I HAVE a list of things I'd like to see before I pop my clogs, and one of those things is the golden death mask of Tutankhamun. The trouble is that the treasures from the boy king's tomb, discovered in 1922 by Englishman Howard Carter, rest in the Cairo and Luxor museums in Egypt.

Thirty years ago, 100 items from the collection toured the world, following which the museum curators, horrified by the damage to the 3,000-year-old relics, decided the treasures would never again leave Egypt.

So, if you're going to have any chance of seeing the fabulous death mask, together with the golden throne and other items from the collection, you have two choices.

You can save up, book your passage and travel to Egypt - don't forget your jabs and your malaria tablets. Or you can travel to the Dome in Doncaster, where an exhibition called Tutankhamun and the Treasures of the Pharaohs is currently running. These are exact replicas, made by the same artists and craftsmen who maintain the original artefacts. More than 300 items are on show.

This is the only collection that brings together authentic replicas of items stored in museums all over the world, and it's certainly the only place you can see the three coffins of Tutankhamun all together. The original golden outer coffin has been replaced in the tomb to house the young king's remains, and the second coffin of inlaid wood is in the Cairo Museum, together with the solid gold inner casket.

Using all of the 1,450 square metres of space available at the Dome, the exhibition is dramatically lit against blackout curtains. There's also a seating area where they run continuous videos about the fascinating history of the artefacts and the pharaohs who owned them.

The exhibition opened on March 6 and advance bookings totalled a staggering 11,000 from schools in Doncaster and further afield. Children were visiting the exhibition with their school and then coming back again with their parents, and the first week pulled in 10,000 visitors, including some from Devon, Fort William in Scotland, Boston in the US, and even one from Egypt.

For £6 you can spend as long as you like marvelling at the artistry and workmanship of the exhibits - we were spellbound for three hours and amazed at how quickly the time went. At the end of the display area there are souvenirs to buy which range from tiny reproduction statues at pocket-money prices to beautiful mother-of-pearl inlaid chests running to three figures.

The opening hours are from 10am to 10pm on weekdays and 10am to 8pm at weekends, and the exhibition is at Doncaster until April 1, when it moves to Bolton.

You don't need to book but if you need directions, the Dome's telephone number is (01302) 370777.