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20 Apr
2012

Five London Museum and Attraction Sleepovers

Posted by in Attractions, Kids 2 Comments

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after dark in London’s museums and attractions, here’s your chance to find out. Family sleepovers are on the increase, and you can now spend the night at many of London’s top attractions. Kids must be accompanied by an adult at most sleepovers, so grown-ups can join in the fun too!

Natural History Museum

Discover what goes on at the Natural History Museum after staff and visitors have gone home. Monthly Dino Snores sleepovers for kids aged eight to 11 include a torch-lit trail through the famous Dinosaurs gallery, a live show about creatures that bite and sting, a fossil workshop, and a chance to sleep under a diplodocus skeleton. The fun continues in the morning with breakfast and a session with Animal Man Nick Spellman.

Science Museum

Fancy spending the night among the Science Museum’s exciting models, machines and exhibits? Once a month, the museum holds Science Nights for children aged eight to 11, with hands-on workshops and a 3D film screening in the impressive IMAX cinema. At the end of the evening you’ll snuggle down for a night in the museum, before enjoying a tasty breakfast in the morning.

ZSL London Zoo

Don’t be surprised if you hear rustling in the night at ZSL London Zoo’s BedBUGS sleepover. Kids aged eight to 11 are invited to spend the night in BUGS! with the spiders, beetles and tamarins. (Don’t worry, they are all safely behind glass!) Activities include animal talks, games, storytelling and a torch-lit tour around the zoo, where you can find out what animals get up to during the night.

Golden Hinde

Experience life as a member of Sir Francis Drake’s crew on the Golden Hinde’s Family Overnight Living History Tour for kids aged six to 11. On arrival you’ll be dressed in Tudor costumes as an officer, barber surgeon or gunner. After an evening of activities and a Tudor dinner, you’ll spend the night among the cannons on the gun deck. Continental breakfast in the morning signals your return to the 21st century.

Chelsea Football Club

Perfect for young football fans, Chelsea FC sleepovers offer the chance to stay overnight at Stamford Bridge. Kids aged five to 10 can take part in an evening of fun-filled activities including a game of five-a-side football, a look around the home dressing room and a walk through the players’ tunnel. Plus they’ll get to meet Chelsea mascot Stamford the Lion before settling down for a night in the Chelsea FC Museum.

11 Apr
2012

Photo of the Week: Plastinated Shark at the Natural History Museum

Posted by in Attractions 2 Comments

Come face-to-face with a shark and other animals as you’ve never seen them before at the Natural History Museum.

Animals Inside Out is the museum’s latest exhibition, where you can see the internal systems of almost 100 animal specimens, from a tiny frog to a four-tonne elephant. The exhibition uses the plastination technique invented by Dr Gunther von Hagens and used in his Body Worlds exhibition.

Animals Inside Out at the Natural History Museum until 16 Sep 2012. Book tickets

5 Mar
2012

Scott’s Last Expedition at the Natural History Museum

Posted by in Attractions 2 Comments

Scott’s Last Expedition at the Natural History Museum offers a fascinating insight into the explorer’s doomed journey to the South Pole.

The exhibition, which runs until September, promises to go beyond the familiar tales of Robert Falcon Scott’s three-year journey to the South Pole (1910 to 1913) and it doesn’t disappoint.

The focus is on the everyday stories and activities of the people who took part, their scientific work and unforgettable human endurance. Visitors can easily spend a couple of hours in the exhibition, reading about everything from the mammoth task of planning the trip to the heart wrenching words of Scott’s final diary entries.

In planning the Terra Nova expedition, Scott had to approach dozens of sponsors who he hoped would help fund the trip. Some lent financial support, while others provided some of the many tonnes of provisions that were loaded onboard for the epic trip. There are detailed log books of the supplies that were packed onto the crowded vessel, as well as footage of how they unloaded it all on arrival in Antarctica.

The exhibition then moves into a reconstruction of the hut where Scott and his men lived for much of their time in this inhospitable part of the world. Once inside, you get to see exactly where the men slept, ate and passed the many days that they spent there.

In most people’s minds, Scott is known as the ultimate explorer, but perhaps what is less well known is just how much scientific research was done while the men were away. The ambitious programme covered a broad range of specialisms including meteorology, zoology and geography. The exhibition features a lot of this work and emphasizes the significance of the discoveries made, even to this day.

Had Scott lived to tell his tale, his experience would have still been overshadowed by the success of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who beat the British team to the Pole by a month. Curators have compared the two missions, highlighting what might have made the Norwegian efforts more successful.

This extremely moving exhibition, which marks the centenary of Scott reaching the pole and his tragic death, features over 200 rare specimens and original artefacts. Many items, such as clothing, skis, food, tools and diaries are being shown together for the first time.

Scott’s Last Expedition at the Natural History Museum until 1 September 2012. Book tickets

11 Oct
2011

Mauritius in London: Music, Food, Stamps and the Dodo!

Posted by in World in London No Comments

Shreena Soomarah is a copywriter whose parents emigrated from Mauritius more than 30 years ago.

