'Hands On' Half Term, 15th - 23rd February 2014

BEAULIEU, UNITED KINGDOM – Dec 18, 2013: Get ‘hands-on’ at Beaulieu this February Half Term, 15th – 23rd February, with lots of interactive activities for all the family to take part in!

In the National Motor Museum, there is a rare opportunity to handle and learn about historical motoring objects at special ‘drop-in’ sessions running between 10.30am and 4.30pm daily. Take an up-close look at artefacts, early motoring clothing, photos and documents.

See over 250 vehicles on display, from the earliest examples of motoring and family cars of the 30s and 40s through to classic cars of the 70s and 80s and rare motoring oddities such as a giant orange on wheels! Jack Tucker’s Garage recreates the sights, sounds and smells of a typical country garage from the 1930s while ‘Wheels’ - a space-age pod ride - is a fascinating voyage through 100 years of motoring.

Elsewhere in the museum, you can try your hand at racing your friends and family on the giant Scalextric track. See if you can get to the top of the Leader Board for your chance to win a fantastic prize!

In Palace House, home of the Montagu family since 1538, costumed guides will be talking to visitors in the Kitchen about what cooking in a Victorian country house was really like. You can also see fascinating exhibition, Royal Pageant, which explores the links between Beaulieu, its owners and royalty, going right back in time to before the foundation of Beaulieu Abbey in 1204.

In the Abbey, join the Monk to discover what life was like for the monks that lived there in the 13th century. Explore an exhibition on monastic life in the Abbey’s Domus and view historical objects from the time.