Are Manchester's weekends wetter?

In the UK, Manchester is renowned for being a city where it rains a lot of the time. According to a Meteorological Office report in 2004, Swansea received the most rainfall of any UK city. The report was based on the rainfall figures for the previous twenty years. Manchester was ranked down in ninth place. Furthermore, Manchester received less annual rainfall than three other English cities - Plymouth, Preston and Bristol.

One of the most imaginatively titled events at the week long Manchester Science Festival takes place this Saturday at the city's Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and is called 'You are the scientist: Does it rain more at the weekend?'.

The following day, beer drinkers can discover more about the science behind brewing beer in Manchester. The Festival website promises that participants at the event at MOSI will be able to: "See the process then drink the product."

The Festival coincides with many local schools' week long half-term break.

This year's Festival has four themes: Manchesticity, Mind and Body, Our Planet & Beyond and Bright Ideas. Events will be staged at a variety of venues in the city, including the Museum of Science and Industry on Liverpool Road and the John Rylands Library on Deansgate.

The Festival's website helpfully grades events by age group, by theme and by date. And, consequently is easy to navigate around.

You can follow and interact with the Festival on Twitter @mcrscifest or become a fan of the Festival on Facebook.

Visitors to Manchester can discover more about the world's first industrial city with their own audio downloadable tour. The Manchester: Then & Now audio guide (costs £5) and is composed of commentary points (like tracks on a CD or an iTunes album). Listeners can stop and start as they wish - or as the heavens dictate!

Purchase any Walk Talk Tour (including the Manchester: Then & Now tour) and get a second tour (London, Edinburgh, Chester or York) free by entering the following promotional code in the shopping basket page: BI123.