Chantry Place to host ‘Under the Sea Trail’ this February

We are hosting a free family ‘Under the Sea Trail’ from Saturday 10th February to Saturday 24th February as part of Norwich Science Festival 2024.

Local artist, Beth Lester, is creating the illustrations for the self-led trail, based around ‘Great Britain’s Barrier Reef’ – the Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds. Families will discover eight amazing animals and plants, including seals and starfish, that make this 100-million-year-old chalk reef, and its surrounding environments, their home.

Free trail maps can be picked up from Langleys in Chantry Place, and families can do the trail daily in Centre opening hours between 10th and 24th February. Once the trail has been complete, families can enter a competition to win a £100 Langleys gift card courtesy of Chantry Place.

There will also be an ‘Under the Sea Selfie Station’ on the lower ground floor at Chantry Place.

Paul McCarthy, our general manager at Chantry Place, said: “Norwich Science Festival helps educate families in a really fun and interactive way about nature and science, and we are looking forward to hosting this trail, which has been designed exclusively for us by Beth. It is fantastic that families can learn more about the incredible sea life on our doorstep at Cromer, and discover some fascinating plants and wildlife that call it home in our ‘Under the Sea’ trail.”

Norwich Science Festival’s Marketing Manager, Danie Hadley, said: “We’re so pleased to be collaborating with Chantry Place for 2024 to provide an engaging, free trail for families to enjoy in the half term. The Festival is not only a celebration of science, but also a celebration of Norwich and Norfolk – from the ground-breaking research taking place in the city to the unique wildlife that makes our county its home. We hope families and children will be wowed by the fact that harbour porpoises and the Parpal Dumplin’ sponge live just off our coast!”

Beth Lester is a recent graduate of Illustration from Norwich University of the Arts. Beth focuses on nature and natural history and has illustrated matchday programme covers for Norwich City Football Club. Beth said: “It has been a great opportunity to work with Norwich Science Festival and Chantry Place on this fun and educational project. I really look forward to seeing our hard work be enjoyed by families in Norwich and hope it sparks a long term interest in nature for the visitors. Many of the creatures depicted are at risk of decline caused by human interaction, and this trail will highlight the beautiful environment on our doorstep and how important it is to protect it.”

The Under the Sea trail is free and requires no advance booking.

The full programme for Norwich Science Festival can be found, here: https://norwichsciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on