Royal Parks Nature Roadshow

The Royal Parks of St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens are holding Nature Roadshows on Wednesday, May 29th and Friday, May 31st respectively. Head down during half term for a wild nature experience. Engage in a scavenger hunt and get into the spring spirit, use binoculars to observe nature and creatures up close, and participate in interactive, nature-themed games and crafts.

The range of activities are perfect for all the family and all aspiring environmentalists.

Whilst you’re free to drop in at any time between 11am and 3pm and join the activities, Royal Parks asks that you register online so they have an idea on numbers.

Address: St James’s Park, SW1A 2BJ – Marlborough Gate Lawn
Kensington Gardens, W2 2UH – Next to Italian Gardens

Women in Science Tour – Natural History Museum

Find out about inspirational women scientists across history in this award-winning guided tour on Tuesday, 28th May (tour starts at 1.15pm).

You’ll hear about their passions and fascinating work past and present (including scientists who’ve worked at the museum). Also discover the displays and view many treasures such as the specimens collected by Mary Anning. Tours vary slightly, but Dorothea Bate, Sara Russell, Barbara Yelverton, Angela Milner, Miranda Lowe and Nadine Gabriel are amongst those regularly covered. Here’s the full list of some of the amazing people you may hear about:

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/highlights-women-in-science-tour.html

Whilst the museum tries to accommodate walk-ins, priority is given to ticket holders. Find out more and book FREE tickets.

The recommended age for the tour is 11 years and over.

Address: Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD (meet at the 1st Floor Hintze Hall, by Guy the Gorilla, next to the Treasures gallery).

Drop in Design: Experiments with Photography

During half term, the V&A Museum is holding a free drop-in workshop for budding Baileys and Bourke-Whites to experiment with new photography techniques.

From Wednesday, 29th May until Friday, 31st May (11am-4pm) join artists Chahine Fellahi and Kaïs Aïouch from Kimiā Collective. This Casablanca-based collective is dedicated to experimental practices in moving image, photography and media art. Create a wide range of images using materials, tools and skills from early photography to the modern day. Be inspired by their artwork (and the Museum’s new Photography Centre) and experiment with different techniques; make your own camera and create photographs minus a camera.

All materials are provided and all images created can be brought home. More details on Drop in Design: Experiments with Photography.

Address: Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL

Bella Hoare Exhibition – OXO Tower

Emerging artist Bella Hoare’s captivating exhibition, A Different Green, is taking place at the OXO Tower on London’s South Bank from Wednesday, 22nd May until Sunday, 2nd June.

This free family-friendly garden themed exhibition features over 20 beautiful paintings inspired by both the natural world and feminine power.

On display is Hoare’s “Green Goddess” series – a contemporary twist on the pagan figure of the “Green Man,” which celebrates feminine wisdom and strength in the natural world. Also exhibited is her “Glasshouse” series featuring portraits of women from The Glasshouse, a social enterprise, which provides second chances to female UK prisoners through horticultural training.

Bella Hoare is based in West Wiltshire and draws inspiration from her surroundings on the Stourhead Estate – one of the National Trust‘s most popular destinations.

Address: Barge House St, London, SE1 9PH

Make your mark! Half Term Family Drawing Workshops

Join real life artists at pop-up drawing stations at The British Museum on Thursday, 30th May.

Get your inspiration from Michelangelo – the subject of the museum’s new exhibition – and take part in experimental drawing activities, which are suitable for all the family. Use pencils, pens and paper to create artworks to take home. Alternatively, you can collaborate on a large group art project. Whether you prefer small or large scale, artists will be on hand to guide you through techniques. No experience is necessary.

Drop in at any time on the day between 11.00am and 4pm. No ticket is required but places are given on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information go to: https://www.britishmuseum.org/

Address: Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG

Have a great half term, and don’t forget your Zip Oyster Photocards for free/discounted travel for 5-15 year olds.

I would love to hear what free activities you have planned for this half term. Let me know in the comments below.

The post Five Free Activities for Kids in London for May Half Term appeared first on The Parent Social.

Car selfie

We arrived in Kensington well ahead of our designated time slot so that we could have a look around the main museum a bit first, and also so that we could be assured a parking space in a nearby street. Parking can be extortionate in central London, but on Sundays the unthinkable happens and you can find street parking that’s free

With our exhibition tickets we were able to avoid queuing for the museum itself (it was pretty busy) and go straight in. We’ve been before so we revisited favourite displays and then went outside to the temporary tropical butterfly house, which contained butterflies from Africa, Asia and South America.

We were immediately surrounded by butterflies when we entered, which saw the girls literally squealing in delight. They were there in huge numbers and in all sorts of colours.

We were all fascinated by the different butterfly species we were seeing and the staff were great at answering our questions. The children were off the scale excited when the butterflies landed on us, especially when one landed ‘on mummy’s bum’.  They also loved stamping their cards, which charted the lifecycle of a butterfly. The younger two just love sticking and stamping anything, but my eldest, at six years old, was actually taking in the information at each stamping station.

The girls were taken by all the exotic colours and how close they could get, but my husband and I were absolutely amazed by the rows and rows of dangling chrysalises in a specially made frame behind glass. They were beautiful and rather eerie at the same time. We actually saw a butterfly emerge whilst standing watching. Absolutely fascinating.

Lucky enough to see a butterfly emerge

The butterflies get ‘drunk’ on rotting fruit

The girls were really reluctant to leave, but we tempted them away with the promise of lunch at the restaurant in the museum’s Green Zone. All three are still talking about seeing the butterflies. Find out more about Sensational Butterflies.

We were provided with a Samsung Galaxy S6 for the day so that I could record and share the experience with readers of the blog. The butterflies were a great subject to try out the handset’s 16 megapixel camera. I’m no David Bailey, but it was very easy to get great photos, especially with the pro function. Inspired by what she was seeing, my eldest, who is very snap happy, disappeared off for 10 minutes and clicked away. I didn’t show her how to use it, she just figured it out and took some lovely photos, so the phone’s pretty intuitive. It has a longer battery life than other phones I’ve used, so great for a day out where you want to capture a lot. It also boasts wireless charging capabilities. When I got back home I played about with the camera functions and found some great features and effects. Pop art anyone…?

The post Sensational Butterflies at The Natural History Museum appeared first on The Parent Social.