Embroil yourself in one of our exciting and creative half term activities that the whole family can enjoy. Why not visit the Royal Beasts exhibition at the Tower of London and learn about the wild and exotic creatures that lived for over 600 years in the Royal Menagerie.
Best of all you can enjoy all of our half-term events for free with HRP family membership from as little as £56! With so much history to explore spend a day, the weekend or more at the palaces!
EXHIBITIONS
NEW
Royal Beasts (in partnership with the Royal Armouries)
Tower of London
Opens 28 May (Press preview 25 May 2010, 09.00-13.00 )
This May the unusual and intriguing story of the Tower of London’s imperial Royal Menagerie will be brought to life. Royal Beasts explores the history, spectacle and tragedy of the Tower menagerie. Founded during the reign of King John in the early 1200s, it became a regular feature of the Tower for over 600 years!
The new exhibition will be an opportunity for visitors to encounter a diverse cast of former Tower residents through arresting modern animal sculpture by artist Kendra Haste and new interactive sensory displays. The recently restored north wall walk and the never before opened Brick Tower will host some of the displays, including sights, sounds and smells of some of the animals!
NEW
Power House (in partnership with the Royal Armouries)
Tower of London
Opens 2 April (Press preview 25 May 2010, 09.00-13.00)
Discover the stories and personalities behind the major organisations of state, who took care of Royal business behind the mighty Tower walls, from 1100 to the present day, in a new permanent exhibition opening on the top floor of the White Tower.
The exhibition will showcase the roles of the major organisations that provided the bedrock of England’s power throughout the centuries. Great institutions include the Ordnance Office, Ordnance Survey, the Royal Mint, Record Office, the Jewel House, Menagerie and Royal Observatory. Power House will also put the spotlight on other Tower of London functions, ranging from royal residence to state prison.
Fit for a King (in partnership with the Royal Armouries)
Tower of London
Daily
Discover 500 years of spectacular arms and armour worn by kings and royal princes in this stunning exhibition in the White Tower. Learn about the personalities, power and physical size of England’s kings, from the Tudors, and the notorious Henry VIII, to today’s royal family.
FREE iPhone and iPod Touch app
Escape from the Tower app
Tower of London
Meet the prisoners (virtually of course!)
Bring your iPhone or iPod Touch to the Tower and you can help the virtual prisoners escape from the real locations they were held!
Can you help four worthy prisoners escape from the infamous Tower of London be re-enacting their real-life events?
Play Escape from the Tower, our exciting new free app for iPhone and iPod Touch, and re-enact some of the Tower’s most famous escapes during your visit.
Players who complete all four missions can register their score and will be eligible for entry into a prize draw to win free entry to all the palaces!
Escape from the Tower app is free and available for download on iPhone and iPod Touch only
The app can be downloaded at home or on site at the Tower wi-fi hotspot in front of the Tower shop at the main gate.
EVENTS
A soldier’s experience
Tower of London
22 April – 31 October (Weekend and Bank Holidays, excluding 1-2 October)
Sergeant Gowing of the Royal Fusiliers describes his recent experiences in the Crimean War
Royal Beasts
28 May – 5 June
11.00-16.00
Join us in various locations around the site to learn more about the Tower’s role as a Menagerie. Take part in beastly craft activities such as animal badge making and mask making, and create your own souvenir to take home.
There will be a puppet storytelling session at various times throughout the day, followed by the chance for young visitors to make their own animal finger puppets.
Families will also be able to pick up our new Royal Beasts trail from the Welcome Centre. Follow the trail to embark on an animal hunt, learn fun and frightening facts and imagine what life must have been like for the resident royal beasts.
Raree show (with Royal Beasts!)
Tower of London
28-30 May
The menagerie 1250-1850
Be introduced to the wonders of nature, the bizarre, the incredible and the frankly unbelievable, as the ‘raries’ and the ‘Curiosities’ of the Tower throughout the ages are revealed as you’ve never seen them before! The true stories of the royal beasts in the style of a 19th century ‘Raree Show’, interspersed with Tower life and prisoners
Royal Beasts
Kendra Haste, Artist Sally Dixon-Smith, HRP Collections Curator
Tower of London
28 May 14.00-16.00
The royal menagerie is one of the most curious, but least known stories of the Tower. The seeds of the menagerie were sown in the gifting of animals to the monarchy which began in the 13th century, but over the centuries expanded significantly and would eventually leave the Tower in the early 19th century destined for London Zoo!
Join us in this afternoon school to celebrate the opening of Historic Royal Palaces’ new exhibition, ‘Royal Beasts’, which tells the story of the Tower menagerie. Sally Dixon-Smith will provide an overview of this often overlooked side of the mighty fortress and acclaimed animal sculptor Kendra Haste will discuss the 13 commissioned sculptures she has created for the exhibition.
Tickets £20/£18 HRP members. To book tickets call 0844 482 7799 or online at http://www.hrp.org.uk/
This event includes refreshments and entry to the Tower of London
Raree show (with Royal Beasts!)
Tower of London
31 May – 24 July
The menagerie 1250-1850
Be introduced to the wonders of nature, the bizarre, the incredible and the frankly unbelievable, as the ‘raries’ and the ‘Curiosities’ of the Tower throughout the ages are revealed as you’ve never seen them before! The true stories of the royal beasts in the style of a 19th century ‘Raree Show’, interspersed with Tower life and prisoners.
