This weekend on Saturday 12 June 2010 from 12.00pm – 4.00pm come and take part in the FREE Imagine Weekend.
Get creative whilst you and the kids experiment and play with the material of the month from paper, plastic to cardboard.
You’ll be amazed at the extraordinary things you can do with ordinary stuff! Stay for as little or as long as you want.
Suitable for families with children of any age. Drop in, no need to book.
Join forces as a family and develop your skills in den-building and miniature raft-making, tracking and camouflage at Wisley over Father’s Day weekend (19-20 June).
Imagine you are a group of intrepid explorers, travelling the globe in search of fantastic plants. You have arrived at Wisley, a place of amazing plants, and your mission is to protect your special pine cone through a series of survival challenges. Along your journey, you will meet the Wisley tribes who will put your skills to the test.
Sounds great fun, doesn’t it? Let’s hope the weather is fine.
For this summer only, from now until 5th September, Kew Garden’s Princess of Wales Conservatory has been transformed into a haven for butterflies, bugs and beasties. 
As you walk into the Conservatory you will be amazed by the number and range of butterflies and moths flying freely around your head. My children were mesmerised and loved studying them close up.
Then you walk through to an area where you can learn all about the chocolate plant which is bound to encourage questions.
Finally you move on to an area where there is a large pond with huge water lilies and a giant catfish in it. If you are lucky you might even see a Chinese Dragon Lizard wandering around freely.
This was a huge hit with my kids when I went there over half-term and I highly recommend it.
When you have had enough of this area, you can just go on over to the new Plantastic Play Area by Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, where the kids can burn off loads of energy in a leaf maze, climbing posts, huge tunnels and even whizz along a wire.
As if there wasn’t already enough to do at Kew with the Climbers and Creepers playground and the Treetop walkway there are now these fantastic attractions.
Have a great family day out.
Curator David Woolcock and his team are training three Military Macaws and two Blue and Gold Macaws for a new flying display starting this Summer. “It has been quite a challenge training the five macaws over the last couple of weeks. The Militaries are doing very well and have displayed their flying skills brilliantly, Blue and Gold Oscar is gaining fitness and confidence, but Jake has taken the scenic route on a couple of occasions.”
“All five Macaws live in a large aviary near the JungleBarn where a new stage has been created for our daily 3.30pm ‘Free Flying Bird Show’. There is a large picnic lawn and lots of tables for everyone to get comfortable while the birds are flying overhead and through the crowds. Our vision is for the three Military Macaws to fly together in a circle one way while the two Blue and Gold Macaws circle in the opposite direction. You could say it will be like the macaw version of the ‘Red Arrows’ flying display team.”
Seeing the birds fly free is an inspirational experience giving a glimpse into rainforest life, and presenters talk about parrots, both as pets and in the wild, and the work of the World Parrot Trust charity started at Paradise Park over twenty years ago.
Visitors to Paradise Park have raised over £165,000 since 1999 towards the work of the World Parrot Trust.
For more details, visit the Paradise Park website.
This weekend, on 5th & 6th June, Legoland is inviting visitors to take part in a brand new family festival celebrating all things creative! Each day there’ll be interactive story time sessions with a host of children’s favourite characters including Noddy, Peppa Pig, Peter Rabbit, Spot the Dog and Horrid Henry. LEGO® fans can take part in a special building event using millions of bricks from the famous James May LEGO House plus there’ll be lots of fantastic competitions to win exclusive prizes.
The Festival of Imagination, sponsored by LEGO Club Jr., is ensuring that the legacy of the James May LEGO House lives on through an annual building event which will take place outside the Park’s main entrance. To celebrate the opening of the new Pirates Landing area, families can have some hands-on fun and help build a huge LEGO brick chain to accompany an impressive Pirate ship anchor. All the proceeds of this activity, held in conjunction with LEGO UK, will benefit their nominated charity, The National Autistic Society.
Children can dress as their fantasy story book character and join in a Fancy Dress Parade which starts each day at noon in Miniland. Little ones will be enchanted by the colourful creatures of Tinga Tinga Tales when they visit the Creative Art area. Armed with paintbrushes, they can take inspiration from the stories by decorating individual wooden tiles in bright African-themed colours and even take home a Tinga give-away.
In the Miniland Activity Zone bookworms can enjoy a crazy walk through experience in the Mad Science section and even create bookmarks using the wonder of science. Down in the Enchanted Forrest, young explorers can have a Rainbow Magic adventure and help Ruby locate her missing fairy friends for a chance to win an exclusive Rainbow Magic book.
All the fun starts at 12:00 each day and finishes at 17:00. Activities taking place during the Festival of Imagination are included in the standard ticket price and are free to Full Annual Pass holders.
The new attraction Marvel Super Heroes 4D has officially opened its doors!
Spread across three floors, Marvel Super Heroes 4D brings to life some of the world’s best loved Super Heroes through a mix of 4D animation, interactive themed areas and startlingly realistic wax figures.
A group of young Marvel fans were the first to enjoy the new attraction, taking their seats in the newly installed 4D cinema to view a specially commissioned animated 3D Marvel film short with added high impact “4D” effects. Eleven year old, Nathan Wilson from Ealing, London was suitably impressed. “The film was awesome; the Heroes came right out of the screen over your head and you could feel the robots scuttling past your legs when they invaded. I liked it best when the Hulk clapped and sneezed – even though we got pretty wet!”
