Arctic Adventure

Have you got what it takes to be a researcher in the arctic tundra – a cold and barren landscape?

Many of the birds that visit Slimbridge in winter have travelled over 4000km from the arctic tundra including our beloved Bewick’s swans and Greenland white-fronted geese.

Following in the footsteps of WWT founder Sir Peter Scott and real life WWT researchers, visit the cold and basic tundra research huts in search of clues to explain the recent decline of Bewick’s swans and other birds.

Enter the tundra hut and see what life was like as an arctic explorer. You’ll notice the authentic smells of boiled cabbage and potatoes – lunch for the researchers! Delve deeper into the living conditions, food rations, and clothes worn by a researcher. Test your natural history skills by studying the bird leg identification rings and take part in science field work activities including animal poo analysis (don’t worry this bit isn’t stinky).

Things to do:

• Dress up as an arctic researcher in the Tundra hut
• Plan your tundra hut meal. Choose from potatoes, dried fish and tinned reindeer!
• Become a real birdwatcher and use our binoculars and telescopes to see if you can identify the birds by looking at their identification leg rings
• Step into the life of a real researcher and investigate what birds eat using a microscope. Measure, weigh and record our life-size swan (replica!).