Horniman Museum Animal Enclosure Design Competition - Update

Lantra, NPTC City & Guilds and Edexcel are proudly sponsoring the competition, where the winning entry and runner up will be decided by a panel of expert judges on 2^nd May 2008.

To date, over 70 teams have registered to participate in the competition, from 10 colleges across the UK. Designs for the animal enclosure must be submitted by 14^th March, when six finalists will be selected to go on to the final round of the competition.

The design brief for the animal enclosure calls on learners to include cost; planned layout; themes; and, the animal stock to be kept - advising on their care and management.  Entrants must also carefully consider the real constraints and framework within which the museum must work.

The competition presents a wonderful enrichment opportunity for students as well as priceless networking for college staff - which has already resulted in all kinds of ideas for increased links and interaction for the benefit of learners in the future.

The inspiration for the competition began with a request for help to Capel Manor College from the famous museum in Forest Hill, London, which wanted to re-vitalise its existing outdoor animal display area.

Dr Paul Bryant, Head of Animal Care at Capel Manor College explains:

'We've had a brilliant response to the competition so far and we're looking forward to receiving everyone's entries. This competition is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talents of the many students studying animal care nationally, but will also benefit those learners who suffer from a real lack of opportunity to demonstrate their abilities to a wider audience compared with other vocational areas in the land-based sector'