At-Bristol proudly wins Visitor Attraction of the Year 2011 award
Fri 3 June 2011
At-Bristol, the popular hands-on science centre and family attraction on Bristol’s harbourside has been awarded the status of Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Bristol Tourism and Hospitality Industry Awards 2011.
The awards ceremony, arranged by Destination Bristol, took place at the Marriott City Centre hotel on the evening of Thursday 2 June and was attended by over 350 people. 18 awards were presented on the night from over 200 nominations.
The Visitor Attraction of the Year category was open to all visitor attractions from in and around Bristol that welcome in excess of 50,000 visitors a year. In their applications, attractions not only had to demonstrate the high standard of day to day operation, sustainability, their audience development and customer service, but explain how they exceeded expectation in all areas.
Kathryn Davis, Commercial Manager for Destination Bristol says “The Visitor Attraction of the Year category was exceedingly competitive with a high standard of all entries and to be shortlisted was an achievement in itself. As winners, At-Bristol demonstrated a clear understanding of their audiences, their communication and marketing, together with the development of a world class visitor attraction which continues to evolve. Customer service exceeded all expectations across the whole visitor experience and we are absolutely delighted for them”
At-Bristol offers an interactive family day out with over 300 hands-on exhibits, inspiring live science shows and a Planetarium. The science centre first opened its doors in June 2000. As an educational charity, At-Bristol has attracted over 4.5 million visitors and raised over £25m to develop new exhibitions and supporting educational programmes throughout its 11 year history.
In recent months, At-Bristol has seen an exciting range of new developments take place, reaching out to new audiences while enhancing the overall visitor experience. These experiences include, Toddler Takeover Days, designed especially for At-Bristol’s youngest visitors of under five years old, the introduction of the science centre’s first Brownie Sleepover events and Cub Astronomer days and new family facilities including a popular indoor picnic space and a revamped café.
Earlier this year, At-Bristol launched All About Us, a new £1.5 million exhibition all about the human body and the brain, with over 50 new interactive exhibits and a Live Lab where audiences can watch and participate in real science experiments. Among the first visitors to experience All About Us, was the UK’s Tourism and Heritage Minister, John Penrose, who visited the exhibition as part of British Tourism Week in March 2011. During his visit, John Penrose MP said: “At-Bristol is a great place to visit and I’d like to encourage everyone to get out and see the science centre “
At-Bristol’s iconic Planetarium continues to be a huge draw for visitors; here you can enjoy presenter-led shows of the seasonal night sky inside the big silver dome and immerse yourself in the wonders of the Universe.
From 17th July, At-Bristol’s Live Science team will deliver the brand new Boggling Brains Show! which will take place in the studio on weekends and holidays. Visitors to At-Bristol can also become an Animator for the day in Animate It! make giant bubbles, take on the role of a weather presenter in the TV studio, walk through a tornado, run in a giant hamster wheel and much much more! There are also special touring exhibits for under eight year olds including; In the Jungle, Fossils and Funny Bones and Jet Set Go!
Away from the public floor At-Bristol has laboratories, preparation rooms and classrooms in which a wide range of curriculum-linked school workshops, debates and teacher training is developed and delivered by the science centre’s in-house science communicators and education experts. The science centre receives over 40,000 educational visits a year.
Commenting on the Visitor Attraction of the Year award, Goéry Delacôte, Chief Executive for At-Bristol said: “We are delighted that At-Bristol has been recognised for its outstanding achievements, the quality of the visitor experience and role that the science centre plays within the local tourism industry. I am very fortunate to work alongside a team of expert and enthusiastic individuals; to be presented with the Visitor Attraction of the Year award is a credit to them all. We thank everyone who continues to support the work of At-Bristol and look forward to welcoming new visitors to the science centre this summer”.
For further information on events and activities taking place in At-Bristol, see www.at-bristol.org.uk or call 0845 345 1235
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For further press information, please contact Kerrie Grist in the At-Bristol press office on: 0117 9157 152 or email: press@at-bristol.org.uk
You can also follow At-Bristol on Twitter: @atbristol
