Exhibition: Plantastic!, World Museum Liverpool, Liverpool, February 13 – September 5 2010
Jointly devised with a fun-loving coalition of Dutch, French and Belgian experts, Plantastic is an underworld of five themed zones inviting children to mess around with 40 interactive mechanical exhibits and games.
There’s a "magical realm" of giant leafy canopies, seed pods, root systems and plastic trees, showing how plants and trees interact with humans, animals, insects and each other.
Five colourful themed zones offer plenty of family fun in Plantastic
The Moving section is full of exploding dandelions and four-foot piles of artificial dung, which seems positively harmless compared to the Venus flytrap visitors have to crawl under in the Feeding zone, where children have to care for plants in between meeting moles and rabbits.
A Surviving sector challenges participants to choose defences against plant predators, feed characters with dubious fruits and plants in pursuit of nutrition and witness fossil prehistoric plants from hundreds of millions of years ago.
A range of challenges and interactive exhibits keep visitors on their toes
Reproduction shows pollen grains on an enormous scale, surveys pollinators and tests the power of smell, and Providing explains why we ultimately need plants to flourish, offering a wild fruit pinball machine, quizzes and tips on reducing carbon footprints along the way.
Aimed at families with 7-14 year-olds, the trail has made plenty of space for relaxation areas. Inspirational nature displays and new insights on biodiversity and climate change also keep the show topical.
Topical issues are also imaginatively presented in the show
"Visitors suspend reality in the five themed zones which take them through new experiences in a fun and revealing way," says Museum director John Millard.
"Plantastic aims to change perceptions about our astonishing natural world."
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