Press Release

Kids at Kew - Press Resource Pack

Whether their first taste of Kew is as part of a family outing or school visit, each of the 200,000 children who visit Kew Gardens' 300 acres each year leave filled with wonder. Kew places special importance on engaging children at a young age, and educating them, so that a new generation is nurtured to care about their environment. What's more, children up to and including 16 year olds, get in FREE, making a family day out great value for money! Let's take a journey through what's on offer…

Climbers and Creepers is huge fun!

Children visiting Kew Gardens are able to learn about plants through play in this unique interactive learning area.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew opened Climbers and Creepers, a major attraction for children, in June 2004, marking a new commitment by Kew to learning through fun, and engaging children at an early age.

Climbers and Creepers is an innovative indoor and outdoor facility for children between the ages of 3 and 9 to explore with their parents, grandparents and carers. Occupying over 1,000 sq. metres under glass, the interior space is packed with games and adventures that provide an exciting encounter with a magical landscape of super-sized plants. The undulating floor of Climbers and Creepers invites children to get down to the business of play in a hands-on way. They can climb into a flower to pollinate it, get swallowed by a giant pitcher plant, and crawl through a bramble tangle while some of the plants respond in speech and sound. Above their heads, Buzzie the Bee whirls around, while ‘whizzigig' flowers spin and try to attract attention. Simple principals of botanical science form the basis of each component, introducing ideas about plant reproduction and survival, and their vital relationships with insects and mammals. ‘AirPlay', supported by Fairy Naturals, is a high-activity outdoor area for dry weather covering 800 sq. metres. Children can climb, reach, grab, swing in leaf hammocks, watch the whirling flower windmills and follow the animated water squirts.

“Climbers and Creepers is a rain or shine activity,” said Jill Preston, Climbers and Creepers project champion. “Teachers will find it useful, parents will welcome the nature of the experience, and kids will just love it.”

Right next-door is ‘The Munchbox', an area for parties of schoolchildren to gather and have lunch. During the school holidays this area is used to complement learning through festival themed plant related practical activities, such as drawing, sowing seeds, making things out of plants.

Children can continue their learning experience on the Climbers and Creepers website. http://www.kew.org/climbersandcreepers/home.html. The website, aimed at children between 6 and 9 years old, contains activities, games and quizzes. Here kids can get to know the characters who inhabit Climbers and Creepers, including Buzzie the Bee, Venus the Fly-Trap, Harvey the Harvest Mouse and others.

The activities in Climbers and Creepers and on the website support pre-school Foundation Level Learning and the (UK) National Curriculum at the beginning of Key Stage 1.

Get up close and personal with plants!

Children visiting Kew Gardens will be amazed at the age and scale of Kew's living plant collection

Kids will love looking down on the tallest indoor plant in the world – the Chilean wine palm currently measuring 16 metres – from above its highest fronds on the Temperate House aerial walkway.

Behind the Temperate House, the Evolution House is a fascinating walkthrough experience of plant evolution over 3,500 million years. Three major "milestones" have been selected to illustrate the incredibly long history of plant evolution in the space available: the Silurian, Carboniferous and Cretaceous periods. Exciting effects take you through the evolutionary process, with a fuming volcano and glowing red lava, even dinosaur footprints! The display itself encompasses stromatolites, Cooksonia (the first plants that adapted to life on land), liverworts, mosses, selaginellas, and the first ferns.

In the Palm House, children can marvel at plants of the ancient cycad family. One of these cycads, a plant of Encephalartos altensteinii, is at least 228 years old and considered to be one of the oldest pot plants in the world! Next door, in the Waterlily House, Kew grows giant waterlilies, Victoria cruziana, from seeds the size of peas. The leaves grow to over 2m in diameter and can support the weight of a baby.

The Princess of Wales Conservatory houses 10 different microclimates, ranging from arid desert to tropical rainforest. Children can see how different plants have adapted to suit their environment, and how carnivorous plants have evolved to eat meat!

