Railfest, National Railway Museum, May 29 to June 6

The nine-day family event, Railfest, will run from May 29 to June 6 to tie in with the theme of the Museums and Galleries Month this spring.

Museums and galleries in York and throughout Yorkshire are highlighting the human spirit of adventure from May 1 to 31 in a celebration of Travel and The Art Of Travelling.

The theme was prompted not only by the 200th anniversary of the first steam engine but also by the tenth anniversary of event sponsors Eurostar, and provides the chance for museums to host special events built around their collections of vintage trams, buses, trains and planes.

Travel is more than a means of transport and, to this end, museums and galleries will reflect our abiding obsession with travel in exhibitions and events based on the collections of explorers, the work of artists, treasures and souvenirs.

Loyd Grossman, chairman of event organisers The Campaign for Museums, says: "Museums and Galleries Month 2004 is a great opportunity to discover a new museum or gallery on a weekend trip or day out with friends or family.

"The travel theme has captured the imagination of many museums and galleries to organise interesting and entertaining events that illustrate the richness of their collections and involve the local community."

Aside from Railfest in York, highlights of the Museums and Galleries Month in Yorkshire will include the Rail 200 Steam Gala at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from May 14 to 16, when a host of steam locomotives will travel through the North York Moors National Park to celebrate the bicentenary of rail travel.

The Bank Holiday event, Steamy, at Leeds Industrial Museum, Armley Mills, will let off steam from May 1 to 3. From 1pm to 5pm, there will be the chance to see Jack the locomotive in steam, explore the exhibition A - B, take part in family craft activities and watch Hunslet rail footage in the cinema.

Leeds Metropolitan University will commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Edna Lumb Travel Prize by presenting new work by four of the prizewinners.

As part of the month-long exhibition, Leeds Met Gallery will host a professional development event for graduating art students and artists at an early stage in their career on May 20 from 1pm to 4pm. Guest speakers will be Edna Lumb, prize-winning artist Lucy Pedlar, arts development professional Julie Crawshaw and curator Moira Innes, and the afternoon event will focus on making a living as an artist, profile and promotion, working abroad, commissions and how travel can impact on an artist's career. Places are free.

Bedale Museum will present Transport & Travel in the Bedale Area 1600s to 1950s.

Photographs, pictures, documents and artefacts will be on show from May 13 to 15, along with models of agricultural carts, railway memorabilia and maps showing waterways leading to Bedale (Canal) Harbour. A nearby coaching inn will be open for viewing by arrangement.

Thwaite Mills, in Thwaite Lane, Stourton, Leeds will hold a temporary exhibition on canal use, the local railway and Albion trucks of Thwaite Mills from May 1 to 31 from 1pm daily, when visitors can look around a barge and view an original Romany caravan.

Dewsbury Museum, West Yorkshire, will take a trip to the coast for I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside from May 20 to 30.

The museum promises "all the fun of the traditional seaside holiday", including Punch & Judy, children's craft activities and the Secrets of the Saucy Seaside Postcard competition.

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield, is planning several travel-related events next month, not least the Off the Beaten Track exhibition of 25 works from the Arts Council Collection, which will show how travel, outdoor exploration and landscape have inspired 25 artists since the 1970s.

To find out more about the Museums and Galleries Month 2004, log on to www.may2004.org.uk and select town/city/region and theme. The website is being updated as events come in.

Updated: 08:53 Friday, April 16, 2004