April « 2010 « Little Legends

April, 2010

Kids London — No Comments
30
Apr 10

Jarvis Cocker says Take Kids to Art Galleries!

Being an Art Teacher, I am all for any event which encourages kids to visit art galleries so I couldn’t resist this video showing musician and pop culture icon Jarvis Cocker launching a new initiative to encourage young people and families to visit art galleries and museums. It is encouraging to hear that new research reveals that young people would like to know more about art. This is good considering the rather worrying survey results which follow …

1 in 10 children think that Vinnie Jones painted the Mona Lisa whilst others give credit to actor Leonardo Di Caprio for painting Leonardo Da Vincis 16th century iconic portrait.

Children also thought that Arsenal striker Robin van Persie and former England Cricketer Darren Gough painted Vincent Van Gogh’s 19th century Sunflowers masterpiece. 60% of 12 year olds think Edvard Munch’s The Scream is a Band. The poll of 1000 children found that 1 in 5 (21%) children think that Jean-Claude Van Damme painted Claude Monets Waterlilies.

The research reveals that 1 in 8 UK children admitted that they had never been to an art gallery or museum but 1 in 3 young people would like to learn more about modern and classical art. Almost half of children said exploring a museum or art gallery as part of a family day out would help them develop a better appreciation of art.

In response, Eurostar has today launched Culture Connect – a partnership of 15 galleries and museums in London, Paris and Brussels. Artists, students from St Martins College of Art and Design and local school children were at St Pancras International to create a modern mural depicting world famous works of art from the galleries including the TATE and Les Galeries Nationales in Paris.

So, follow their advice and go to your local art gallery!

May Bank Holiday Activities for Families

I think everyone is looking forward to this May Bank Holiday whatever the weather, but what are you going to do and where are you going to take the Kids?

Here are a few suggestions:

Scotland

Go down to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh and find out about fruits. Do you ever argue with your family about fruits? Ever called a cucumber a vegetable? Find out about the myths surrounding fruits and categorise things in their true, botanical sense with the Garden Rangers.

North East

Mother Shipton’s Cave and Petrifying Well are apparently the oldest tourist attractions in Britain! There is plenty for all the family to do with a museum, playground and 12 acres of riverside grounds besides the main attractions.

North West

If you have a “Wild Child” visit Fellfoot park in Cumbria. Here the kids can run free without fear of being told off! They can build a den, construct a dam, climb trees or splash in the lake. Fell Foot Country Park offers a unique experience for our younger visitors. Tracker packs are available and a hoot for Mum & Dad to join in! From rowing boats on the lake to crashing through the undergrowth, this is an event for an energetic family.

Midlands

Why not visit the Amazing Hedge Puzzlein Herefordshire and have fun finding your way to the centre, trying to avoid the dead ends along the way. At the museum you can also test your own theories on their computers, and contemplate mystic myths about mazes from all the world’s great religions.

East Anglia

Visit Bure Valley Railway in Norfolk for a great train day out for all the family! See all the engines and coaches in action, take a trip on a steam train and children can enter a competition which has a free prize for every correct entry. Also, under 5′s travel free.

South East

In London, there is a May Day family fun fair at Alexandra Palace with dodgems, rides, stalls with prizes, kiddies rides and refreshments.

South West

The Brixham Pirate and Shanty Festival 2010 will be held from 30th April to the 3rd May in South Devon. There you can enjoy a bank Holiday weekend of swashbuckling fun, music and piratical antics to suit all ages with the Brixham Buccaneers at their second annual festival.

Wales

The Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza offers a great opportunity to experience a huge selection of exhibits such as steam engines, early vehicles, traditional organs and much more.
Each day throughout the weekend there is a Grand Parade led by Chitty Chitty Bang Bang followed by marching bands, Victorian Costume walkers, Steam engines and vintage vehicles. There is also a fairground complete with ghost train.

Maybe you have your own suggestions? If so, please share them

Kids East Sussex — No Comments
26
Apr 10

Don’t Miss the Brighton Festival from 1st to 23rd May 2010

The Brighton Festival is one to watch out for because it has plenty of family friendly events.

