Alan Titchmarsh Shows Us A Global Garden At Eureka!

By David Prudames | 06 August 2002
the winners of a 100-child game of pass the parcel helped Shobna Gulati open the gallery.

Left: the winners of a 100-child game of pass the parcel helped Shobna Gulati open the gallery.

Where can you track a scorpion, build an igloo and use a surf-board to light up a city with Alan Titchmarsh as your guide? Eureka! in Halifax - of course.

The famous gardener is the voice behind Gordon the Gnome, the tour guide at Eureka! The Museum for Children's new £1 million gallery, Our Global Garden.

learn how to build an igloo in the Ice Garden. © 24 Hour Museum

Right: learn how to build an igloo in the Ice Garden. © 24 Hour Museum

The gallery was officially opened at the Museum's tenth anniversary birthday party by Shobna Gulati, from television's Coronation Street, and 100 children.

Our Global Garden covers two floors of the Museum, taking visitors from a garden in the North of England across the globe to discover what lies beneath the ocean, what mysteries can be found in the jungle and what it's like to live in a desert.

monkeys are not common sights in your average Yorkshire garden.

Left: monkeys are not common sights in your average Yorkshire garden.

"Our Global Garden is a fantastic way to inspire our future generations to think about how they can look after our most precious garden, the world," explained Alan Titchmarsh.

"I am thrilled to be associated with Eureka! and their exciting new project, which promises to be a real gem for families in Yorkshire and beyond."

visitors can use the surf-board to generate enough wave power to light up this particular city. © 24 Hour Museum

Right: visitors can use the surf-board to generate enough wave power to light up this particular city. © 24 Hour Museum

"The character, Gordon the Gnome is an important element to our new gallery, as he will inspire children as they take their global journey. He's friendly, lively, has a great sense of humour and will be someone children can really relate to," said Leigh-Anne Stradeski, Museum Director.

Replacing three existing galleries, the permanent exhibition consists of seven individually themed gardens and introduces children to the world they live in, helping them understand their role within it.

getting hands-on in the Country Garden. © 24 Hour Museum

Left: getting hands-on in the Country Garden. © 24 Hour Museum

Imagination, the creative team behind the Me and My Body gallery at Eureka! as well as the Dinosaurs and Predator exhibitions at the Natural History Museum, designed the project.

The new gallery is the first phase of the Museum's £6 million re-development plan.

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