Hidden treasures are waiting to be discovered in Cambridge’s museums this summer with the help of a free ‘passport’ for children.

Eleven Cambridge museums and the Botanic Garden have created treasure trails for children to explore. Each venue has their own special museum object ranging from nuggets of gold to toy skeletons.

Every treasure has a fact-finding question and the aim is to answer five correctly to claim a bag of treasure from a museum collection point.

The museums taking part are:
• Kettle’s Yard
• Whipple Museum of the History of Science
• University Museum of Zoology Cambridge
• Sedgwick Museum
• Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
• The Fitzwilliam Museum
• New Hall Art Collection
• The Polar Museum and the Scott Polar Research Institute
• Cambridge University Botanic Garden
• Museum of Classical Archaeology
• Cambridge and County Folk Museum, and
• Cambridge Museum of Technology.

The Passport to Museum Treasure is available free from any of the eleven museums and from the Botanic Garden. The passport also has ideas for other upcoming children’s activities, such as Explorer Packs in the Zoology Museum, story time sessions in the Sedgwick Museum and the drawing competition in the Museum of Classical Archaeology.

Mel Rouse, Museum Outreach Coordinator, said: “We hope the Passport to Museums Treasure will help families discover new places to go as well as revisit old favourites. Families can choose to race around the museums in a couple of days or spread their visits out throughout the summer holidays. Either way, it’s a great opportunity for families in and around Cambridge to see what the museums have to offer.”

Completed trails can be entered into a prize draw to win signed books and behind-the-scenes museum tours. Fill in the feedback on the museums’ answer slip for a chance to win.

Entrance to all of the university museums is free, and small charges apply for the Botanic Garden and independent museums.

The family trail is funded by Renaissance, a government project aiming to increase opportunities for the public to become involved in their museums.

The Passport to Museum Treasure is running daily throughout the summer until Saturday, September 18.

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