Early Man Half Term at the National Science and Media Museum
Gemma Gibb, Associate Editor
Cinema related antics are always a good bet for the February half-term, while we are still waiting for Spring to make a welcome appearance. Lucky for us that Bradford’s tip top National Science and Media Museum has programmed an appropriately mammoth week of merriment and mischief inspired by Early Man, the latest feature film from Aardman.
As well as screenings of the film itself – a tale of courageous caveman Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and trusty sidekick Hognob who need to unite Dug’s tribe against the villainous Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) to save their prehistoric home against dastardly Bronze Age advances, there are a wealth of mega creative experiences to get involved in.
Free daily drop-in activities include designing and building your own prehistoric catapult, making a model Early Man character to add to the Tribe, and finger-painting an Aardman storyboard which will be turned into a flipbook and posted online at the end of the week. We love that there is also a special free Early Man family trail where, if you complete the challenges to discover the history of animation from items from the museum’s incredible collections, you can be in with a chance of winning film-related prizes.
There are special Behind The Scenes of Early Man mass participation events before the film screenings, Age of Animation live demonstrations of how animation started and works, plus a very special oppportunity to meet Aardman’s Andy Symanowski as he gives expert insight and sneak peaks of behind-the-scenes footage.
Did we also mention there’s the chance to get up close to original sets, artwork and props from the film? Right, we’re off to gather our Tribe together to head to Bradford right about now.
Don’t miss the chance to visit Wonderlab while you are at it – an interactive happy hunting ground of over 20 state-of-the-art experiences including an incredible maze of mirrors and giant Time Twister screen.
