Peekaboo - kids enjoy exploring the museum at Amersham. Photo courtesy of Amersham Museum.

Ever heard of a Glis glis? Me neither – but it turns out that not only is it some kind of edible dormouse, but Amersham museum has adopted the podgy little local as a starting point for designing a range of Family Friendly activities throughout August 2006.

Taking part in the Thames valley pilot scheme, Amersham museum has developed a variety of activities specific to their venue to help youngsters and their families explore local history.

The Glis glis is used as a mascot for Family Friendly events. Image courtesy of Amersham Museum.

Visitors are invited to play with traditional wooden toys and keep an eye out for that rotund rodent on the Glis glis trail. There are garden challenges, (the museum boasts its own herb garden), Roman games, or you can have a quiet half hour making your own Tudor Rose.

The Glis glis has been adopted as the image for all Family Friendly events at Amersham and now Sundays in August have been set aside for more family fun - with events designed specifically with local history in mind.

"Get a load of Glis!" Photo courtesy of Amersham Museum.

You can become a court jester on the 6th, or make tiles and pots on their messy clay day on the 13th, inspired by the medieval glazed floor tiles in the museum, which were made locally back in the fourteenth century.

There is a baskets and straw plait day on the 20th, inspired by the local traditional straw hat industry, or you can make waterwheels and windmills on the 27th. There is also provision for younger children to make their own peg dolls whilst the older ones are getting stuck in.

Youngsters look at a model of the fifteenth century museum building. Photo courtesy of Amersham Museum.

With activities colour coded for different age groups, from pre-schoolers up to 11 year-olds, the activities or tailor made for a range of ages – and by focussing on local themes and the history of the museum building, Amersham has succeeded in creating something quite special and very individual.

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.