There is no one race, religion, cuisine, or way of life that defines Mauritius. Much like London, life there is a cosmopolitan existence.  No wonder the two cultures get on so well, and so many Mauritians choose London as their second home.

There are a few places you can find Mauritian culture in London:

  • The Mauritian Open Air Festival takes place each July in Down Lane Park, Tottenham, and offers Mauritian cuisine and performances by some of the biggest names in Mauritian music
  • Tune into Spectrum Radio, a radio station based in Clapham, to hear Mauritian sega and soca music, plus programmes dedicated to the Mauritian community in the UK
  • The first Mauritian post office stamps are among the rarest in the world and can be viewed as part of the Tapling Collection at the British Library.  Dating back to 1847, only 500 of each value were produced
  • At the Natural History Museum, you can see a native Dodo.  These are a Mauritian emblem, having been made extinct when the country was colonised

Where else can you find Mauritian culture in London? Let us know in the comments below.

5 Oct
2011

Autumn Art Exhibitions in London

Posted by in Arts No Comments

The leaves are turning brown, the weather’s getting chillier and it’s time for a bumper crop of autumn art exhibitions in London.

Two major shows open this week: the British Museum’s Grayson Perry exhibition, which combines new work with objects chosen by Perry from the museum’s collection, and Tate Modern’s retrospective of Gerhard Richter, marking the German artist’s 80th birthday.

Tacita Dean’s installation for The Unilever Series is unveiled in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall on 11 October. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei covered the hall in ceramic sunflower seeds for last year’s commission. We can’t wait to find out what Dean has in store!

Frieze Art Fair returns to Regent’s Park in mid-October, bringing together 170 of the best art dealers from around the world, along with arty talks, films, music, installations and a sculpture park.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year returns to the Natural History Museum, displaying the best wildlife images chosen from 41,000 submissions. And then, in November, one of this year’s most anticipated exhibitions opens: Leonardo da Vinci at the National Gallery, which is sure to be another London blockbuster.

Which London exhibitions are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below.

9 Feb
2011

Sexual Nature at the Natural History Museum

Posted by in Attractions 1 Comment

With Valentine’s Day approaching, Londoners are in an amorous mood. (Even the hippos at London Zoo are at it.)

Now the Natural History Museum has launched an exhibition dedicated to the science of sex, which aims to “pull off nature’s fig leaf and discover its most bizarre and intimate secrets”.

I had a preview this morning and it was fascinating stuff. There were videos of animals having sex and rearing their offspring, stuffed foxes and rabbits engaged in the sexual act, and even a few live animals (including stick insects, which stick to each other for days after mating).

You’ll learn about animals that have done away with males to become female-only species, compare the penis bones of different creatures, discover the seduction techniques of deer and birds, and consider the ins and outs of human sexual relationships.

Open to all ages, Sexual Nature will teach both kids and grown-ups a thing or two about reproduction.

Sexual Nature is at the Natural History Museum from 11 February to 2 October 2011

5 Feb
2011

London Photo of the Week: The Natural History Museum

Posted by in Attractions 2 Comments

David Bank shared this atmospheric photo of the ceiling of the North Hall at the Natural History Museum.

The North Hall ceiling has panels of intricate paintings inspired by botanical drawings. (If you were also completely hooked on last year’s brilliant BBC Natural History Museum documentary Museum of Life, you’ll know all about them!)

Don’t forget to add your pictures to the Visit London Flickr group and share the lovely things you’ve seen in London.

9 Dec
2010

BT Visit London Awards 2010: Winners and Photos

Posted by in London 3 Comments

Last night Visit London celebrated the best of the capital in a circus-themed ceremony at The Bloomsbury Big Top.

Some of London’s favourite attractions picked up awards including ZSL London Zoo, The V&A, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland and Museum of London.

It was a great night for the Natural History Museum which picked up two of the coveted People’s Choice Awards, voted for by the public. See the full list of winners on the Awards website.

There were also special awards for Alesha Dixon as the Sound of London and 60s legend Twiggy received the Outstanding Contribution Award for her services to fashion and culture.

Magic 105.4′s Neil Fox hosted the evening and guests enjoyed performances by Mica Paris, The London Community Gospel Choir, cast members from Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Circus Space and award-winner Alesha Dixon.

Congratulations to all the winners. We had a brilliant night and hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as we did.

If you went to the Visit London Awards, we’d love to see your pictures, so please add them to Visit London’s Flickr pool tagged “vlawards2010″.

5 Nov
2010

What’s On In London This Weekend?

Posted by in London 1 Comment

Tonight is Bonfire Night and there will be fireworks displays happening all over London this evening and tomorrow. Some other happenings you may wish to sample include:

21 Oct
2010

Wildlife Photography Winners Announced

Posted by in Arts 1 Comment

The winners of the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year were announced last night at the Natural History Museum.

Hungarian photographer Bence Máté took the top prize for his image A Marvel of Ants.

Fergus Gill from Scotland was crowned Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year for the second year running, for his photo of a fieldfare bird entitled The Frozen Moment.

The winning images will be on show at the Natural History Museum from tomorrow, along with more than 100 other photos of the natural world.

Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Natural History Museum, 22 Oct-Mar www.nhm.ac.uk

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