New interactive installation at London Transport Museum will take families on a ‘Green Journey’ this summer

This summer London Transport Museum is welcoming families to explore a new interactive ‘Green Journey’ installation that will get visitors thinking about climate change, the role of transport in creating a sustainable city, and how we can all do our bit to ensure a greener future. A green themed trail around the Museum galleries and creative workshops will also run throughout the holidays, helping young visitors to learn about these big concepts in a fun and family-friendly way.

Visitors to The Green Journey installation will be able to explore four themed, hands-on areas to learn about topics such as global warming and its effects on London, the solutions from big businesses that are already underway to help tackle it – such as Transport for London’s hydrogen buses – as well as new green jobs and the people behind them. The space will also help families discover the small changes we can make at home to be more eco-friendly.

Family workshops inspired by the themes of the Green Journey space will also take place on selected dates throughout the holidays. Five workshops will run per day, suitable for children 8-14 years old:

  • Climate Calling: selected dates between 23 July – 4 August (23, 26, 28, 30 July and 2, 4 Aug). Learn about the ways climate change affects our city and the role of transport in providing the solution – from TfL’s new hydrogen buses that are helping make London’s air cleaner, to the active travel choices we can all make when getting from A to B. Create your own Climate Calling board game inspired by what you’ve learnt.
  • Future Innovators: selected dates between 6 – 18 August (6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 19 August). What will life in our city look like in the future? What jobs will exist and what skills will we need? Hear about real-life climate change innovators and explore the skills we are going to need to help tackle climate change in the future. Then create your very own climate change super-hero. Let your imagination lead the way.
  • Activate: selected dates between 20 August – 1 September (20, 23, 25, 27, 30 Aug and 1 September). We all have a role to play in tackling climate change. Discover the small ways you can do your bit to make London greener and create your own set of Family Action Cards to get inspired.

Sustainable installation

These summer activities are part of London Transport Museum’s 18-month Climate Crossroads programme supported by Mastercard, Mott MacDonald, Cubic Transportation Systems and Sopra Steria. The programme aims to create experiences that get people thinking about what the future of our city could look like and inspired by the great engineering ingenuity of London’s past and also explores what innovations, skills and jobs we need to build this sustainable future.

On Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 August, London Transport Museum will also be hosting Mastercard’s Girls4Tech STEM workshops in the main Museum gallery. Children can drop-into sessions on Cryptology and Big Data, learning about these topics through fun, problem-solving games. The Girls4Tech workshops will be run by Mastercard staff, looking to inspire the next generation to pursue a STEM career.

While at the Museum, families can also see real buses, trams and Tube trains from 200 years of the capital’s transport history. They can learn how to drive a modern-day Elizabeth line train in the Future Engineers gallery and climb aboard a fleet of mini vehicles in the All Aboard play zone.

Between 11:00 and 15:00, visitors can head to Canteen, the Museum’s café by popular eatery Benugo, for a bite to eat, and choose from exclusive transport inspired toys, gifts, homeware, poster artwork and games in the Museum’s shop.

Timed tickets to visit London Transport Museum can be booked online in advance. Adult tickets are £21 and allow free return day-time entry for a whole year. Plus, kids go free!

BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE

Get on your bike at 110 Rochester Row

110 Rochester Row has teamed up with the magnificent Virgin bikes to make sure you get to your event on time.

Dodge the traffic, slip on some leathers and a helmet and ride like the wind all the way to the flexible meeting space. It really is that simple, when you book a suite in September 2016 at 110 Rochester Row.

Just contact the team and let them know where you need picking up from within London and the motorbike will be dispatched.

To find out more or to make a booking please visit www.110rochesterrow.co.uk or call the team on 0207 828 2888.

Westminster spotlight: Covent Garden & Temple

LFMSet in the heart of the West End are Covent Garden and Temple, the ultimate destinations for exquisite dining, thirst-quenching cocktails and a buzzing atmosphere. Amongst the array of quaint cafés and eclectic shops are some truly unmissable venues. Here are our top five picks:

London Film Museum is host to a fantastic selection of motion picture memorabilia. Located just off Russell Street the museum is steeped in iconic history and is now home to the James Bond Exhibition. Showcasing the epic 50 year history of the Bond franchise, stepping into the venue is like entering your own 007 experience.

The incredible location is available to hire for a multitude of events, from receptions to special celebrations. The event team has over 25 years’ experience and will manage your event from start to finish and with the essence of Bond all around you, your party will truly have a ‘license to kill’.

Just a short walk from Covent Garden station, and fresh from an extensive refurbishment, is the London Transport Museum. The museum is quintessentially ‘London’ and showcases the institutions that have become the transport life lines throughout the capital. If you’re looking to propel an event to new heights then the museum’s galleries are available for exclusive hire, offering a unique location for your event to really take-off. The galleries can hold up to 500 guests for a drinks reception or 180 for a seated dinner. Juxtaposed against the modern event space is LTMthe venue’s Grade II listed exterior, along with the cast iron pillars of the Victorian Flower Market, making the London Transport Museum a perfect marriage of traditional and contemporary.

