During our travels around the country over the Easter holidays, we visited Discovery Point in Dundee, home of the RRS Discovery – the ship that took Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first expedition to the Antarctic back in 1901.
We found the exhibition about the ship really interesting – with details about why the ship was built in Dundee, why Captain Scott was chosen to lead the expedition, how the crew prepared for it, the discoveries that they made during the expedition and what happened to the crew and the ship after the expedition was over.
Back in 1901, Antarctica was almost completely uncharted. I was amazed to discover that we actually knew more about the Moon prior to the Moon landings than Scott and his crew knew about Antarctica back in 1901. Dundee was chosen for building RRS Discovery as the shipyards there were experienced in building whaling ships which were designed to withstand polar ice.
During the expedition, the team made a huge number of scientific discoveries – discovering over 500 new species of animals, spiders, shrimp and fish, taking magnetic and seismic measurements and mapping hundreds of miles of uncharted land as the team travelled further south than anyone had ever done before them.
Whilst the exhibition was interesting for hubby and myself, there was also plenty to keep the children entertained – from books and jigsaw puzzles, to hampers with plastic food illustrating some of the preparations made by the crew for their journey and a fishing rod set up to fish through the ice. The girls also found the life-size models of the crew in Antarctica very interesting and we had fun trying to stop them trying to climb the ice blocks!
We then headed outside to explore the ship itself and it was lovely to see the girls walking along hand-in-hand and enjoying the sunshine. The main deck was easy for them to explore and they loved being able to run about and look at things. Getting below deck was much more tricky though and so hubby and I took it in turns to go down and have a look at the recreation of the cabins and life below decks. There was a film screen near the ship showing the set-up below decks for those who were unable to access it due to mobility impairments and Jessica and Sophie enjoyed watching this.
The exhibition also showed the impact of human activity and climate change on Antarctica and I found this incredibly thought-provoking and sobering, making me realise that I really do need to do more to reduce my own carbon footprint and make sure that I tread a little more lightly on this planet of ours.
Overall, we found it a very interesting day out and I was quite surprised at how much there was to keep Jessica and Sophie entertained too. Ticket prices were reasonable at £9 for adults and both children getting in free (due to being under 5 – child tickets cost £5.50 otherwise). You can also upgrade to an annual pass for free although given that we live 450 miles from Dundee, it’s not very likely that we’ll visit again this year!
Awww, they look like they had great fun exploring the ships, I used to love exploring all the old ships and boats. 🙂 Don’t blame you for not getting an annual pass, but wow, no extra cost?? #countrykids
Thank you – they had a great time 🙂
I so love a bit of history to engage the kids, looks great. Mich x
Thank you – it was a great day out 🙂
Awww!! I wondered where you Sunday Photo a couple of weeks ago had been taken. I love anything like this and they cater for the children too, that’s fab! The pictures of the girls holding hands is beautiful xx
Thanks Lisa – I was so impressed by how much there was for the children and it was a lovely day out 🙂
Looks like a really interesting place to visit. (Iwe had that Pinko book – really sweet, although N didn’t grasp the meaning behind it!)
Thank you – it was very interesting 🙂
It’s been a long time since I’ve been there, I must take the boys there sometime! Your girls look like they had great fun exploring the ship! 🙂 x
Thanks Jenny – we really enjoyed it 🙂
I love a good tall ship, and it sounds like the tour has been set up really well. Looks like you all had a fun time touring the ship!
Thank you – it was great 🙂
What an interesting day out this looks, it’s amazing we knew so little about the antarctic before we went there compared to the moon landings! It’s great to see Jessica and Sophie out enjoying the sunshine together, such a cute photo of them holding hands. Thanks for linking up with Country Kids.
Thanks Fiona – it was really interesting and we enjoyed it very much. Lovely to link up with #CountryKids again 🙂
Now that looks like somewhere I’d like to explore the next time we’re up north. Lovely photo’s x
Thanks Iona – would definitely recommend 🙂
That looks so interesting and quite a different experience, too. I know my kids would love to climb aboard that ship! x
It was a really interesting day out – we enjoyed it 🙂
Oh this looks like a fab day out for all the family.It’s amazing how much actual don’t know about our planet.I totally agree about treading lightly.
Thank you Aly – it was a fab day out 🙂
Looks like you had great fun exploring, and how cute is the photo of them holding hands? It looks so interesting =)
Thanks Jenni, it was very interesting 🙂
What a beautiful ship and so much history. If we ever get up to that part of the world we’d certainly visit, just our sort of things #CountryKids
It was so interesting to visit – we really enjoyed it.
What a lovely day out. The ships look really interesting to explore and finding out about the history.
🙂
Thank you – it was very interesting 🙂
Looks like a great place to visit and great value too! Shame I live so far away 🙁
It was fabulous – we’re at the other end of the country too but visited whilst on holiday
Can’t believe I’ve never been! Looks fascinating, what an interesting place to visit x
It was fascinating – I found it so much more interesting that I had expected to x