Wallace and Gromit will be the stars of nearly 80 UK museums and galleries special events over the Museums at Night Weekend. © Aardman

For the first time ever, Alfred East Art Gallery in Kettering is holding a night at the museum on Saturday May 17 2008 to stir interest in youngsters as part of Museums and Galleries Month 2008.

The ‘Action and Invention Tea party’ is a free event based on Aardman Animations’ Wallace and Gromit films, and it’s proved so popular that all tickets for the event are taken.

“We tend to struggle getting younger visitors in. We thought a film showing would be a nice and friendly way in for families,” said Clare Wood, Museum and Gallery Manager.

The evening will begin at 5.30pm and kicks off with the opportunity for youngsters to recreate their favourite characters using plasticine.

Alfred East Art Gallery - one of the most picturesque museum locations in the East Midlands. © Kettering Borough Council

Then visitors will be able to take advantage of the spring night, treasure-hunt style, as they search for pieces of a diamond in the beautiful gallery grounds.

“It’s a tightly packed evening but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Clare. “It’s a bit of an experiment so hopefully it’ll be a really fun evening; we’re all looking forward to it,”

The physical work-out will be followed by a mental one when invention becomes the name of the game.

Kids will be shown Victorian machines and told how they work before getting their hands dirty as their own creation takes shape.

After working up an appetite, a picnic will be on offer - including Wallace’s favourite Wensleydale cheese - for families to get their teeth into.

Then it’s on to the grand finale, a showing of ‘Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers.’

Phillipa Davies is one of our three Renaissance East Midlands arts writers, reporting on MGM 2008 events all over the region for the whole month of May. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.