Submitted by Tricia Harnett on Wed, 09/10/2019 - 12:43
This half-term, WALLY, the world’s favourite children’s book character – wearing a red-and-white striped shirt and black-rimmed specs – will be travelling the country, appearing in museums, including a visit to the University Museum of Zoology and the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Cambridge. Families will be able to join the search for Wally as part of Where’s Wally? The Big Museum Hunt, organised by Walker Books and Kids in Museums, to celebrate the release of the new book, Where’s Wally? Double Trouble at the Museum.
Launching in time for October half-term, the promotion will run from 19 October until 3 November 2019. Look for Wally among the amazing specimens at both museums, there are 10 at each museum to find. Find all 10 and you will receive an ‘I Found Wally!’ sticker, plus you can enter the Where’s Wally? and Kids in Museums grand prize draw competition.
Wally is the creation of Martin Handford, whose entertaining drawings of crowd scenes first swept the globe in 1987. Since then, the Where’s Wally? books have held a favourite spot on bookstore shelves the world over and have sold over 72 million copies worldwide in thirty-one countries. Wally has reached celebrity status: he has been referenced in the primetime American TV shows Frasier, The Simpsons and Friends; he appeared on the 1000th anniversary cover of Rolling Stone magazine as a cultural icon of the last 40 years; he has even been found on Google Earth!
The University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge is one of the largest and most important natural history collections in the UK, with thousands of incredible specimens from across the animal kingdom. Visitors will see one of the world’s most complete dodo skeletons and Cambridge’s largest resident - a 21 metre fin whale – plus other huge skeletons such as elephants, an ice age giant sloth, as tall as a giraffe, and a Diprotodon: an extinct wombat like marsupial that was the size of a rhino. As well as the Where’s Wally? Trail, the Museum is also having a Family Activity Day on Wed 23 Oct, with craft activities for ages 4+.
The Museum re-opened its doors in 2018, after a five year, £4.1 million re-development – including almost £2 million of funding raised by National Lottery players.
The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, known to many of our visitors as 'The Dinosaur Museum', has more than 1.5 million fossils, rocks and minerals in the collection, including Iggy, our iconic Iguanodon skeleton, a hippo from local Barrington and specimens collected by Mary Anning. Admission is always free, and just over 150,000 people visit us each year, the majority of which do not consider themselves to be geology specialists. Family activity boxes, puzzles and our well-stocked book trolley are always available, as are a range of trails for different ages. Also taking place in half term is our 'Family Science Sketch', Wednesday 23rd October 10.00 – 13.00 Free. Family drop in. This event is working in partnership with a local Adoption group to celebrate families with adopted children, everyone welcome!
Both the University Museum of Zoology and The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences have been shortlisted for the Kids in Museums award, which will be announced later this month.
-ENDS-
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
- For more information or images please contact Tricia Harnett, Marketing Assistant pjh202@cam.ac.uk.
- For details of museum opening times please see https://www.museum.zoo.cam.ac.uk/ and http://www.sedgwickmuseum.org/
Where's Wally? © 1987 – 2019 Martin Handford, published by Walker Books Ltd. All rights reserved. Join Wally and his friends for a day at museum in Where’s Wally? Double Trouble at the Museum. Hidden among the amazing artefacts and exciting exhibitions are over 500 fiendish differences to find. The spot-the-difference challenge starts now!
University of Cambridge Museums is a consortium of the eight University Museums and the Botanic Garden, supported by Arts Council England. The consortium includes: Fitzwilliam Museum, Kettle's Yard, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Museum of Zoology, Museum of Classical Archaeology, Whipple Museum of the History of Science, The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences and The Polar Museum. The University's collections are a world-class resource for researchers, students and members of the public representing the country’s highest concentration of internationally important collections, all within walking distance of the City Centre. www.museums.cam.ac.uk
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.HeritageFund.org.uk.
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ABOUT KIDS IN MUSEUMS
We are a charity dedicated to making museums open and welcoming to all children, young people and families. We support and champion family friendly organisations through wide-ranging initiatives, including the Family Friendly Museum Award and Takeover Day. We invite heritage organisations to sign up to our Manifesto, which sets out simple guidelines for making museums easy to reach for all ages. www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk
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ABOUT WALKER BOOKS
Home to books for all ages, Walker Books publishes many award-winning authors, illustrators, and literary franchises including Anthony Horowitz, Cassandra Clare, Lucy Cousins, Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram, Anthony Browne, Patrick Ness, and Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford. Walker Books is part of the vibrant international Walker Books Group that includes Walker Books Australia; Candlewick Press in America and its new division, Walker Books US; and Walker Productions. The Walker Books Group enjoys a unique ownership structure which includes employees from around the world and more than 150 long-term authors and illustrators. Walker is the world’s leading wholly independent publisher of English-language children’s books.