In the conservation area

Children visiting Kew Gardens will learn to take a pro-active and responsible role in protecting their environment

Be a Badger!

With their striking facial markings and intriguing nocturnal lives, badgers are one of Britain's favourite wild animals. Kew is home to a remarkable number of badger families, with over 15 setts in the 300 acres. They generally emerge at dusk, after the Gardens are closed to visitors, but evidence of their existence is easily seen - well-trodden pathways, scratch marks on trees, and hairs caught on fencing reveal their nightly forages, while nesting material that they've brought out to air can be found near their setts.

Be a Badger! at Kew enables visitors to experience life from a badger's perspective and gain an amazing insight into these rarely seen mammals through a human-size badger sett constructed in the woodland area of the Gardens. The sett is approached through leafy woodland and is covered with earth and grass to blend into the surroundings. Visitors enter through two oak forks, like large tree roots, into a tunnel which leads them into several chambers. Tunnels, sleeping chambers, nests, food stores and scratching posts reveal the fascinating details of family life with the badgers.

The food store chamber is the main living area where a seasonal shopping list reveals the badger diet of insects, bulbs, rodents, frogs, lizards, eggs, berries, grubs, roots and young birds. One of two nest chambers is accessed mainly through the ‘child-only' tunnel, so children can pretend they are baby badgers. They will encounter larger than life wooden sculptures of a mother badger and baby badgers playing in the next chamber. The walls of the tunnels and chambers are lined in earth, roots and stones. Signs of badger life are recreated with hairs trapped in between cracks in the wood, claw marks in the scratching post, expelled bedding outside the entrance mound, snuffle holes, a horizontal ‘playing tree' and paw prints.

Wildlife Zone and Observatory

The Wildlife Zone was opened in April 2005 as a key educational resource for children to learn about their environment. Situated in the heart of Kew's conservation area, the Wildlife Zone has been designed to aid practical teaching on the importance of monitoring and conserving UK biodiversity.

In line with Agenda 21, a document and concept launched at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, Kew is working more closely with a range of groups in the local community and actively involving them in decision making processes on conservation issues. In this project, two local schools (Unicorn and Queens) were consulted on what they would like to see in the Wildlife Zone, with many of the children submitting drawings allowing their ideas to be incorporated into the final design. The product is a beautiful wild area combining some eight different habitats, supporting a range UK flora and fauna.

The Wildlife Zone centres on the gravel pit that was dug in 1977 to obtain gravel for the old Alpine House foundations. This has since become one of the richest ecological areas at Kew. It is home to some interesting British native plants such as Yellow Loosestrife, the only population at Kew, and is an important breeding site for certain species of Soldier flies, some of which are scarce in Surrey. The area also contains a large pond, and with the Thames beyond demonstrates a wetland habitat. As we have lost around 90% of rural ponds in the UK, urban ponds are invaluable for wildlife. The backdrop to the whole site is Kew's arboretum, providing another habitat, deciduous woodland, and containing trees such as oak, birch and cherry. An important economic tree in woodlands is hazel and the small area of hazel coppice here supports small mammals and nesting birds. Other habitats include a meadow, a beetle bank, a hibernaculum (4* newt hotel made from rocks!) that acts as a place for amphibians to over-winter, and dead hedges (a linear woody compost bin) that make excellent nesting sites for birds and insects. There are also bird feeders to attract birds.

The Observatory, made from Welsh sustainable green (freshly cut) oak, is cylindrical allowing a 360 degree view of the Wildlife Zone. The walls have a hollow woven structure that are partially filled with soil allowing plants, such as ferns, to grow camouflaging the Observatory against its surroundings. Above the soil, walls are filled with woody clippings creating another habitat where birds may nest. Each of six windows looks out from the Observatory over a different habitat with relevant interpretation.

