Visitors at a County Durham museum will get to go behind the scenes seeing how it looks after its prized collections.

The Bowes Museum will open a new gallery next month showing off how it stores and cares for exhibitions, and gets them ready to show.

Many items in the new ‘Objects on the Move’ gallery were previously in storage including unusual furniture and architectural pieces, the museum said.

Guests will get to see how volunteers work on preserving the objects and get them ready for future displays.

“There’s a real desire to offer new, inspiring experiences for communities that encourage learning, curiosity and conversation,” collections manager Jane Whittaker said.

“We’re incredibly lucky to work with such an outstanding collection and this new project means we can offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse for visitors into work that usually happens away from the public eye.”

The new attraction on the museum’s second floor will open on October 26.

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It will see the return of items not seen on display for years including dolls houses.

Talks and live demonstrations on conservation and best practice for collections care and handling will be held in this space as part of the museum’s events programme.

The museum has about 58,000 pieces, with about 10 per cent on public display.