Entitled Believe, the event will be a celebration of the latest in digital entertainment and creativity brought to life at the University’s new MediaCityUK site. Visitors can travel free on public transport to the event before enjoying and participating in a range of eye-opening experiences.

Centrepiece of Believe will be Lowry to Life, an ambitious digital re-imagining of LS Lowry’s Piccadilly Gardens painting. Members of the public walking through Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre on Saturday 12 November can literally become part of the art as special motion capture technology will transfer their movements to Lowry characters shown on a giant projection of the painting at MediaCityUK, so the picture will come to life with moving men, women and children.

Visitors looking to be terrified by a T-Rex or do lunch with a Diplodocus should take a trip to the University’s on-site TV studios at MediaCityUK where, thanks to green screen wizardry, they can virtually star in an adventure with BBC’s Dinosaur Planet and then download the clip to keep forever.

In the building’s ground floor exhibition space guests can have a go at some fun digital video games on iPad-like touchscreen tables, while a dazzling 7m x 3m video wall with the world’s best resolution will show impressive film and animation.

A spectacular 3D film of digital dancers, courtesy of renowned Austrian art technology group Ars Electronica, will be sure to amaze viewers and the futuristic Digital Performance Lab will play host to a chilling Arctic 3D sound experience.

A programme of workshops on animation, special effects, film production and writing will also run throughout the day.

“Believe is one of our biggest events this year and is our way of inviting the local community to help us celebrate the opening of our MediaCityUK building,” said Jon Corner, University of Salford’s MediaCityUK Director. “We hope people will enjoy our showcase of incredible creative entertainment and technology and see the state-of-the-art facilities our new site can offer students, businesses and the wider community.”

Supported by CityCo, Manchester’s city centre management company, and BBC Radio Manchester, Believe is free of charge and is open from 10.30am-5.30pm on Saturday 12 November at the University of Salford, MediaCityUK, Salford, M50 2HE. Visit www.salford.ac.uk/believe for more information.

You can keep up with all the latest news on Believe and MediaCityUK by following our dedicated Twitter account: http://twitter.com/#!/uosmediacity and liking our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SalfordUniversityatMediaCityUK