Hunting for infection at Quarry Bank

It might not seem like the most obvious partnership, but Quarry Bank, a National Trust site near Manchester Airport and the University’s Immunology department have been teaming up to bring University research to family audiences.

As part of a much wider partnership between Quarry Bank and the University, the team at Quarry Bank have been working with Sheena Cruikshank, Joanne Pennock and Kathryn Else as part of the ‘Exotic Guests and Alien Invaders’ programme. This programme has been exploring invasive species on the Quarry Bank site and had a theme based around the parasites that worker children in the past may have been infected with.

These stories and ideas were a key feature in the Autumn exhibition and the University team also delivered a fantastic ‘Hunting for Infection’ week as part of Manchester Science Festival. Over 1,500 family visitors hunted around the Apprentice House, seeking out infection hotspots and looking for the parasite eggs hiding in the garden. The event was a huge success for Quarry Bank, and the University, with a non-science audience engaging with scientists and research in a really unexpected way.

This is one of several ongoing projects and relationships between Quarry Bank and the University. Quarry Bank is working with staff and students across many departments, including History, English, Science & Engineering, Museology and Plant Science, looking at new ways of working and areas for collaboration that will benefit academics, students and visitors to Quarry Bank.