Kew Gardens' Chocolate Quest
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
March - April 2013
Curated Place were commissioned for a second year running to deliver the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’s hugely popular Easter Festival. We created fun for the whole family by devising, designing and delivering a Chocolate Quest adventure trail that brought exciting workshops and activities to five locations over the the 300 acre site.
By creating Mayan ruins, a 3.5m tall galleon figurehead, a cabinet of curiosities, a chocolate factory and two rainforest explorer’s encampments we delivered an immersive programme of installations and activities that included hands on arts and crafts, character actors, a working chocolate factory and a multiple projection immersive multimedia space with original media.
“The holy grail of any Easter, something that can entertain parents and their offspring”
— Independent
Engaging families
We invited families to travel to the tropical rainforest to discover the Maya’s cacao drink, learn about the Spanish explorers who brought cacao to Europe, visit a Georgian coffee house, discover how Victorians created the chocolate bars we enjoy today, then return to the rainforest to find out about Kew’s field trips and the future of chocolate.
Telling educational stories
Curated Place provided an original storyline and concept along with all 3d design and build, film, audio, logistic management and workshop staffing. We worked closely with the internal Kew teams to develop our original ideas to fit the messages and communications of the world’s greatest botanical garden and delivered a festival that reached over 30,000 visitors during the two week festival balancing fun with the serious message of conservation, research and biodiversity.
“Academic and egg-y in equal measures”
— Time Out
