PRESS RELEASE
ROYAL MUSEUMS GREENWICH TO PARTNER WITH ROYAL PARKS FOR WORLD OCEANS DAY CELEBRATION IN GREENWICH PARK
The National Maritime Museum is home to hundreds of years of seafaring history, from the vast Pacific to the icy Arctic and Antarctic Oceans. This World Oceans Day event will offer visitors a chance to dive into the past, present, and future of our blue planet.
Activities on the day will revolve around UNESCO’s seven principles of ocean literacy, including the notion that the ocean makes Earth habitable. Therefore, the partnership with Royal Parks will allow RMG to explore how marine environmental issues are linked to the land, and the importance of green spaces in tackling the climate crisis.
For more information, visit: www.rmg.co.uk/worldoceansday
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ACTIVITIES
Outdoor Trail
Take part in a self-guided trail around the Royal Museums Greenwich sites and Greenwich Park to learn how the ocean makes Earth habitable. Along the way there will be scientists and ocean experts, as well as creative workshops. There will be seven stations to find, marking the seven principles of ocean literacy. Contributing organisations include British Antarctic Survey, Surfers Against Sewage, Ocean Generation, the Manta Trust and more. Those who take part in the trail will be entered into a prize-draw with the chance to win several prizes.
Location: Start at the National Maritime Museum to receive the trail booklet, then walk around Greenwich Park to find stations at the Royal Observatory, Boating Lake, Bandstand and more.
Musical Performances
Head to the Greenwich Park Bandstand for live music from 10-piece band, Metronomes Steel Orchestra, throughout the day.
Location: Bandstand
Merfolk Face Painting
Budding ocean explorers should look out for the magical merfolk face painters to be transformed into ocean creatures from coral to little fish.
Location: Outside the National Maritime Museum
Price: This activity costs £5
Dr Bike
Bring your bicycle along to mechanic Dr Bike who will be offering free bike maintenance in the middle of the day.
Time: 11.00 - 15.00
Cutty Sark Talk
A talk on ocean machinery, winds, currents and Cutty Sark’s famous routes.
Times: 11.30, 12.30, 14.30
Location: Cutty Sark
Price: Free after admission cost
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BEYOND WORLD OCEANS DAY
Women of the RNLI
To mark the bicentenary of the RNLI, Royal Museums Greenwich is hosting an exhibition celebrating the vital role that women have played in saving lives at sea.
Women of the RNLI highlights the work and success of women in a variety of roles including their pioneering contributions to fundraising, campaigning, technological innovation, training and as members of onshore and offshore crew throughout the RNLI’s history. The exhibition features a series of Jack Lowe photographs taken from Lowe’s ongoing Lifeboat Station Project, an attempt to photograph every RNLI station and members of its crew. Alongside these images, the exhibition includes oral histories from some of the sitters, sharing their experiences of life with the RNLI.
Date: Daily until 1 December 2024
Time: 10.00 – 17.00
Age: Suitable for all ages
Location: National Maritime Museum, Special Exhibitions Gallery
Price: Free
URL: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/women-of-the-rnli
Earth from Space
This display at the Peter Harrison Planetarium celebrates Earth’s outstanding natural beauty and creates a vibrant colour-scape centred around our planet through astrophotography, audio-visual and interactive elements. It draws attention to a wide range of Earth observation missions and their vital role in tackling climate change and other issues as well as to highlight how human activity is creating visible, lasting change to our world.
Dates: Daily
Time: 10.00 – 17.00
Age: Suitable for all ages
Location: Royal Observatory, Peter Harrison Planetarium
Admission: Free with entry to the Peter Harrison Planetarium
URL: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/royal-observatory/earth-space
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ONLINE RESOURCES
Our Ocean, Our Planet Online Hub
We depend on the ocean for our very survival, yet many of us feel cut off from what is happening in our rivers, seas, oceans and ice caps. Our Ocean, Our Planet aims to help navigate these turbulent waters on World Oceans Day and beyond. This online hub publishes original articles, interviews, photo essays and videos, all designed to help connect our history as a seafaring species with contemporary environmental and maritime issues.
URL: Our Ocean, Our Planet | National Maritime Museum (rmg.co.uk)
How to Talk to Children about the Climate Crisis
This webinar explores practical tips for having honest and open conversations with children about the climate crisis, without causing feelings of stress or trauma. As a maritime museum, RMG knows how intrinsically connected our oceans are to humanity's future and want to support families to encounter and explore reliable information about the climate crisis.
URL: 'How to' Series for Parents and Carers | Royal Museums Greenwich (rmg.co.uk)
How to Make an Ocean in a Bottle
Oceans are vital to the survival of the planet and it is important that we try to keep them clean and healthy. Be inspired by the magnificence of the oceans and create your own ocean in a bottle. Imagine you are relaxing at the seaside as you create your own waves at home.
URL: How to make an ocean in a bottle | Royal Museums Greenwich (rmg.co.uk)
Making Waves
From sailors and scientists to surfers and environmentalists, this online interview series profiles trailblazing women connected with the sea.
URL: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/making-waves
Meet a Polar Scientist
A free series of YouTube interviews and lectures, featuring polar scientists sharing what it is like to live and work in the Arctic and Antarctic.
URL: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT6EQulbgyGfdff4cAm3Kc5PC5UITLi5W
HMS Challenger: Story of a Scientific Trailblazer
Curator essays explore the landmark oceanographic expedition of 1872-76.
URL: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/hms-challenger-expedition-oceanography-trailblazer
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INFORMATION FOR VISITORS:
Venue: National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory Greenwich, Cutty Sark and Greenwich Park
Dates: 8 June 2024
Opening times: 10.00 – 17.00
Admission: Free
Visitor enquiries: 020 8858 4422
Twitter: @RMGreenwich
Instagram: @royalmuseumsgreenwich
Facebook: @royalmuseumsgreenwich
GENERAL INFORMATION
Royal Museums Greenwich incorporates the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory, the 17th-century Queen’s House and the clipper ship Cutty Sark. This unique collection of museums and heritage buildings, which form a key part of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site, welcomes over two and a half million British and international visitors a year and is also a major centre of education and research. The mission of Royal Museums Greenwich is to enrich people’s understanding of the sea, the exploration of space, and Britain's role in world history. For more information, visit www.rmg.co.uk.
For further information or images please contact:
Royal Museums Greenwich Press Office
Tel: 020 8312 6545/6789/6589
Email: press@rmg.co.uk