The Bethlehem-Bath Links charity has donated a spectacular dinosaur and insect exhibition to Bethlehem to create Palestine’s first children’s Natural History Museum, which opens to the public on 14th March.
Four shipping containers containing the unusual cargo of life-size dinosaurs and giant insects, including a one metre long ladybird and three metre high Tyrannosaurus Tex, arrived safely in Bethlehem, where they have been installed for the grand opening next week.
The charity’s Patron and Bath and NE Somerset Council Cabinet member Martin Veal and Councillor Paul Crossley will be travelling with Bethlehem-Bath Links founder Peter Downey to Palestine’s West Bank for the opening event.
The councillors, who are travelling at their own expense, will meet the Mayors of Bethlehem, the Ministers of Education, Tourism, Agriculture and Economic Affairs and local business leaders to officially hand over the dinosaur & insect exhibitions and to discuss tourism, World Heritage, commercial and cultural links between the two cities.
The dramatic dinosaur and insect exhibitions, which have been seen by over a million people around the world, have been generously donated to Bethlehem by Edith and Henry Lowe, owners of the Bath-based Tourwest exhibition company.
Henry Lowe said: “I’m delighted to be in a position to do something positive to help cement the bond between Bath and Bethlehem – albeit in a somewhat unorthodox way!
“We’ve always tried to combine an educational purpose with playful interpretation to inspire and motivate children wherever we’ve worked. We hope that our exhibitions will be enjoyed by the people of Bethlehem and that they’ll form the focus for efforts to develop a new regional museum there”.
The two storey exhibition features 6,500 sq ft of dinosaur and insect displays, including giant scorpions, snails, crickets and life-size dinosaur exhibits. The unique collection, set in the vast limestone halls of the Bethlehem Convention Palace alongside the historic Solomon’s Pools, built by the Romans in the 2nd century BC as a water supply for Jerusalem and Herod’s Palace, will create a major new attraction and source of income for the world-famous city.
The Bethlehem-Bath Links charity was founded in 2012 by retired Bath businessman Peter Downey, who spent many years working in the Middle East.
The aim of the charity is to create cultural, business and social links between Bath and Bethlehem, help promote a better understanding of Palestine and its people, and to reassure Palestinians that 100 years after the Balfour declaration, which led to the creation of Israel and the subsequent displacement of millions of Palestinians, that British people care about their future, despite their ongoing plight.
Peter Downey said: “This is a huge achievement thanks to the incredible generosity of Henry and Edith. It will add a new attraction for Bethlehem’s residents and two million annual visitors and will generate much needed income for the city.
“It also demonstrates that there is a great deal of support for Palestine in Britain and I am very much looking forward to going out to Bethlehem with the delegation from Bath for the opening of the museum on 14th March.”
Some of the charity’s previous events include bringing sixty Bethlehem teenagers to Bath to play sport with twelve schools across the Bath & NE Somerset region and organising Bethlehem’s first trade mission to the UK in 2015.
Suha Aadallah, Head of Foreign Trade Policy at the Palestinian Ministry of Economics, said: “We are really so proud to have such supportive friends as Bethlehem-Bath Links and appreciate this incredibly generous donation so much. We are looking forward to welcoming Peter and the team back for the opening next week.”
The charity is asking for donations to help fund the initial running costs of the Natural History Museum, which will be operated by the Bethlehem Convention Centre.
All donors will have their name or company logo featured on a plaque at the museum, along with a certificate and photographs of the grand opening, which will feature a performance by local schoolchildren and the winner of this year’s Arab Idol talent competition, Yacoub Shaheen from Bethlehem.
To make a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/b-bl. For further details about the children’s museum and the charity, see www.bethlehem-bath.com.
