PLAYTIME for Victorian children may have been very different, but it could be just as fun, as last Friday’s ‘Terrific Toys’ session at Haslemere Museum demonstrated.

Most toys in the Victorian period belonged to rich children.

Girls played with china dolls, rocking horses and tea sets, while boys played with toy soldiers, train sets and marbles. Poorer children usually played with home-made toys.

At the museum’s first 2017 early years session, children were a read a story and discovered all about toys from the past, before playing with replicas of toys from the 19th century. They then got hands-on with a themed craft activity and made a simple toy to take home with them.

Museum education officer Kay Topping said: “The children had a lovely time and it is great to teach them little bits of information while they have fun creating.”

As well as the early years sessions to explore the museum collections, children aged five to 11 can join museum explorers workshops.

For older children, the Haslemere Young People’s Exhibition team (HYPE) meets monthly and runs its own curating and research projects to learn diverse creative skills, such as music-mixing and animation.

The next HYPE project offers a chance to create artworks with artist Diana Burch for the ‘Celebration Redesigned’ exhibition which will run at the museum throughout March.

The project is be open to all pupils year six and above and could lead to a Discover Arts award certificate.

• To find out more about the regular family drop-in events, early years, museum explorers and HYPE workshops go to www.haslemeremuseum. co.uk