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2 Posts tagged with the creepy_crawlies tag
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dino-snores-torches.jpg

Dinosaurs by torch light

It was bound to be a success of course. Torch-lit tour of the Dinosaurs gallery, sleeping in Central Hall next to Dippy (our famous diplodocus skeleton), a bugs’ talk and the new Sony PlayStation game to try out. A child’s dream, come true.

 

The first Dino Snores in association with Sony PlayStation was a sell-out, pretty much as soon as it was announced before Christmas, and attracted lots of media attention. On Saturday 16 January, about 200 over-excited kids descended on the Museum to experience a real Night at the Museum, and find out exactly what goes on when the dinosaurs should be getting their shut-eye.

 

dino-snores-boy-costume.jpgLIke the boy pictured left, who really got into the dino spirit, Mack Pegram, aged 9, was one of the lucky children there, he loved it:

 

"It was very very very very very very very very fun! And brilliant because there were lots of fun activities to do and I liked sleeping in the Central Hall because you can look up and see the diplodocus. My favourite activity was the Bugs Bite Back because they talked about loads of cool bugs that were poisonous and venomous. I definitely would like to go again."

 

And did Dippy, the 26-metre-long diplodocus skeleton, twitch at all as the children slept alongside, I wondered?

 

Event organiser, Terry Lester, filled me in on the spooky stuff: "Three of us, Matt, Beth and me stayed awake the whole night and kept an eye on Central Hall while everyone was sleeping. At around 3.30am I was looking towards Dinosaur Way and saw a shadowy figure run from the Dinosaur gallery entrance across into Human Biology. We knew it wasn’t anyone from Central Hall, so Matt and I grabbed our torches and in our socks (shoes were removed beforehand so as not to wake the sleeping hoards) and dashed to investigate. Slightly spooked we searched the darkened galleries, but to no avail. Not a soul to be seen (well, not a living one anyhow). We checked with the Control Room and as agreed, they had not been patrolling the ground floor of the Waterhouse building. Figment of a sleep-deprived mind or something more other-worldly?"

 

Ooooh, weird...

 

The whole occasion was filled with memorable highlights, as Terry describes:


dino-snores-central-hall.jpg"Seeing the kids entering the museum with such evident excitement (parents sporting resigned looks on their faces), hearing the cheers during the welcome talk, the friendly rivalry between the groups, the screams (of excitement, not terror) from the Dinosaur Gallery during the torch lit trails and the clapping as the lights went out in Central Hall at bedtime were just a few of them.

 

"Erica McAlister and TV host Nick Baker, who did a talk about bugs - had never met before doing their show, Revenge of the Mini Beasts, but you’d never have thought it seeing them in action, they looked like they’d been working together for years. Couldn’t quite see which one was the side-kick, but I think Erica came off marginally as the one in charge."

 

"The kids' favourites were the stories about the aggressiveness of killer bees, scorpions and caterpillars," recalls Erica, "specimens of which Nick happened to have hidden in his sleeping bag!"

 

The next Dino Snores is on 13 February and there are more to come. Adults, don't despair, you can get in free accompanied by 5-6 children, but stay close, because dinsoaurs and bugs are about...

 

Read the news story about the first Dino Snores. See what Erica McAlister who presented the bugs show has to say in her blog post.

4764 Views 0 Comments 0 References Permalink Tags: research, dinosaurs, creepy_crawlies, central_hall, nights_at_the_museum, dino_snores, sleepover, bugs, t_rex
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Spiders galore

Posted by Rose Oct 16, 2009


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Is my garden the set for Arachnophobia 3?

Yes I’m lucky enough to have a little patch of green in London, but not so sure at the moment it really is mine. Spiders and their webs have taken it over.

 

There’s been a lot in the press about the recent record numbers of spiders invading our homes this autumn but for me it’s the garden invasion that’s far more troubling.

 

Last time I counted there were at least 20 big webs on either side of my garden (it’s small) and that’s without probing deeper into the foliage. As dusk gathers every evening when I’m home from work, I’m out there, torch in hand on spider patrol.

 

The big golden brown one I first discovered in my garden (shown above) is still my favourite. It just grows and grows (lengthways) and has the most elegant of webs. It has a leg span of at least 2 inches. There are now many more big brown ones which I’ve learned are known as Cross spiders (not because of their temperament I’m assured, but because of a distinctive white cross on their backs). Their real name is Araneus didematus. It’s the females which are the biggest.

 

I’m not particularly scared of spiders, but last night I started to panic when I came across a huge new swarm of spindly-legged ones crawling over a border bed. These ones are Harvestman spiders, closely related to daddy-long-legs. The Harvestman gang seem to be getting closer to the house then ever before. Should I be worried?

 

I asked Stuart Hine, our Museum arachnid expert, who’s been busy giving comments to the media on the outbreak. His advice is the same as other experts: ‘Leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone.’ Ok will do. Stuart also explained that “Spiders are most prevalent at this time of year. The trouble is that like spiders, we humans also enjoy warm dry autumns. So we spend more time outdoors and notice more of them.’ Well, I suppose he has a point.


But in the meantime, I’ll be getting the conkers ready, whether spiders are conkerphobes or not! Serious arachnophobes should also have a look at the recent Independent’s article on how to beat the terror.

 

You can visit the arachnid room in the Museum's Creepy Crawlies gallery and find out just how amazing spiders really are.

 

Join the Museum's bug forum to identify your spiders.

 

For that extra scary bit of bedtime reading try a new Arachnids book just out written by another Museum spider expert, Jan Beccaloni.

 

And did you know there are over 650 species of spider in Britain? But, only a very few of these are spiders that bite. One of the Museum website's most popular news stories uncovers the truth about the UK’s false widow spiders.
8392 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: spiders, arachophobia, false_widow_spider, creepy_crawlies, arachnids


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