While the Observatory is open to the public, the Wildlife Zone is used exclusively by pre-booked school and other educational groups to aid practical teaching. Aimed at Key Stage 2, planned activities for 8 – 12 year olds include pond dipping, soil sampling, litter and biodiversity monitoring. A teacher's pack comprising 8 units has been designed and is available to download at http://www.kew.org/education/wildlifezone/index.html.

This project has been achieved with the help of grant from the Hanson Environment Fund and additional support from Hanson PLC.

Take a virtual tour and find out more about the Wildlife Zone at http://www.kew.org/places/tour/wildlifezonekew.html.

Educational groups are able to book a session at the Wildlife Zone with one of Kew's teaching staff through the normal schools education booking system. Visit http://www.kew.org/education/schoolsed.html.

Stag Beetle Loggery

The stag beetle, Britain's biggest native beetle, is a globally threatened species, protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, and listed as a priority species for the UK and London Biodiversity Action Plans. The number of stag beetles has been in decline since the 1940s. The primary factor in their decline has been attributed to the loss of appropriate habitat – dead wood. The stag beetle requires dead wood to complete its lifecycle, as larvae feed on it for up to seven years before emerging briefly, usually in May, as mating adults.

This dramatic skyscraper style 'Loggery' uses rotting Oak, Hornbeam, Ash, Poplar, Beech, False Acacia, Birch, London Plane, Lime, Tulip Tree, Holly and Horse Chestnut – all Kew timber – to provide an ideal habitat for the stag beetle to lay their eggs. This is important as the Thames Valley is a hotspot for stag beetles and so Kew is doing all it can to encourage them. Children will learn how they can take part in the London and UK wide stag beetle conservation effort.

More information on how you can help to protect stag beetles can be found at http://www.lbp.org.uk/07library/stag_advice.pdf.

Kew's Summer Heritage Festival

Children visiting Kew Gardens between 27 May – 24 September 2006 will be able to indulge their sense of adventure whilst learning about Kew's heritage

Climb the Pagoda

The decorative buildings at Kew reflected the 18th Century's increasing interest in and knowledge of a widening world. This summer Kew's Pagoda, in its day the most accurate representation of a Chinese style building in Europe, will be open to the public for the first time in several decades. Young adventurers can climb the 253 steps, through the 10 storeys, to reach the near 50m summit from which they can survey a 360 degree panorama of the Gardens and city of London stretching beyond.

The Pagoda will be open from 27 May until 24 September 2006. Entrance is limited to those aged 5 years and over. Tickets (adult and child) cost £3.00 and are sold on a timed ticket basis for a 30 minute session, for a maximum of 25 people and are available at all gates on the day or in advance - not at the Pagoda itself.

Explore the Menagerie

It was not only unique architectural styles that were brought back by the pioneers at this time. Strange wild creatures were also captured on expeditions to distant countries and collected by the Royalty that once owned this site. This year, wallabies will be introduced into the grounds of Queen Charlotte's Cottage! These marsupials, along with woodcarvings of other animals, will re-create King George III's menagerie.

Further down Syon vista, a flock of sheep will be used to cut the grass, and will bring to life the story of how King George III earned the nickname ‘Farmer George'.

Talk to Ghosts

Children can learn about the key characters in Kew's history from costumed actors who will play the roles of past directors, architects and royalty. In the Palm House meet Sir Joseph Banks, who journeyed with Captain Cook to the Pacific, and subsequently organised plant-hunting expeditions all over the globe, transforming Kew from a royal pleasure ground into one of the leading botanical gardens in the world. He'll tell you his story, and you can find out how a leading light in science and botany, and a friend to King George III, was connected to Captain Bligh and the mutiny on HMS Bounty!

Travel Back in Time

In the Tropics Zone of the Princess of Wales Conservatory, visitors can experience time travel via a 10-minute, 3-dimensional, bird's eye computer animation, that chronologically communicates the fascinating and complex development of the site. It demonstrates how the landscape emerged and changed over the course of Kew's history.

