visitors into a playful, imaginative world and offers a gentler kind of storytelling, one rooted in curiosity, wonder and care. We can’t wait to see how people respond to this extraordinary being and we hope visitors of all ages feel a sense of connection and leave feeling moved, surprised and maybe even a little changed.”
Credit: Supplied
Emma Powell, Creative Director at Air Giants, added: “It has been a joy to work closely with the museum to develop this project. The collections have been a strong inspiration to the story we’ve created, as have the museum’s values of care and imagination.
“Our work uses a lot of technology, but the most important thing for us is the experience people have when meeting one of our creatures. It is awesome in the old-fashioned sense of the word! We’re hoping audiences will have a joyful connection to the cat and the story around it. We can’t wait for people to experience this magical and gentle exhibition in Manchester this summer.”
Inspired by the exhibition, Manchester Museum is also offering a playful augmented reality (AR) trail where the cat’s kittens have escaped and they’re sleeping in spots across the Museum. Kids can go on a paw-some quest to find the kittens, bringing imaginary characters to life and finding out the fascinating secrets of cats.
How to get tickets to see the huge cat installation at Manchester Museum
The immersive experience is free to visit, however advanced ticket booking is required in order to manage the capacity of the space and ensures everyone can enjoy the experience. Quiet Time tickets for those looking to attend during quieter and disability-friendly slots to meet the cat with sensory items available can be booked for Saturday mornings from 8am-10am.
Credit: Manchester Museum
The remaining galleries open at 10am. Last entry is 4.30pm every day except Wednesday when it is 8.30pm. Tickets to the cat installation at Manchester Museum can be booked here.
Find The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years at Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL.