Staff at a north-east museum are hopeful that allowing history fans to explore exhibits online during lockdown will lead to a boom in popularity once it reopens.
Members of The Moray Society, who run Elgin Museum, were left “hugely disappointed” when plans to reopen for the season were ruined last month.
They had been hoping that a new exhibition about fossils discovered in the local area in the 19th century would prove a hit with the public.
The teeth and bones from an Elginerpeton Pancheni, on loan from National Museums Scotland, were to have gone on display.
Moray Society vice-president, Claire Herbert, explained how the group is now attempting to boost the museum’s online presence.
Each day, they publish ideas for hands-on activities to keep youngsters entertained – such as creating their own archaeological dig box.
And staff are getting people to learn about the variety of items on display there from the comfort of their living room, through commentary videos describing artefacts.
Mrs Herbert said: “We had a lot of quite big events planned for our reopening with some bands and musicians performing as part of it.
“It is hugely disappointing, especially for the volunteers who work really hard, and we have over the years attracted hundreds of people to these events.
“We were looking forward to it, and hope to recreate it later in the year.
“We are just trying to keep people’s mind fresh that we are still here and also act as a service to the community, to give people activities to do with their kids during the lockdown.
“We hope people are enjoying it and we seem to be getting a few positive comments.”
