MORE than 100 colourful balloons will next Monday (July 19) mark the re-opening of Okehampton?s Museum of Dartmoor Life following its major £650,000 facelift.

The doors to the museum will open to the public at 2pm following a reception where children from Okehampton Primary School will launch the balloons into the sky.

Each of the balloons will be tagged and there is a surprise in store for the person who finds the one furthest away from the museum ? they will win a deluxe food hamper donated by the town?s Waitrose store.

Visitors to the museum ? once the town?s grain mill built in 1811 ? will discover a fascinating collection that reflects the life and work of the people of Dartmoor stretching across the centuries.

After more than six years in the planning and following eight months of building works, Maurie Webber, museum curator, is delighted with the results: ? It?s amazing. As always with these kinds of things you think they will never happen, but it has and I?m thrilled.

?I?m particularly pleased with the interactive displays as they bring the museum to life.?

Among the many interactive displays and exhibits are a Bronze Age hut, a mineshaft or adit, two bells dating back to the 13th century with a clear Okehampton connection, and a bas-relief sculpture of Baldwin de Brionne, one of the knights of William the Conqueror, who founded the town?s famous Okehampton Castle.

Improvements to the building include a new lift, a state-of-the-art exhibition gallery, a fully equipped public research room as well as refurbished toilets for visitors and staff.

There is also improved access to a large archive of documents, photographs and research material and the museum, a Devon Service Record Point, holds family history records on microfiche.

Maurie said: ?Many of the cobbles, which have been re-laid to make them wheelchair-friendly, are throughout the ground floor and areas of the courtyard and the installation of a lift makes the whole museum accessible to all.?

Funding for the museum works, which first opened in 1981, has come from several bodies including the Heritage Lottery Fund, European Union Objective 2, South West Regional Development Fund, Dartmoor National Park Authority and West Devon Borough Council. Further funding has come from a number of local charities.

While Maurie is curator, all other helpers at the museum are volunteers. If anyone is interested in helping call in or telephone 01837 52295.