What the Tortoise Taught us
Meet Zelva, A giant-sized realistic animatronic tortoise! This act is a close-up animal encounter like no other.
An awesome interactive experience, Zelva is calm, wise, friendly – and very hungry! Sheldon, her best friend and handler keeps everyone smiling with silly jokes, incredible animal facts and more tortoise puns than you can shake a leaf at!
In this spectacular show, children (and adults!) are invited to help feed Zelva the giant robotic puppet tortoise, to learn tortoise facts from Sheldon, to stroke Zelva’s enormous shell and put their questions to her companion. When possible we also create an area for children to make ‘field drawings’ of Zelva, perfect for budding Zoologists! … and like all ‘shellebrities’ Zelva can even sign her name in a ‘Tortograph’!
A free-roaming, live, interactive experience, Zelva is the world’s only walking animatronic character of this type and an encounter with her is not to be missed.
Zelva roams around your event exploring her new habitat, moving each of her impressive robotic limbs in turn, her head, eyes and jaw all totally animatronic. Her sounds and movements are so incredibly life-like, a stunning blend of engineering, technology and puppetry skills – this is like nothing else seen before in a street theatre show.
This is a green-themed act designed to entertain, educate and inspire audiences about conservation and the environment, and our use of technology and robotics makes a perfect fit for science fairs, STEM, STEAM events and other educational initiatives. Great for library events too – although Zelva still hasn’t returned a copy of the Scarlett Lettuce that she borrowed in 1850! (she is a slow reader after all).
A free-roaming, live, interactive experience, Zelva is the world’s only walking animatronic character of this type and an encounter with her is not to be missed.
Zelva roams around your event exploring her new habitat, moving each of her impressive robotic limbs in turn, her head, eyes and jaw all totally animatronic. Her sounds and movements are so incredibly life-like, a stunning blend of engineering, technology and puppetry skills – this is like nothing else seen before in a street theatre show.
This is a green-themed act designed to entertain, educate and inspire audiences about conservation and the environment, and our use of technology and robotics makes a perfect fit for science fairs, STEM, STEAM events and other educational initiatives. Great for library events too – although Zelva still hasn’t returned a copy of the Scarlett Lettuce that she borrowed in 1850! (she is a slow reader after all).
A favourite act for outdoor arts events and puppetry festivals, this show is perfect entertainment anywhere, and draws a crowd in shopping centres and town centres alike. Wow your corporate guests with Zelva the giant tortoise, an incredible majestic beast!
Zelva the giant animatronic tortoise is perfect for animal-themed events and Zoos for garden-themed and horticultural event entertainment, and a perfect act for county shows (though she may eat all the prize-winning vegetables).
“Zelva was without doubt the highlight of the weekend and was rebooked on the spot for 2020”
Peter Chegwyn Wickham Festival
“Quite honestly the most unique and wondrous act we have ever had”
Newport Big Splash
Environmental themed entertainment that is as amusing as it is educational. A favourite act for outdoor arts events and puppetry festivals, this animal themed puppet show is perfect entertainment anywhere, and draws a crowd in shopping centres and town centres alike. Wow your corporate guests with Zelva the giant tortoise, an incredible animatronic character!
Zelva the giant animatronic tortoise is perfect for animal-themed events, Zoo fun days and for county shows, flower shows, garden-themed and horticultural event entertainment, she is always a very popular choice (though she may eat all the prize-winning vegetables).
What The Tortoise Taught Us is equally at home at STEM festivals and Science fairs where her impressive melding of technology and art embodies the STEAM ethos and inspires the next generation of tinkerers, engineers and designers.
If environmental themed entertainment isn’t your focus we are to happy offer a version of the encounter that is pure entertainment without any educational content.
You can find out more about What The Tortoise Taught Us over at Zelva’s own website.
“Zelva was without doubt the highlight of the weekend and was rebooked on the spot for 2020”
Peter Chegwyn Wickham Festival
“Quite honestly the most unique and wondrous act we have ever had”
Newport Big Splash
“Lovely to meet Zelva on Sunday – she went down a storm and we are already planning on having her back again next year!”
Naomi Robinson 18 Hours events