Monsters of the Deep gives people the unmissable chance to come face-to-face with life-size replicas of some of the most fearsome creatures in the ocean, from Nessie-like marine reptiles to sharks and giant squid.
Visitors can step back in time to marvel at sea monsters in prehistoric aquariums, and wonder at the replicas of huge sharks that still inhabit the waters off Land’s End today.
The attraction has been purpose-built for Land’s End, with parts coming straight from the hugely-popular Dinosaurs Unleashed exhibition, now showing at The O2 in London.
It has been designed by exhibition and model making (special effects) company Avalon Studios, whose previous work includes the BBC Walking with Dinosaurs, Walking with Beasts and Walking with Prehistoric Life exhibitions.
David Bryans, General Manager at Land’s End, said: “Monsters of the Deep is a major new feature at Land’s End which is fun, interactive and educational and I’m sure it’ll be a big hit with visitors of all ages.
“It’s a spectacular exhibition which has been designed by the best in the business. To see a basking shark up close and realise you could physically climb inside its mouth is quite something – and then you remember they actually swim in the waters off Land’s End.”
The exhibition, which opens on March 30, is the culmination of three months of work by Alavon, and includes interactive games, videos, displays and life-size replicas.
It includes a section dedicated to sharks, which has been approved by the Shark Trust, giving visitors the opportunity to learn all about great whites, basking sharks, hammerheads, tiger sharks, bull sharks and more, while posing the question - are we a greater danger to sharks than they are to us?
It also displays memorabilia from the Jaws movies, while showing some of the more unusual objects to be found inside a shark stomach – such as spare tyres and car number plates.
Monsters of the Deep begins 500 million years ago with shrimp-like anomalacaris, one of the earliest predators in the ocean. It moves through the fascinating Jurassic period, showing creatures such as the Liopleurodon, the largest marine reptile on record; Cryptoclidus, which closely resembles the Loch Ness Monster; and Leedsichthys, the largest known fish in history.
Highlights include life-size replicas of plesiosaur fossils, giant squid and basking sharks – which are often spotted off Land’s End.
Monsters of the Deep replaces the massively popular Doctor Who exhibition, which closed in January after being seen by almost 400,000 people.
Mr Bryans added: “This is the beginning of an exciting new season at Land’s End and we can’t wait to unveil the new exhibition to the public.”
For more information on Land’s End visit www.landsend-landmark.co.uk
Ends
Download full press release