The youngsters also got up close to six Super Hero wax figures and tried out a range of Super Hero interactives from turning invisible with The Invisible Woman (as portrayed Jessica Alba), going green with the gargantuan 4.5m Hulk and trying out Wolverine’s deadly adamantium claws alongside the mutant hero (as portrayed by Hugh Jackman). The other wax figures featured are Spider Man, featured in a cleverly inverted office where guests can literally “hang out” on the ceiling, Head of S.H.I.E.L.D (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division), Nick Fury (as portrayed by Samuel L Jackson), and Ironman.
“This is the biggest new experience we have introduced here at Madame Tussauds London since we re-developed the Chamber of Horrors over seven years ago,” commented General Manager, Edward Fuller. “We’re delighted with the results. The 4D film action spills out of the screen right over the audience who should expect special effects involving water, smoke, seat tremors and wind. Every centimeter of the huge 70m dome is fully utilised and people are absolutely loving it”.
The nine minute film presentation (a short clip of which is above) unites a crack team of Marvel Super Heroes – Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Ms Marvel – in an all new adventure set in London, and is the first time ever that a group of Marvel Super Heroes have been brought together in a 3D film.
Give dad a special treat this Father’s Day, Sunday 20th June, with a day of excitement, challenge, activity and family fun at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton, near Chichester. England’s leading museum of historic buildings and traditional rural life is planning an event packed with unusual and traditional rural activities for dad, and the rest of the family, to discover and enjoy.
Fathers will have a chance to experience a number of specialist countryside skills all in one event-packed day, with activities, demonstrations and competitions designed to appeal to fathers, grandfathers, and children of all ages – and of course, mum will be welcome to join in as well! There will be a chance to drive a vintage tractor, archery, and an opportunity to drive a horse-drawn cart pulled by one of the Museum’s team of working Shire horses. The working Tudor kitchen is also sure to be a popular destination for fathers because there they can discover the art of traditional brewing.
Haredown Mountain Boarding Centre from East Dean, near Chichester will be in attendance once again, giving brave visitors the opportunity to experience rolling downhill on a small set of wheels, with just gravity and a sense of balance to guide them! The team from the Centre will provide instruction and equipment, with a couple of expert demonstrations during the day. There will also be a wooden sculpture activity, using shaped wooden sections which are assembled to make the design of the visitor’s choice. This activity proved extremely popular last year, and resulted in a magnificent variety of items ranging from steam trains complete with smoke, to aeroplanes, helicopters, owls and penguins!
There will also be welly boot throwing – always more difficult than it looks; a golf activity with a difference, field target air rifles, and of course with the World Cup firmly on everyone’s mind, a number of football challenges. There will be a falconry display, with a chance to get up close to the birds themselves, and the historic Timber Yard will be in action. For younger visitors, there will be a special Father’s Day arts and craft activity, and the chance to try some traditional Tudor and Victorian games.
Visitors on Fathers Day will be able to enjoy all of the Museum’s exhibits, which include over 45 historic buildings, rescued from destruction and carefully reconstructed in the heart of the South Downs National Park. They will be able to see the traditional breed farm animals including Tamworth pigs, cattle, and sheep. The 17th century watermill will be grinding flour sold in the shop and used in the café, while children will love the woodland walks and feeding the hungry ducks on the lake with grain from the mill.
The Museum is open daily until 23 December. It is open from 10.30am to 6pm during British Summer Time, and until 4pm for the rest of the year. Admission is adults £9, over 60s £8.15 children £4.80, family £24.75, under 5’s free.
Shakespeare’s Globe’s celebrates ‘Sam’s Day’ with free day of family activities on Saturday 12th June
Shakespeare’s Globe’s annual celebration of the birthday of its founder, Sam Wanamaker, returns this month with a free day of workshops, demonstrations and platform discussions for all the family.
A host of Globe professionals will lead sessions around the Globe site on storytelling, music, movement, voice, Shakespeare on Film and Building the Globe throughout the day.
The sessions are free of charge and bookable on the day on a first come, first served basis from 9am.
On Saturday 19th June from 2pm to 5pm at Gipsy House, Gt Missenden, Buckinghamshire there will be a traditional fête in Roald Dahl’s magical garden. It will be suitable for all ages with readings of Roald Dahl’s stories by Hal Iggulden (author of the Dangerous Book for Boys), Mr Marvel’s Magical Fun Show, a Barbershop Quartet, the Whitchurch Morris Men and more. Refreshments will be available. For more information please contact enquiries@roalddahlfoundation.org or call 01494 890465. £5 per adult; £2.50 per child. Not pre-bookable.
Visit the Arundel Wetland Centre for some half-term fun up until Sunday 6th June. There is plenty to see and do:
Dabbling & Diving Pond Dipping
Discover an amazing variety of exciting creatures living below the surface!
Duck Safaris
Get duck-close and personal with during boat trips through Wetlands Discovery
Ducky Designs
Daily craft sessions in the Roundhouse.
Feathered Furlongs Race rubber duckies for fun and prizes.
Great Duck Hunt
Follow the clues to discover fascinating duck facts!
All activities are free, but regular admission prices apply.
Arundel Wetland Centre, Mill Road, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9PB
T: 01903 883355
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