ATTRACTIONS


Dorset Museum chooses architect for £6m expansion


Dorset County Museum has appointed Carmody Groarke as architect for its £6m plans to create a new exhibition space and galleries at the attraction in Dorchester. Te Grade-II listed museum is looking


to create new galleries to exhibit art, nat- ural history, costumes and textiles items. As part of the Collections Discovery


Centre project, the museum is also seeking to create an archive facility, while develop- ing a series of new buildings and spaces to provide more public access to the collection. Dorset County Museum holds collections


of around 3.5 million objects, including one of the UK’s most important fossil collec- tions and the Tomas Hardy Archive. “We see Carmody Groarke as a critical


member of the team who will help turn our vision into reality,” said Jon Murden, director of Dorset County Museum. Details: http://lei.sr?a=7M7g4


Google Glass to revolutionise art


Researchers are investigating how Google Glass can be used to display instant information on artworks as visitors tour museums and galleries, with the possibility the technology could replace guidebooks and audio guides entirely. A team from Manchester


Metropolitan University (MMU) in the north of England is using artist George Stubbs’ artwork Cheetah and Stag with Two Indians to test the service, which provides the user with information they would normally read on the wall while audio informa- tion about Stubbs will also be made available to the viewer. Te wearer uses the glasses to take a picture


George Stubbs’ Cheetah and Stag with Two Indians was a test piece


of the painting, which is then recognised by Google Glass and matched to the information. Testers of the technology were a mix of art


gallery goers of all ages, genders and occupa- tions. An MMU spokesperson said that the group’s response to the revolutionary technol- ogy had been generally quite positive. Further tests on the technology will be car-


Te NPG welcomed two million visitors in 2012


Sandy Nairne to bow out as director of NPG in February


National Portrait Gallery director Sandy Nairne has announced he is to step down in February aſter 12 years at the helm. Nairne, who has helped increase gallery


visitor numbers by more than a third since his appointment in November 2002, plans to pursue his writing and advisory work. “It’s been a great privilege to lead such a


special institution as the National Portrait Gallery – I’m very proud of what we have achieved over the past decade,” he said. Te fact that two million visitors now


come each year to visit exhibitions, take part in activities or see displays of this amazing collection in London, as well as around the country or online, is testi- mony to the dedication of all who work at the gallery and those who support it in so many different ways. Te Gallery is in good shape and will go from strength to strength.” Nairne has previously worked at Tate, and the Arts Council of Great Britain. Details: http://lei.sr?a=F6f5r


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ried out on six more paintings throughout June, with the team hoping that the glasses will eventually be able to provide suggestions and recommend similar works, for example other oil paintings of that period or other works by


Stubbs. Te glasses would then be able to intu- itively direct the user to the correct area of the gallery where the suggested work is situated. Beyond that, there are also plans scheduled


for the future to test the technology on sculp- tures and three-dimensional works, with a long list of potential uses for the technology across the museums and art galleries sector. Google Glass became officially avail-


able to the general public in the US on May 15, 2014, for a price of $1,500 (£880). Before that users were required to receive invita- tions before they could try Google Glass. A UK release date has yet to be announced. Details: http://lei.sr?a=Z8d8Zw


Underground quarry boasts giant trampolines


Giant trampolines have been installed over a chasm inside an old slate quarry cavern which is twice the size of St Paul’s Cathedral in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales. The new visitor attraction


‘Bounce Below’ will open in July and is the first of its kind world- wide, according to its developers, tipped to lure thousands of dare- devil tourists to the region. The atmospheric slate caverns


Te trampolines are suspended above an underground chasm


will be dramatically illuminated while visitors bounce on the three giant tram- polines – one above the other linked by a 60ſt (18.2m) long slide. Visitors to the underground attraction will travel via train and will then be able to explore the cavern via a combination of slides and trampoline bouncing. Te £1.2m investment into the quarry at


Llechwedd also includes Zip World – said to be the largest zip line course anywhere in the


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


world, which sees its riders travel at speeds of up to 70mph (112kmph) and offers aerial views of Snowdonia from 500ſt (152m) in the air. Te new development is expected to cre-


ate 10 jobs, including permanent roles for train drivers and instructors, and there are further plans for a series of under- ground zip lines at the former quarry. Details: http://lei.sr?a=r6s6M


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2014


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