Visitors face spider fears

Fifteen brave DZG visitors faced their spider fears during an arachnophobia workshop.

Led by Presenter Langan Turner, the participants spent the day learning more about the eight-legged creatures, before they were encouraged to hold one of the Discovery Centre’s resident tarantulas at the end of the event.

Langan said: “The session went very well. I used informal discussions and educational power point sessions to better inform participants about spiders.”

Participants travelled from around the UK to take part in the workshop, including Kent, Cheshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire and were also able to take away handout leaflets, which contained tips and coping methods when faced with spiders at home.

One brave visitor, 25-year-old Lizzie Lowrey – pictured left – travelled from Sittingbourne, in Kent, to take part after being scared of spiders for as long as she can remember.

Lizzie, said: “My mum is terrified of spiders, so I know that’s why I was scared as well.

“I was frightened of having a spider land on me and I knew I had to tackle my fear, but didn’t want to just do a hypnotherapy course, as I wanted to be able to see the spiders and understand them, so the zoo’s course was really useful and was full of advice.

“I was so nervous taking part, but by the end of it I actually held the biggest tarantula, Matty, and I was really proud of myself and couldn’t wait to get home and tell my mum and dad about what I’d done and now I definitely think I’ll be able to cope if I encounter a spider on my own and I’m even trying to persuade my mum to sign up for the next workshop.”

Keep an eye on our upcoming events to find out details of the next DZG arachnophobia workshops.