The first lamb of the season at Chiltern Open Air Museum. Born on Sunday April 9 2006 he is only one hour old here. Ahh. Photo courtesy of Chiltern Open Air Museum.

Spring is well and truly springing and open-air museums across the Thames Valley are reopening their doors to the public. Having spent the winter months twiddling our thumbs we can now get out for a breath of fresh air.

The Thames Valley has a whole range of activities at their seasonal museums - from sheep shearing and tractor rides to historical re-enactments – all with the emphasis on the Family Friendly. Get down to your local open-air museum for a look at what’s going on.

Chiltern Open Air Museum opened this month and is gearing up for a great Easter Weekend which will be followed over the spring with a plethora of exciting re-enactment events.

Hello Soldier. This is the Ermine Street Guard at Chiltern. Photo courtesy of Chiltern Open Air Museum

Stepping back in time via a re-enactment of D-Day in 1914 through a Victorian Easter, to Chiltern in the Dark Ages and, believe it or not, back all the way to the Roman Empire, Chiltern skilfully covers over 2000 years in less than two months. Astounding. Cogges Manor Farm Museum in Oxfordshire reopened its doors on April 4th and has a couple of months of great events including sheep shearing, spinning and lace-making. You can meet Peter Rabbit (honestly) and hang out with some of the real-life Cogges bunnies. Ahhh.

Going for a spin... Tractor rides at Pitstone. Photo courtesy of Pitstone Green.

At the Tudors and Stuarts weekend you can make your own neck ruff and learn to write with a quill. The Story and Song weekend in June sounds like a great laugh with stories, puppets and a real life Ceilidh band, “Tumbledown Dick”.

At Milton Keynes Museum they opened their doors at the beginning of April and, among their extensive resident exhibitions, there will be some special events. How did we cut our grass in the 19th century? Well, obviously with lawnmowers – just not as we know them. An exhibition of vintage lawnmowers is on in May, with models from 1830 to 1980 on display. There is also a Country Fair in June with farm animals, country crafts, rural pastimes and farm machinery.

Where's my gameboy? A young girl get into the spirit dressing up and playing with Victorian toys. You can too at the Easter weekend at Chiltern. Photo courtesy of Chiltern Open Air Museum.

Reopening its doors on Easter Monday, Pitstone Green has a Stationary Engines and Models day planned for the May Bank holiday. The Beds and Bucks stationary engine club will be there with two working model railways and other engines and models on show.

Pitstone will also be holding some family fun-packed open days including events like country dancing and tractor rides and the opportunity to see the Avro Lancaster Bomber Cockpit, among numerous other exhibits.

Now we’ve whetted your appetite for the great outdoors, get down to your local open-air museum for a great day out - and don’t forget your family. For more information on other venues check out the What’s On section on the main site. We’ll have you sheep shearing and country dancing in no time.

Nicola Tann is the 24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Writer for Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.