Travel through time and discover the History of Chocolate at Kew Gardens in Easter 2013!

Fri 29 March 2013 to Sun 14 April 2013

Take a journey through time and discover the history of chocolate at Kew Gardens in Easter 2013! Learn where our passion for chocolate originated; from the ritualistic use of cacao in Ancient Maya and Aztec culture; to sailing across the seas to Europe with the Spanish Conquistadors; and finally arriving in 17th century London, where only high society could afford to indulge their sweet tooth in newly fashionable Chocolate Houses.

Get stuck into our chocolate workshops with arts and crafts activities, or join our traditional Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday 31 March 2013 and collect tokens from around the Gardens to pick up your prize ̶ a delicious chocolate treat from the Easter Bunny!

Lara Mistry, Festival Manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew says, “Easter at Kew is all about fun, family, learning, and of course chocolate! Our hands-on sessions give youngsters the opportunity to explore the world of chocolate – from cocoa pods to delicious Easter eggs. And our traditional Easter Egg hunt is a fantastic way to start your Easter Sunday.”

Check www.kew.org/events for updates on Easter activities.

For more information about the delicious cocoa tree, which you will find in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, see http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Theobroma-cacao.htm

Ends

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Press Office on 020 8332 5607 or email pr@kew.org

Easter images are available to download from www.kew.org/press/images. Please contact the press office for the username and password.

Opening hours: Sat 2 Feb to Sat 23 March 2013 – 9.30am to 5.30pm. Sun 24 March to Tues 27 Aug 2013 – 9.30am to 6.30pm (on weekends and bank holidays we close an hour later). Last entry to the Gardens, the glasshouses, galleries and the Xstrata Treetop Walkway is 30 minutes before closing.

Admission: Adults £16.00, Concessions £14.00 (prices include £1.50 voluntary Gift Aid donation), free for children under 17 (with an adult).

Visitor information: 020 8332 5655 or see www.kew.org

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class Herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction. Its landscaped 132 hectares and Kew's country estate, Wakehurst Place, attract nearly two million visitors every year. Kew was made aUNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2009. Wakehurst Place is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. Kew and its partners have collected and conserved seed from 10% of the world's wild flowering plant species (c.30, 000 species) and aim to conserve 25% by 2020.

Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank partnership has already achieved so much, and its enormous potential for future conservation can only be fulfilled with the support of the public and other funders. Kew needs to raise significant funds both in the UK and overseas. Members of the public can support the work of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank partnership by getting involved with the ‘Adopt a Seed, Save a Species' campaign. For £25 an individual can adopt a seed or for £1,000 anyone can save an entire species.www.kew.org/adoptaseed.