The Eden Project is launching a summer of fun on Saturday (July 19) when everyone is invited to roll up their sleeves and attempt to build the biggest den ever.
Den building is the theme of Eden's summer, and to kick it off in spectacular fashion, visitors, the project's Den Challenge Team and local scout and guide groups will all work together to fill the arena with the biggest den possible in just two hours.
At 2pm den builders will be split into groups, with each one responsible for building a den section before working with their neighbours to join the bits together. They will be given a whole range of materials including old sails, tyre inner tubes, bamboo, sheets, poles, rope, rugs, clothes horses and scraps of fabric and washing lines to create the structure.
At 4pm proceedings will be called to a halt, the tape measures will come out and the team will find out just how big their den is.
A timelapse camera will capture the action and the footage will made available on the Eden website (www.edenproject.com).
Den building is a major part of Eden's Mud Between Your Toes programme, which aims to get children playing outside.
Everyone who comes to Eden from July 19 to September 4 can take part in den building fun.
Eden launched the Den Challenge last year, encouraging families to team up and build their fantasy shelters. More than 35,000 took part - and this year there will be even more to do in a summer season full of discovery, invention and enjoying great outdoors.
Emma Hogg, Eden's Site Wide Live Programme Producer, said: "Den Building was a huge success last year. Visitors really got into the spirit of it and some became quite competitive when they saw what other people were building. Now it is coming back with loads of other things to keep children and adults entertained right the way through the holidays.
"You will be able to learn all sorts of survival skills such as knot-tying, making fire without matches, family trails, treasure hunts, an orienteering challenge, kite-making workshops and there will be a magical base camp to explore."
Bound to be a very popular activity this year is mud-casting - making a print of your hand or foot in a frame filled with the finest wet Cornish earth.
If all this activity proves to be rather tiring, visitors can have a rest in one of the hammocks strung from tree trunks or relax in a tipi full of bean bags and cushions (from August onwards).
Eden is blessed with cafes and restaurants selling tasty and nutritious food. Visitors can also enjoy some traditional camp fire fare served from a granite-walled fire pit, which will operate from August 1 to September 4.
From July 19 to September 4 Eden is open every day from 10am to 6pm. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, last admission is at 6.30pm and the site closes at 8pm.
Entry charges are: £36 for a family (two adults and up to three children); £15 for adults; £5 for children. Under-fives are free. After 4.30 pm, charges are £9 per adult and free for children.
Notes to editors:
* Eden Project Limited is owned by the Eden Trust, which is a fully registered UK Charity (No. 1093070).
* Eden is home to the two biggest greenhouses in the world - the Rainforest Biome and Mediterranean Biome.
* Around 1.2 million visitors come to Eden per year and it has generated £800 million for the local economy.
* So far capital funding of £135 million to develop Eden has been raised from a combination of £58 million from the Millennium Commission Lottery Fund, £50 million in regional grants from the South West Regional Development Agency and Objective One European Regional Development Fund, and £27 million in the form of loans, lease finance and Eden's own revenue generation.
* Immediate information may be obtained from our website: www.edenproject.com.
For more information, please contact:
David Rowe
Head of Media Relations
drowe@edenproject.com
01726 811901
07813 041923
Ben Foster
Communications Assistant
bfoster@edenproject.com
01726 818766
07813 950368
