Garden Giants: Amazing Bugs in Our Environment

27. August — 4. January,
Tues - Sat: 10.00am - 5.00pm, Sun: 11.00am - 5.00pm.
Main Gallery.
Please see below for information on prices and discounts.

Find yourself face-to-face with giant models of bugs up to 400 times their actual size! Use hands-on displays to find out fascinating facts about the minature wildlife that exists in your own back garden.

5" 10 Wasp!

Tickets: £5 adults, £4 children and concessions, under 5 free, £15 family ticket (2 adults, 2 children). 20% discount for RHS Members and 10% discount for Surrey Wildlife Trust or Buglife Members on production of a valid membership card.

Come on a bug hunt with a difference to explore an indoor garden complete with a potting shed and grass paths. Hidden in the undergrowth are giant moving models of stag beetles, ants, wasps, crickets, snails, ladybirds, butterflies and spiders - up to 400 times their actual size!

Amazing Bugs...

Interactive displays guide all the family through the fascinating world of insects and invertebrates. Did you know that greenbottle flies are essential to the recycling and disposal of rubbish, or that stag beetles’ horns are used to push rival males aside? Younger visitors can have a go at seeing like a fly, smelling like a bug and playing music with our creepy-crawly orchestra.

“Some people might cringe at the idea of creepy crawlies and insects” said Michael Regan, Exhibitions Manager at The Lightbox. “But we hope Garden Giants will show how interesting, varied and incredibly useful these miniature creatures really are.”

...in our environment

The underlying theme of the exhibition is sustainability. Garden Giants highlights the importance of insects and invertebrates to the fragile ecosystems that support life on earth.

Text panels display information on local conservation sites run by Surrey Wildlife Trust. You can also get tips on how to encourage useful bugs into your garden with information provided by expert gardeners at nearby RHS Garden Wisley. The results of a local wildlife survey by Woking environmental group LA21 will be on display too.

Related Events

Don’t miss the bug-related events taking place throughout the exhibition. Experts from Surrey Wildlife Trust will be giving talks about local conservation, with the opportunity to handle live bugs. Children can make bug masks, ladybird houses and creepy-crawly crafts in family workshops run by RHS Wisley and The Lightbox. Please have a look at the calendar on the left to see what’s on this month.

Supporters

Garden Giants is generously supported by Vines of Guildford MINI, The Loop Design and Charlie Choy's Pan Aisan Buffetworks. The exhibition is the result of a partnership with Surrey Wildlife Trust, RHS Wisley and Woking Borough Council’s environmental group, Local Agenda 21.