Forest Hill’s Horniman Museum has scooped a top prize after its well-loved walrus took a trip to the seaside.
The one tonne overstuffed Victorian creature’s loan to Turner Contemporary, Margate, was documented with a ‘Walrus on the Move' campaign.
A video of his move and regular tweets from the walrus himself helped earn the museum top place at Museums + Heritage Awards for Excellence on May 14.
He was bought in the early 1890s and had moved no more than 25 feet since the Horniman opened in 1901 before his summer by the sea.
Horniman Museum and Gardens director of communications Victoria Pinnington said: "Loaning the walrus of communications at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, was a big deal for us and communicating it well was vital.
"But we also wanted to have some fun with the campaign and create a holiday spirit so our visitors felt part of the walrus’s seaside trip."
The marketing campaign also aimed to deepen understanding of the historic taxidermy icon and overall visitor numbers to the museum rose by 12 per cent.
You can follow him on Twitter @HornimanWalrus
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