Day 3

Weary faces appeared at breakfast this morning although everyone had slept well.

Another varied menu including square sausages made for some interesting comments over the breakfast table but with everyone fed and watered we boarded our coach to take on the challenges of a new day.

The weather forecast was not good but we knew we would be inside for all of our activities so were not disappointed in the slightest.

In Dynamic Earth we split into 2 groups.  A self guided tour led us through many exhibits which explained the geography and history of our planet and solar system.  Other exhibits included a 4D experience, a large iceberg, a rainforest and a 180 degree film of the story behind the first moon landing.  The children were excellently behaved throughout and took on board much of the information they were being bombarded with.

We ate lunch and then drove to Butterfly World.  Our guide Kev gave us some basic rules before leading us into the tropical garden.  It is difficult to describe the humidity but needless to say that t-shirts were vital.  Inside the garden the children saw stick insects, giant moths, butterflies, terrapins, turtles, koi, an African tortoise, bantam hens, quail and many cocoons hanging from the wide variety of tropical plants.

From the garden we then ventured into the reptile room and the nocturnal zone.  Here the children saw various snakes, spiders, lizards, frogs, scorpions and cockroaches.  The highlight was of course getting to handle a live giant millipede, a python and a tarantula.

After Butterfly World we headed back to our hotel for an early tea.  We did our best to ensure that everyone got a shower although can not be sure a few didn’t just wave their hand under the shower head.

We had just enough time to visit Lidl to stock up on snacks for the cinema before heading out again.  Armed with enough food to feed the 5000 the children settled back to watch Aladdin.  The film was a resounding success with the fewest children ever disappearing to the toilet in the middle.  At the end several of them leapt out of their seats to dance to the end credits.  Lots of the children expressed their thanks at being taken to see the movie which was lovely to hear.

Back in the hotel Mr H gave the final instructions of the day - “PJs, teeth, bed” and it was with those words echoing down the corridor that the children finally fell asleep.