Behind the scenes at the museum

The magic of tropical forests, local woodlands and their wildlife will be celebrated at the University Museum of Zoology tomorrow (14 July).

Forests' Day, which runs from 10am to 4pm, will feature activities highlighting the beauty and significance of forests across the world.

During the day there will be a display of tropical plants supplied by the Botanic Garden and tours of the museum's ‘behind-the-scenes' insect room where researchers study tropical insects.

Information will be on show about local woodlands and how to get involved in their preservation and expansion, including the Wildlife Trust's part in plans to link and expand existing woodlands to create a South Cambridgeshire Forest.

Julie McArthur, the Museum's Events Officer said “There will be a huge range of activities during the day for all the family, including the chance to make a tree for the museum's temporary paper forest, create a bird of paradise, take bark and leaf rubbings and see if how long it takes to run the length of a rainforest tree.”

There will be also be live woodland minibeast displays and a Tudor alchemist will be on hand to demonstrate how woodlands were used to ‘make magic' over 400 years ago.

Forests' Day runs alongside a temporary photographic exhibition at the museum by five photographers from the University, on display until 11 August, celebrating the beauty of forests and woodlands.

The day will be run jointly with The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northampton and Peterborough, the Botanic Garden, the United Nations Environmental Programme, the Magog Trust, Cambridgeshire Mammal Group and many more.

The University Museum of Zoology is on Downing Street in Cambridge and admission is free. For more information visit the website by clicking on the link to the right of the page.