Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Wollongong Botanic Gardens

Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Wollongong Botanic Gardens, originally uploaded by vanessapr.

On Friday I went to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Wollongong Botanic Gardens. I met Michael Connor who dressed up as the Mad Hatter. I took many photos of him and have since learned more about him and the wonderful job he does at the discovery center.

Here's a blurb from a Canberra education site:

Michael Connor
Discovery Centre
Wollongong Botanic Gardens
Wollongong, New South Wales

Michael Connor established the Discovery Centre at Wollongong Botanic Garden a number of years ago. This educational service caters to a wide range of visitors from early childhood to university level. The Discovery Centre programs are linked to school curriculum and are based on hands on experiences in the garden.

In his role as Coordinator of Education at Wollongong Botanic Garden Michael has designed and implemented a program of environmental drama at the Botanic Garden. This has involved writing, producing and performing plays for children. Michael has used drama as an exciting and effective tool for environmental education. The plays include Captain Compost, Let's Save the Planet, Clean up Your Act, Bushfire Madness, No More Dodos and Tree Talk.

He has taken these plays on the road as part of a program called 'Theatre in A Wheelbarrow'. The wheelbarrow has visited local schools, community centres, State Forests and National Parks, but has also appeared in major Australian cities including Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra