THE MUSEUM of Dartmoor Life in Okehampton has a new interactive display geared towards schoolchildren and families which brings seven periods of history alive.
The Wheels of Discovery project, which has been 15 months in the making and cost £14,500, takes youngsters on a journey of discovery through Roman, Anglo Saxon, Medieval and Victorian times to the second world war and the 1960s.
Each 'wheel' presents three different scenarios with an Okehampton flavour which relate to other items within the museum leading visitors on a research project around the museum.
Curator Maurie Webber said wherever possible the characters were based on real people including Thomas Allin who was a police constable based at Okehampton in Victorian times.
'Some of the wheels have sounds and on the world war two display there are sirens and people talking about Home Front experiences,' she said. 'We have bought some helmets in the hope that children will do some role-play.
'Before, children just used to answer questions on a sheet but this is much more interactive.'
Mrs Webber said the theory was more people would go back to museums when they were adults if they spent time in them as children.
Funding for the project came from Devon County Council, West Devon Borough Council, Dartmoor National Park and Leader Two.
The wheels were made by Richard Trevor and the graphic designer was Reece Kenyon of Airship Design.