BAFTA award-winning Wildlife Presenter and Adventurer – BBC Earth Experience

STEVE BACKSHALL to be face of the BBC Earth Experience education programme for schools 

OPEN NOW 

10am – 7pm on Sunday – Thursday 

10am – 9pm on Friday – Saturday 

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW 

The BBC Earth Experience is open now! The phenomenal, immersive experience has opened its doors for visitors to enjoy the magnificent wonders of ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’, on a breathtaking scale. 

Featuring bespoke narration from Sir David Attenborough, the BBC Earth Experience is hosted in the brand-new, demountable Daikin Centre in Earls Court, London. The new London attraction spans 1608m²  and allows audiences of every age to lose themselves in boundless wonder, as they travel to far flung places. 

Renowned BBC natural history presenter and adventurer Steve Backshall officially opened the BBC Earth Experience and has been unveiled as the face of the BBC Earth Experience education programme for schools launching in May. 

The children’s zone is a self-guided experience with curriculum based activity booklets designed to inspire children and develop their understanding, empathy and desire to protect the planet. Children can complete the booklets either onsite or back in their classroom.  The resources are curriculum linked and include Teacher Guides which can be enjoyed by all, no matter what key stage. School and group tickets are available to purchase now at bbcearthexperience.com/schools-groups.  

Presenter Steve Backshall says: “This is as close as you can get to being in the field, surrounded by the greatest natural spectacles on our planet. One of the producers who was on the actual shoots recording this footage said it felt more like being there amongst it than when he was actually there. Watching the polar bear sequence, I actually started to feel cold because it was so immersive. I really felt like I was there.”

Why is it an important experience for all ages?

“We are becoming more aware now of both the limitations of endless travel and needing at the same time to be able to inspire people in the natural world. Not everyone is able to visit Antarctica at the click of their fingers. You certainly can’t do it over a weekend but here they can transport themselves from the centre of London to the most far-flung frontiers of our planet.” said Steve.

What is the main message of the BBC Earth Experience? 

“We need to be inspired by the natural world to want to protect it and want to save it. That is something that BBC Natural History Unit has been doing wonderfully for a very long time and this is another new media ground-breaking way of doing just that.”

Do visitors need to have watched the award-winning Seven Worlds One Planet TV series before attending the BBC Earth Experience?

“Absolutely not! Visitors will be given a running commentary by the greatest wildlife broadcaster of all time, Sir David Attenborough. The sights and sounds you will be rewarded with are going to be omnipresent, flooding your senses throughout this experience so you have no need to have done any prep beforehand!”

 Does the BBC Earth Experience aim to inspire visitors to protect the planet?

“We have to take responsibility for our own patch. That starts with getting involved with local wildlife and conservation organisations and taking ownership of the little bit of the planet that is our own. 

“Apart from anything else, it’s where you can most clearly see your own impact and we have to take responsibility for it because at the end of the day it’s ours and ours to take care of.” 

How do you teach your children about caring for the planet and conserving our extraordinary wildlife?

“I do a lot with encouraging my kids into wildlife. The way it starts is by getting dirt under the fingernails, by getting them fully engaged with wildlife by climbing trees and crawling under hedges looking for spiders,  pond dipping and finding aquatic invertebrates and all the things that I used to do when I was a kid. We now live in a very different world where there are so many cutting edge ways of bringing people to the natural world.

I do everything I can to try and inspire my youngest and give them that thirst for knowledge and an understanding of nature.”

How does it feel to be inspiring the next generation by being the face of the BBC Earth Experience Education Programme? 

“It’s a massive honour! It is headlined by Sir David who is my absolute idol and the greatest wildlife broadcaster of all time. For me to have a role in this project is a huge honour.

“Tens of thousands of kids are going to visit it and we have the opportunity to reach out to them through this Experience – to give them all of the majesty and wonder that this world has to offer. Hopefully at the end we will have converts – children who are going to be the next generation of animal conservationists. To have that opportunity is amazing.” 

BBC Earth Experience is open daily, Sunday-Thursday 10am-7pm and Friday-Saturday 10am-9pm. Tickets can be purchased online from www.bbcearthexperience.com from £22 for children and £28.50 for adults.

Visitors will take a truly transformative audio visual journey as they find themselves witness to the phenomenon of the wilderness; from a four-tonne elephant seal fight to a colourful carpet of starfish. 

The brand-new experience explores the landscapes of the seven continents to bring Planet Earth to life. From a forest full of fireflies putting on a spectacular light show in North America, to snub nosed monkeys huddling together to stay warm in Asia and hungry hamsters fighting to keep their food in Europe, visitors will experience our seven continents like never before. 

BBC Earth Experience

Venue: The Daikin Centre, Earl’s Court, London 

Tickets are on sale now from £22 for children and £28.50 for adults from www.bbcearthexperience.com