HOW TO BOOK

How to Contact us, book a workshop and our terms and conditions

e-mail: andrewsmithbugs@yahoo.co.uk

When sending us an email, please give us not only the number of your school but also a mobile or home telephone number, so that we can contact you that evening.

Note: trying to ring a school at lunch time, on a mobile phone, and locate a busy member of staff is no simple matter! It all works much better in the evening, unless, of course, the booking is being sorted out by the school secretary - and then a day time booking is not an issue.

When arranging a booking please try and have a number of alternative dates and remember that national science weeks are usually booked months in advance - as are all of the good science workshops! Play smart and arrange your science week in a different month from the norm and you will have a rich choice of science workshops to choose from.

Please ensure that you give us number of alternative times and dates - otherwise, much time is wasted going back and forth. We will only reserve a provisional booking for three working days. Once you have confirmed a booking we will then send you, by email, a confirmation and invoice for your records .

Cancellations - you may cancel a booking, with no penalty, up to three weeks before the show. After that you pay for the day. To cancel - we must have it in writing and we will confirm the cancellation in writing. No written confirmation means that the workshop has not been cancelled.

Terms and Conditions of Booking

Parking: We must be able to park on the premises – either in the school car park or in the school grounds. We do not park on the road. Please reserve for us a convenient location near to an entrance as we have lots of heavy boxes to carry in.

Workshop Location: We need to be in a warm area, where we can easily setup a display and remain in the same spot all day. Our boxes are heavy - so think about locating us in an area near to the entrance. As the workshop cannot easily be packed away, the dinner hall is not the ideal location. A classroom, music room, library, warm small hall, where we can push back the furniture is best. Note – large gym halls are only fine on warm summer days. 

Heating: We are a tropical animal workshop – so I must be able to heat the area. If our animals get cold – they can become ill or die. Note: I bring additional heaters but they only work if the area is reasonably warm in the first place. If the area is rarely used or after a winter break – please pre-heat.

Rainforest & Evolution Workshops: These are my biggest workshops and they take a good 90 minutes to haul in and set up before they are ready. I hope to arrive before 08:00 am and aim to kick off at 09:30 am. As I am no longer a spring chicken, any assistance – hauling in – is greatly appreciated.

Snow: We do not come out in the snow or if it is very cold or icy. Our animals are tropical. If we should get stuck in snow or heavy stationery traffic going nowhere – we are in serious trouble. If it snows we will cancel the workshop and re-arrange a new time.

Payment: We usually send the invoice to the teacher who has booked the workshop, plus insurance, terms & conditions, DBS and my Animal Welfare License. Please give a copy to your secretary or bursar.

Photography: Please shoot away – digital photographs or video. Additional images and location video footage can be downloaded from my websites. My tarantula documentaries can be viewed at lovetarantulas.com.