Craft a Critter: Natural History with a Twist!

Pet racoons, terrible tummy aches and mythical beasts – learn about natural history and put your artistic skills to the test!

Imagine how you might feel if someone told you that they had seen an alien - a beast with the beak of a parrot, skin that changes colour, and the ability to shoot out clouds of inky darkness and limbs like waves.

How about the poor artist whose job it is to illustrate this horrifying creation, perhaps it really is an alien? Or perhaps… it’s an octopus.

We take photos and videos for granted – imagine how people must have felt centuries ago when explorers returned with tales of wondrous creatures they’d seen on their travels! We challenge you to put your artistic skills to the test and see how you’d do; see whether your artwork would make its way into our library here!

Join us for a 70-minute activity split between tour and arts & crafts. We’ll explore the history of the Linnean Society, how we got our name and what we do. Learn what connects a Swedish scientist, a pet racoon and Charles Darwin together with some of the weirder tales from natural history.

After a tour, put your naturalist skills to the test by taking on the role of an 18th century artist – how would you cope in the era of exploration, documenting and drawing the weirder side of the natural world! Would your art stand the test of time?