PETERSFIELD museum is set to improve its services after receiving a £50,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant that will allow it to employ an education and outreach officer. The officer will work on education projects in and around Petersfield in wake of the cash injection, which will be spread over over two years. A spokesman said the museum would be recruiting in the next couple of months and it was hoped that an officer would be in place by the autumn. The newcomer would be based at the museum's Old Courthouse headquarters, off St Peter's Road. This post will allow the museum to work closely with schools, giving them access to information on local history. The officer will organise museum visits for schools and will create historical 'loans boxes' which schools will be able to use in their own environments to aid learning. The education and outreach officer will also give talks to community groups and take museum artefacts on the road for public viewing, such as the newly-acquired Bedales historical costume collection. Michelle Davies, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the South East, said: "We are passionate about bringing the past to life for new generations and this is a great example of what can be done. "The new education and outreach officer will have the chance to use a wealth of historical artefacts to give people from all walks of life a hands on experience of their local heritage."