Experiment with Horrible Science

Horrible Science is a range of books from Scholastic that encourage children to learn about science in a fun and engaging way, and it is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. During the first and last weekends of the school holidays (29 & 30 July and 2 & 3 September) Horrible Science author, Nick Arnold, will lead three 20-minute shows demonstrating all things horrible at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm with a book signing at White Peaks shop after each session. Illustrator, Tony De Saulles, will join Nick on 2 & 3 September.

On the remainder of the school holiday weekends there will be a Horrible Science Show in the Climbers and Creepers science laboratory, and during weekdays, activities revolving around five themes – stunning science, nasty nature, suffering scientists, vicious veg and ugly bugs – will be held in Climbers and Creepers at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm. Activities will include making green slime or a pitcher plant cocktail, growing your own fungi or cuttings, and various other group activities, games and crafts.

Horrible Science activity sessions run every day during the holiday, starting at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm. Each session will last around 30 minutes, with a maximum of 20 children in each session. Booking for each session takes place on the day of that session with a member of Climbers and Creepers staff. All activities are for 3-9 year olds accompanied by an adult.

The 2006 Summer Heritage Festival is held in association with Warner Breaks.

Marine Display

Children visiting Kew Gardens can learn about animal and plant interactions under water as well as on land

All life originated in the sea. Today, millions of years later, life still depends on the most simple marine plants - the algae. Algae, which include all seaweeds, provide half of the world's oxygen supply and absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide. As Sir David Attenborough put it, "Without algae, there would be no life on earth, the seas would be sterile and the land would be uncolonised."

The Marine Display in the basement of the Palm House emphasises the importance of marine plants and, through displays in 19 tanks, recreates four major marine habitats.

Coral reefs are among the most unique, complex and productive habitats on the planet. Reef-building corals are animals, coral polyps, most of which obtain some of their nutrients from minute algae in their tissues. The polyps extract calcium from seawater and excrete it to form their chalky external skeletons, which create the reef. Human intervention, such as industrial scale prawn fishing and even uncontrolled tourism, together with natural disasters, can threaten the fine balance of these often-fragile ecosystems.

Estuaries and salt marshes, where rivers meet the sea, are fertile and productive tracts with their own communities of hardy and vigorous 'pioneer' plants. Pioneer plants stabilise mud and silt, raising the mud level and eventually, as other species arrive and the cycle continues, dry land appears.

Mangrove swamps are the tropical equivalents of salt marshes and have evolved their own flora and fauna for the local conditions. Estuaries, salt marshes and mangrove swamps, by their very nature, positioned between land and sea, are highly adaptable habitats of constant change and development. They provide vital nurseries for fish and other marine life.

Rocky shorelines at the base of cliffs, of which the British Isles have many miles, are among the best habitats for highly productive populations of seaweeds. Different seaweeds are adapted to surviving in distinct zones with other plants and animals. The tidal regime - the depth and reach of the tides - together with the topography and geology of the shoreline, determine which seaweed thrives where.

Clubs and Activities for 2007

Children can take part in fun extra-curricular activities at Kew Gardens

Children's Gardening Club

The Gardening Club currently runs after school every Tuesday during the summer term and comprises 30 children between the ages of 4 and 12. Each week the hour long session is divided between hands-on practical horticulture in the Climbers and Creepers Garden and an educational nature walk to observe different plants and insects. Different age groups cover similar topics, but older groups go into more depth.

Essential to book early to avoid disappointment. (Places for 2006 fully booked)

During the summer holidays, as part of Kew's summer heritage festival, there will continue to be themed plant based activities on Tuesdays at Climbers and Creepers. These days will be open to all on a first come, first served basis. So there's no excuse not to get gardening!

Midnight Rambling at Kew Gardens

A series of sleepovers designed to feed young children's imaginations (8-11 year olds) will be held at Kew Gardens throughout 2006. Children joining a 'Midnight Ramble' at Kew will stay overnight in the Gardens and go on a range of explorations across the 300 acres.

