The Tiger Who Came to Tea exhibition seen by thousands at Charnwood Museum

Almost 8000 visitors have been to see Charnwood Museum’s hit Tiger Who Came to Tea exhibition - with still just over a week to go before the display closes.

People of all ages are being encouraged to make sure they don’t miss out on the exhibition before it closes on Friday 5th March.

The exhibition has been hugely popular since it opened at the start of the year. It is based on Judith Kerr’s classic children’s book, first published in 1968.

Just last week, more than 600 visitors passed through the exhibition on Wednesday alone, when the Leicester Tigers mascot, Welford, dropped in to sit down for tea. He met with the 4-foot-tall cuddly tiger in the recreation of Sophie’s kitchen, meet visitors, share fun games and activities, and pose for photos.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea exhibition features illustrations from Judith Kerr’s book, as well as Sophie’s kitchen, where young visitors can sit down to tea with the tiger. It also contains a reading area, dressing up, puzzles, games, and lots more Tiger-related activities.

It also explores Judith’s childhood and her experiences of having to escape Germany as Hitler came to power, how it felt to be a refugee in Switzerland, then France before finally settling in London in 1936. Judith writes about these experiences through three semi-autobiographical novels for older children in her ‘Out of the Hitler Time’ trilogy, through the story of her alter ego Anna.

The exhibition was originated by Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books and runs at Charnwood Museum until Saturday 5 March.

Entry to the exhibition is free during museum opening hours. The museum is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm. More information is available on the Charnwood Museum website at www.charnwoodmuseum.co.uk