A stroll along embankment is The IET London: Savoy Place. After a refurbishment the venue is preparing to reopen its doors this autumn, offering plenty of options for anyone searching for an exciting events venue. Setting itself apart from the competition, the venue offers cutting edge IT, energy efficiency and wireless connectivity throughout making it a premier venue for events and meetings. Not to be overlooked however is the venue’s stunning new rooftop terrace offering panoramic views over the river and beyond.

IET-SavoyAlthough The IET London doesn’t reopen its doors until the autumn, advance bookings can be made on their website.

Meander a little further down the Thames and the HQS Wellington is hard to miss. Combining a maritime atmosphere with a static location opens this venue up to a vast array of event opportunities. Built in 1934 and with six years of wartime service, that saw the rescue over 450 merchant navy men, HQS Wellington comes with an undeniable sense of history and intrigue. The event team offers a selection of packages alongside a bespoke service allowing you to entirely tailor your event. With the Quarter Deck accommodating up to 220 guests or the Committee Room available for a more intimate feel there is something for everyone at HST_M_T_FQS Wellington.

Stepping back onto dry land and past the lions of Trafalgar Square is St Martin-in-the-Fields, a central London location offering historic architecture and cultured surroundings. The venue is one of London’s landmark churches and is enriched by its musical tradition, a unique combination that allows it to stand out from the rest. Dating as far back as the 18th Century, and with historic links to Henry VIII, the venue presents an exhilarating link to the past. Offering competitive events packages and spectacular historic surroundings, St Martin-in-the-Fields is well worth a visit.

Covent Garden is a treasure trove of unique, exciting and superb event venues. Whether you’re hosting a large-scale conference or a small and intimate breakfast meeting there’s bound to be something to suit!

Video conferencing arrives at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace

To thrive in today’s economy, companies must be able to collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers around the globe without delay and with the greatest possible ease. The pressure is on for organisations to become faster, leaner, meaner, greener and more global. With shrinking budgets and fewer resources, it’s getting tougher all the time.

The new video conferencing facilities at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace take away the strain of organising meetings between people located in different corners of the country, or world. These facilities are available now. To learn more and to enqire about availability and costs, please call 0207 969 5224 or email [email protected].

10 reasons to use the Thames Clipper River Bus Service

By Wendy Greenhalgh, Sales and Marketing Director, One Great George Street (London Media Centre for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games)

Westminster’s transport links are a powerful selling point for venues located in the heart of the business tourist district and the Thames Clipper River Bus Service deserves a special plug.

I watched with interest the recent BBC documentary showing how the River Lea had been cleaned out, with hoards of shopping trolleys and cars removed from the river bed. River Lea has now been completely revitalised and is even being populated with new fish – wonderful considering its former path through wasteland!

After such a long time of underuse, it’s pleasing to see that the Thames has welcomed a similar redevelopment in the form of a far more effective River Bus Service for travelling along the famous London river. It is also admirable that it has been integrated so well into the city’s infrastructure.

Here are 10 great reasons for promoting the use of the Thames Clippers River Bus Service to conference and meetings delegates, particularly next year during the Olympics:

  • You can use your Oyster card and take advantage of discounted travel fares.
  • For business meetings, the express, commuter-style service is ideal.
  • The leisure River Tours Service comes complete with tourist commentary, and any Thames Clipper River Bus Service presents an innovative and fun way to transport delegates to familiarisation trips, site inspections and other meetings, conferences and events held at The Westminster Collection‘s 54 member venues.
  • All piers are wheelchair accessible, most riverboats are accessible, and most new riverboats have dedicated wheelchair spaces. The Woolwich ferry is a free service operating between Woolwich and North Woolwich and is accessible to people using wheelchairs and powered buggies.
  • The Thames River Bus provides an easy-to-follow timetable and service map, so navigating your way to the departure piers is made simpler.
  • Maps of the river services operational during the Olympic Games are already available.
  • It’s an efficient method of travel for the 10,000 accredited journalists needing to move between the Olympic Park and the London Media Centre for the 2012 Olympics, located within One Great George Street in Westminster.
  • The London 2012 sporting venues accessible by river include Greenwich Park, North Greenwich Area, The Royal Artillery Barracks, Horse Guards Parade and Eton Dorney.
  • The River Bus Service is ideal for those wishing to get to the Beach Volley Ball, Road Cycling, the start and finish of the Race Walk and Olympic and Paralympic Marathons next year.
  • It’s worth considering if you’re a visitor to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (National House for Italy) and 45 Millbank (National House for Georgia), both venues within the Westminster Collection.

In short, using the River Bus Service is quick, fun, affordable and definitely worth considering for meeting and event organisers and bookers.

Westminster host venues for 2012 Olympics

Take a look at this handy and informative 3D map (as above) showing the location of the two River Bus Service access piers together with the locations of some of the Westminster Collection host venues for events in 2012.

For a comprehensive guide to the Thames Clipper River Bus Service, including timetables and fares, click here to download TFL’s River Bus Guide.

www.onegreatgeorgestreet.com