Search for local wildlife like badgers, bats, owls... Explore the great Glasshouses' tropical jungles and learn how cacti and other plants adapt to life in their environments. If weather prevents venturing outdoors, a range of indoor games and activities such as habitat bingo will keep everyone entertained.

The base for these overnight explorations is Climbers and Creepers. Drinks and snacks will be served here throughout the evening and children will rest after their outdoor adventures. In the morning, breakfast will be followed by a closing ceremony with awards such as distinguished 'Ramblers', 'Best Plant Hunter' or 'Best Photographer....'

Currently there are three explorations scheduled for 2006: 17 June (sold out), 8 July (sold out), 28 October, with further dates to follow. It is essential to book early to avoid disappointment. 2006 cost is £40 per head and tickets will be issued on a first come, first served basis. Groups should be 1 adult to 4 or 5 children and preference may be given to groups of this size in order that the experience is not diluted for the children.

For further information, kit list and registration form please visit www.kew.org/events/sleepover . For general enquiries e-mail info@kew.org . For booking enquiries e-mail sleepovers@kew.org.

GlaxoSmithKline is supporting the Midnight Ramblers as part of their Community Investment programme.  

Children's Guide to Kew

A new full colour guide to accompany a child's visit to Kew Gardens

In Spring 2007, Kew Publishing will launch a full colour guide for children, parents and carers, with user friendly information on exciting places to take children at Kew at different times of the year. Written by Miranda MacQuitty, a freelance writer specialising in natural history, and attractively designed for children between the ages of 8 and 11, the book will feature things for kids to do through the use of fascinating facts, jokes, stickers and activities. A child friendly map of gardens, marked with places featured in the book, will fold out from the front cover.

The book is designed for children visiting with families rather than with school groups, however it will include UK school National Curriculum themes and topics (Key stage 2).

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact Lauren Bird, Oliver Basciano or Anna Quenby in the Kew Gardens Press Office on 020 8332 5607, or email pr@kew.org.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. The site houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace. RBG, 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. www.kew.org.

The Hanson Environment Fund

Grants made from the Hanson Environment Fund currently amount to £15,781,350. Hanson set up its environment fund in 1997 using the landfill tax money accumulated by the building materials company. Hanson is the world's largest producer of aggregates - crushed rock, sand and gravel - and the third largest producer of ready-mixed concrete. Its other principal products are precast concrete, clay bricks and concrete roof tiles. Hanson has operations in North America, UK, Australia, Continental Europe and Asia Pacific and employs over 28,000 people in 15 countries. The Hanson Environment Fund is managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT). RSWT is a registered charity, incorporated by Royal Charter, to promote conservation and manage environmental programmes throughout the whole of the UK. It has established management systems for holding and distributing funds to projects that meet Landfill Tax regulations. For further details please contact RSWT on 0870 036 1000 or visit www.hansonenvfund.org.

Warner Breaks

Warner Breaks offers UK short themed breaks with top class entertainment and a range of indoor and outdoor activities for adults. Warner Breaks has thousands of loyal customers, many of which return time after time, year after year to the extraordinary choice of six Historic Grade 1 and 2 listed Hotels, three Character Hotels and four Coastal Resorts.

Three-night weekend and two and four-night midweek packages offer great value for money, being on a half board basis and including a full programme of live nightly entertainment, superb leisure facilities and a wide choice of recreational activities in beautiful landscaped gardens and grounds. For further information about Warner call 0870 601 6012 or visit www.warnerbreaks.co.uk.

GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. With global headquarters close to Kew in Brentford, the company has a continuing programme of charitable activities in the UK, funding a variety of projects in the following areas: healthcare, scientific education, medical research, the arts and the environment. The company is a longstanding supporter of Kew, having sponsored a number of projects at the Gardens, the most recent of which was Gardens of Glass: Chihuly at Kew. For further information on GSK's community programmes please visit www.gsk.com/community.

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