Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill will launch an exciting school holiday program next week that will delight people young and old.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The program, centred around the theme ‘Magic of Gold’, will start on Boxing Day and feature a marvellous magician, magic lantern show, gold panning and craft activities.
Visitors will be able to witness a blacksmith pouring a $160,000 gold ingot.
Sovereign Hill spokesperson Tegan Benfield described the school holiday program as exciting, fun, educational and unique.
“The program is different to what visitors have seen at Sovereign Hill before,” Ms Benfield said.
“This year we are doing ‘Magic of Gold’ so there will be lots of different activities to go alongside that, including a magic show. We will have some really cool tricks to show everyone.”
Ms Benfield encouraged people to step back in time and take advantage of the summer program, which follows the outdoor museum’s award-winning Winter Wonderlights festival in July.
The program highlights include a magic show at the Victoria Theatre, magic lantern show, craft activities and gold panning.
At the magic lantern show, visitors will be able to hear the strange tale of the tiger that escaped and created havoc on the Ballarat diggings in 1855.
The story will be told using the latest 1850’s magic lantern technology.
A ‘hunt for gold’ activity will teach visitors about the fortunes and misfortunes of life on the goldfields, while children will be able to take home their own creative crafts.
There will be daily gold pouring demonstrations where visitors can watch Sovereign Hill’s blacksmiths pour a $160,000 gold ingot.
Mine tours include the new Normanby Mine Surface Tour where visitors will discover ruins in a restricted area of Sovereign Hill.
The ‘Wonderful Things’ exhibition at the Gold Museum celebrates 40 years of the museum’s amazing exhibitions which include taxidermy, fashion, art and weaponry.
Ms Benfield said the summer holiday program followed the outdoor museum’s Winter Wonderlights festival which was its biggest school holiday program of the year.
This year, a record 95,000 people flocked to the festival which also saw the outdoor museum’s busiest ever day with 10,000 people admiring the spectacle, which included 15 kilometres of fairy lights.
Magic of Gold will be held from Wednesday, December 26, until Sunday, January 27.
For ticket details and the full program, visit the website www.sovereignhill.com.au.
