Are you looking for something different to do at the weekend? Then a visit to Dumfries Museum could be the answer!

Drop in to Dumfries Museum this weekend to see up close the real artefacts that inspired Charlotte and Elliot’s adventures in “Teacup Travels” – a brand new television series that has just started on CBeebies. What’s more, your local museum helped these epic tales come to life.

The TV series Teacup Travels is a treasure trove of epic adventure stories, set to wow audiences up and down the country by opening the door to ancient worlds and civilisations to young viewers. Each 14 minute episode revolves around Great Aunt Lizzie telling her fictional adventures in Ancient Egypt, Imperial China, Roman Italy and the Celtic Lands of Iron Age Britain. Each story features a replica of a historic artefact from museums across the UK.

Councillor Tom McAughtrie , chairman community and customer services committee said; “I am proud that our staff were able to be of assistance in making this series. Hopefully , people will visit the museum to see the artefacts which inspired the replicas used in the programme.”

Great Aunt Lizzie’s wondrous stories are told to her niece Charlotte and her nephew Elliot, who, whilst cradling one of Great Aunt Lizzie’s special teacups, can’t help but imagine themselves long ago and far away, in Great Aunt Lizzie’s old battered boots.

Dumfries Museum worked with the makers of Teacup Travels to recreate historical artefacts on display at the museum: the Roman mortarium and the merchant’s ring. Painstakingly re-made by highly experienced and skilled prop-makers, two unique stories were inspired by these objects from the collection at Dumfries Museum.
• Can Charlotte find a mortarium to help a monk prepare a special meal for the priests?
• Will Charlotte be able to bring back the merchant’s ring to settle a dispute?

The production team has been truthful to the original artefacts, ensuring that they look the part through a detailed process of recording how the items were found, the state they were in, how they were originally used so that the replica in the series could be portrayed accurately by the cast.

In support of the show, CBeebies has built a website to help children go on a journey of discovery. From watching the show on television, to clicking online, they can easily find out about the ancient artefacts by downloading a printable PDF of the Teacup Travels “museum map” which features an introduction to each of the artefacts – where they can be seen, how they were used and so on.

So, after your children have watched the tales of derring-do on screen, you can take them along to see the inspirational artefacts at Dumfries Museum, for free, to learn a bit more about the Roman Empire and the Celtic lands of Iron Age Britain, its archaeology and culture.