The Festival opens with the Children’s Parade at 10.30am on Saturday 1st May and then a whole range of theatre, puppet shows, activities follow over the next few weeks. Events to look out for are:

* Jacqueline Wilson, the children’s author famous for Tracey Beaker, will be doing a book signing
* Mr Toad’s Children’s Book Quiz for over 7s with tea, sandwiches, cake and plenty of prizes for all
* The Big Splash down by the Marina with an array of weird and wacky street entertainers alongside hands-on activities like make-and-take workshops for kid
* Comedy 4 Kids at Komedia which will have lots of funny gags without any rude bits
* The Magnificent Flying Machine and Penguin puppet shows at Freerange
* Baby Loves Disco at Komedia for kids who like to boogie woogie
* Moscow State Circus at Preston Park

If the kids still have lots of energy, you can let them run around on the beach to burn it off.

For more information visit their website and be sure to book ahead!

Kids Nottinghamshire — No Comments
25
Apr 10

The Villainous Sheriff of Nottingham Night Tour

On May 14th, as part of the national Museums at Night campaign and also as part of Nottingham’s Robin Hood Month, the Galleries of Justice Museum will be running special evening tours led by the Villainous Sheriff through all the galleries followed by a curator led object-handling session in their Robin Hood exhibition.

The Villainous Sheriff will take visitors on a guided tour of the building focusing on the role of the Sheriff in the courts and prison, with a gruesome emphasis on his attendance at executions and talks about some of the real villainous Sheriffs of Nottingham, the tour will include a special introduction of the Oubliette deep down in the Sheriff’s dungeon.

Tours take place on 14th May 2010 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm and are £6.75 per person subject to availability. To book call 0115 9520 555.

Kids Bedfordshire — No Comments
24
Apr 10

New Baby Elephant at Whipsnade Zoo

He’s heavy and he’s leggy, he’s the new elephant calf at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo – kicking off the spring season at the Bedfordshire zoo – and he has been named Crooked.

The lanky youngster, who is now 12 days old, is amusing his keepers by squeezing under new mum Karishma to reach his milk, but he is already showing a determined streak.

The baby Asian elephant was given his nickname because of a bend in his tail. The youngster is more than 3ft tall and weighs a healthy 124kg (almost 20 stone).

First-time mother Karishma, age 12, wowed her keepers with her calmness at the overnight birth, which they watched on monitors from a safe distance away. Deputy team leader Andy Durham, who has known Karishma since she was a baby, said: “She surprised us all and was excellent from the word ‘go’. When the calf first came out she just seemed amazed to have her own baby. She’s fantastic with it.”

Crooked has spent his early days getting to know the other elephants in the herd, including half sister Donna who is nine-months-old, while enjoying the Spring sunshine in the seven-acre elephant paddock.

Kids Hertfordshire — No Comments
24
Apr 10

New Teens Night Launched in Hertfordshire

A ground breaking event is all set to shake up the teenage social scene in Hertfordshire. Starting the on Friday, the 7th May 2010 and thereafter every first Friday of the month, Grounded UK is set to become the place to be seen…..

The event takes place at the Forum, Hatfield. With three separate rooms, each featuring a different type of music, the event fills an important gap for teenagers across the whole of Hertfordshire.

The opening night is Friday 7th May, with guest DJ on the night being Ben Dudley in the main room, who will be playing R’n’B and chart tunes for the crowds. The other rooms are set to impress with special guest alternative DJs and other headline DJs to be confirmed nearer the event date. The night will also feature live music from “Hekz”, a band providing the latest in metal sounds.

Non-alcoholic cocktails will be served in the Style Bar and all drinks are free for the duration of the night.

“This is set to be the night to be seen at for teenagers in Hertfordshire” states, Andrew Burton, Partner of RARE Productions, the company organising the event. “We realise that teenagers need a dedicated night and we have worked hard to put on what is set to become a regular monthly night and must go to event. We are encouraging people to pre-book tickets via our website as we expect a high demand on the night” he added.

More details of the event are available at the Grounded website.

For those parents worried about safety, the organisers state that:
Grounded is a fully supervised event, where young people can really enjoy themselves in a controlled safe environment. A mixture of music will be played to suit the tastes of young people. Our main priority will be the health and safety of young people, at all times.

It sounds like a great idea and they will definitely be plugging a gap in the market.

Kids Staffordshire — No Comments
23
Apr 10

Steaming ahead for a great May Bank Holiday Day out at Rudyard Lake

Families should head for the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway in the Staffordshire Peak District over the early May Bank holiday weekend for a great value day out. Kids get treats with free lollipops whilst the adults the enjoy the superb scenary.

