The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years

Manchester Museum invites visitors to enter a fantastical world inhabited by a huge, snoozing cosmic cat. The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years, created in collaboration with creative robotics studio Air Giants, is a world-first experience unlike anything the museum has shown before. Blending artistic imagination and family fun, the free exhibition invites visitors into a world inhabited by a giant, inflatable, robotic cat. As the 10 metre-long cat peacefully naps, soft lights shimmer across its body, and it moves in response to the activity around it. Visitors of all ages are invited to get up close to the cat, get to know it better, give it a stroke or just peacefully sit and watch. 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.