Banham Zoo welcomes in The Snowman

Banham Zoo opened its gates on Friday night to give hundreds of visitors the chance to see a zoo world premiere sculpture trail.

Families had their first glimpses of 16 toy brick models dotted around the site, inspired by the much-loved animated film The Snowman and The Snowdog, the sequel to Raymond Briggs’ classic picture book The Snowman, first published in 1978.

David Field, chief executive of the Zoological Society of East Anglia which manages Banham Zoo, said: “It was a magical, enchanting evening; a perfect family time, with The Snowman, The Snowdog, and our snow leopards.

“The brick trail at Banham Zoo is an opportunity for people of all ages, across the region and further afield, to come together and enjoy these amazing models. We look forward to welcoming families to this spectacular event.”

The BRICKLIVE trail includes four large models which people can take their pictures with- A 1.8 metre tall Snowman, which used 53,851 bricks to build, Billy building The Snowman, 1.3 metres tall using 42,901 bricks; a 75cm high Snowdog, which took 11,526 bricks; and a 1.8 metre wide mosaic head in the hole selfie-zone of the famous trio flying through the air, made up of 28,000 bricks.

Each sculpture is also accompanied with information telling visitors more details such as how many hours each one took to build.

The preview event included Father Christmas in his workshop, songs from the Norwich Community Choir, a snow machine as well as visitors having the chance to see some of the zoo’s nocturnal animals, such as the Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths and red pandas, being fully active.

Thomas Merrington, creative director at Penguin Ventures who are part of Penguin Books, said: “We are always looking at how we can bring our classic characters to family audiences in new and unexpected ways and partnering with BRICKLIVE does exactly that.

“The sculptures show incredible attention to detail and we are really excited to see this trail come to life at Banham Zoo.”

The Snowman and Snowdog BRICKLIVE trail will be on until January 5.

For details about Banham Zoo and all of its events, go to www.banhamzoo.co.uk.