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is located 2 miles North of Leek in Staffordshire. The railway, runs for 1.5 miles from Rudyard Station along the side of Rudyard Lake before terminating at Hunthouse Wood. There is lots to do and see at the lake with boat trips and wildlife all around.

For those of you who are thinking about Rudyard Kipling, author of the Jungle Books, apparently his parents named him after Rudyard Lake because they met there at a picnic!

Spokesman Mike Hanson said. “This is a family day out and the kids really enjoy getting their free lollipops. It is one the ways we are trying to provide good value family days out at a modest cost.”

The normal return fares of Adult £3.50 and child £2.50 apply and prior booking is not required. The Trains will run from 11.00am to 4pm every day and the new Platform 2 cafe will be open at Rudyard station.

Find out more here

Kids London — No Comments
23
Apr 10

The Natural History Museum’s new exhibition will take visitors 11,000 metres down

The Deep exhibition, which is coming soon to the Natural History Museum, will plunge visitors into the abyss, revealing a deep sea environment less explored than the surface of the moon. With bizarre creatures that have adapted to their harsh world in wonderful ways, visitors to the exhibition will discover the extraordinary yet fragile biodiversity that exists in the deep oceans and learn how Museum scientists are helping to preserve this important ecosystem.

Combining astonishing imagery, real specimens and life-size interactive installations, The Deep will take visitors on an immersive voyage to the planet’s final frontier. Highlights of the exhibition include over 50 real deep sea creatures, preserved for scientific research and on display to Museum visitors for first time, and video accounts of life in the depths by Museum scientists.

Alex Gaffikin, exhibition designer at the Natural History Museum, said ‘At the centre of the exhibition is a real sperm whale skeleton which has never been on display before. We will be telling the fascinating story of the weird and wonderful creatures that live on a whale carcass for up to 50 years.’

To give you an idea of the scale of these creatures, here is a picture of a model sperm whale arriving at the gallery ready for the exhibition:

The exhibition opens on 28th May 2010 and you can find out more details from their website at www.nhm.ac.uk

Kids West Midlands — No Comments
20
Apr 10

The Most Family Friendly Museum of 2010

The Guardian has awarded the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry the accolade of being the most family-friendly museum of the year. The prize for the museum is 500 activity sheets illustrated by Quentin Blake.

The Guardian Family Friendly Museum awards began in 2004, driven by the journalist Dea Birkett, who was horrified to be turfed out of the Royal Academy’s Aztec exhibition when her son pointed at a scary exhibit and shouted: “Monster!”. Now every year, undercover trips are made to a number of museums by a team of judges with their children.

The Herbert beat a shortlist that included the Great North Museum, in Newcastle, the National Trust’s Beningbrough Hall and Gardens, in York, the Highland Folk Museum, in Newtonmore, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, in Stoke, and the St Nicholas Priory, in Exeter.

The Herbert has eight permanent galleries exploring local history, from Lady Godiva to the Blitz, natural history and art. Apparently, “It’s meeting families on an equal footing at the museum door that won the Herbert this award.”

Previous winners include the Killhope mining museum, in County Durham, some Oxford museums, the Falmouth Art Gallery and Weston Park, in Sheffield.

Ludo Keston, the chief executive of the Herbert, declared the win a vindication of the museum’s efforts to be as welcoming to families as possible.

Well done The Herbert! I will definitely be adding it to the main site when it is up and running again.

Kids Warwickshire — No Comments
18
Apr 10

Warwick Castle

This place has been transformed since I used to go there on rather unexciting school trips. This is probably because it has been taken over by Merlin Entertainments. Although not cheap at £55 for a family ticket this is is a day out the kids will not forget in a hurry.

There is a “Pageant Playground” where children can let off steam amongst its various ropes, swings, nets, slides and walkways plus a mini playground for toddlers.

You can see the Trebuchet (which is like a giant catapult), and on some days there are jousting shows and plenty of stands such as the Knight Training School and the Archery stall.

For those brave enough there is the Castle Dungeon:

In true Dungeon style, gore seekers will be greeted by decaying bodies, chanting monks, torture implements, execution and ‘the labyrinth of lost souls’

If the weather is good the Castle car park quickly fills up and the queues for the various attractions begin to form. I suggest that you go as early as possible so you are there for when the doors open at 10am.

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