There are stories you find when you open a book. And there are others…that wait to find you.
Sylvia South is settling in for a quiet day at her local library, when she looks up from the pages to see something outrageous. Knowing she’d best be off before something more terrible happens…something more terrible happens!
And suddenly Sylvia South is off on an adventure, navigating streets on a borrowed bicycle to chase a strange little man with an armful of other people’s books.
It would be an exciting story to read – if only she wasn’t inside it!
Designed with young audiences in mind this play is suitable for children aged 5+ and has a running time of 50mins. Come on down this summer and catch Sylvia South and the Word Catcher!
You’re Among Ideal Friends…
This exciting piece of family theatre is part of our Among Ideal Friends initiative – a theatre touring consortium developed by The Spark Arts for Children in partnership with libraries in the East Midlands, including Inspire!
Sylvia South is a brand new piece of theatre created specifically for the project and the libraries involved. It has been written by Finegan Kruckemeyer, an award-wining playwright, who has had 81 commissioned plays performed on five continents and translated into six languages.
The Reading Agency and Nottingham City Libraries bring you the 2017 Summer Reading Challenge – Animal Agents – a whole host of clever creatures, ready to solve all kinds of crimes! This band of furry, slippery and feathered friends are specially trained to use their skills and natural instincts to unravel mysteries – with a huge helping of fun along the way.
Don’t be bored over the summer come and join in the fun at your local library!
Are you up for the challenge?
To take part all you have to do is read 6 library books over the summer holiday period. It’s FREE to join too! The only rule is they have to be library books! You can read anything, and that means ANYTHING: picture books, fact books or stories from your favourite authors.
Take your library card along with you and ask a staff member to join. Fill out a registration card and choose some books. As you return books you will start to receive incentives, a collector’s card and stickers. If you read all six books you will get invited to a medal ceremony where you will be presented with a medal and certificate.
The fun begins tomorrow, 15th July, and runs until 2nd September 2017. You can visit the library anytime during this period to sign-up and take part. We have lots of great performances, crafts and activities for families in libraries over the summer. Click here to view our Summer holiday activity programme and find out what’s on and when. And, if you’re going on holiday – don’t worry you don’t have to visit the library every week to take part – you could visit before you go and when you come back!
The ground-breaking Dinosaurs of China exhibition, which is bringing some of the best-preserved dinosaur fossils in the world to Nottingham this summer, opens tomorrow (July 1). Here are some incredible pictures and video from the press day with Chris Packham.
Chris said, “The way dinosaurs have evolved is truly fascinating and I’m passionate about spreading the message far and wide. Dinosaurs have long been perceived as huge scaly beasts but now we’re finding out that this was only part of the story. This exhibition provides a real once in a lifetime chance to see some of the most exciting dinosaur discoveries in recent years and learn more about how dinosaurs actually looked when they roamed the Earth.”
Opening at Wollaton Hall and Nottingham Lakeside Arts on July 1, Dinosaurs of China is a collaboration between Nottingham City Council and the University of Nottingham who have worked closely with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing and the Long Hao Institute of Geology and Paleontology Inner Mongolia.
Dr Adam Smith is the exhibition curator and said, “We are extremely excited to be bringing together such an interesting collection of specimens, and delighted that Chris is supporting us. He shares our enthusiasm and understands the importance of the Dinosaurs of China exhibition.
Several of the fossils on display are globally significant because they show that some dinosaurs had feathers. Many of the species have only been discovered in the past 20 years, and one was named just two years ago, so we really are showing these new discoveries to the world.”
Jason Feehily, Director Knowledge Exchange Asia at the University of Nottingham, said, “We are delighted to have Chris join the Dinosaurs of China team. Chris has an enormous reputation and stature in this area and to have him as a supporter demonstrates both the scientific and cultural importance of the Dinosaurs of China exhibition. I am hugely impressed by Chris’s passion and enthusiasm and we are all really looking forward to working with him over the coming months.”
Taking place from 1st July to 29th October 2017, the exhibition will span two sites – Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and University of Nottingham’s public art centre, Lakeside Arts. Tickets for Wollaton Hall are now on sale. Prices are £7.70 for an adult and £5.50 for a child. There is a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) for £22.00. Children under five go free and the event welcomes school parties at a reduced price. Entry to Lakeside is free of charge.
