Mike Laycock glimpsed the ancient past - and the digital future - during a trip to a national museum.

I visited ancient Egypt last weekend - without travelling further than Bradford. I escaped with my family from the Yorkshire fog into the glittering world of the Pharoahs, courtesy of the massive IMAX screen at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.

The screen is more than 20 metres wide and the equivalent height of five double-decker buses, creating an image that completely fills your vision.

And in the Mysteries of Egypt, one of the films currently showing at the IMAX, you are taken on a swooping, soaring aerial journey down the Nile and its spectacular waterfalls, over the skyscraper pyramids and into the sacred tomb of Tutankhamun. The 40-minute story of the great King and his amazing tomb, and its discovery by Howard Carter in the 1920s, is narrated by Omar Sharif. This is as good an introduction to Egyptian history as is possible for children - short of going there.

Other films showing at the IMAX are equally informative as well as entertaining, including one about The Human Body and the first-ever 3D animated film Cyberworld featuring characters such as Bart Simpson and ANTZ.

But the award-winning museum, which re-opened in 1999 after a £16 million refurbishment, is much more than just an IMAX screen.

There are eight interactive galleries recounting the history of TV, film and photography through the 20th century, and looking ahead into the digital 21st.

My children particularly enjoyed the Animation gallery, where they could see original animated characters such as Wallace and Gromit and the feathered stars of Chicken Run.

Then there was the Magic Factory, where the science of light is brought to life with plenty of hands-on exhibits.

But the highlight for my seven-year-old daughter was the Power Pod, which took her and me on a simulated ride through the sky with that Christmas cartoon favourite The Snowman.

I was keener on Turn On, Tune In, which told the story of British Television, from the first flickering images through the Moon landings to the latest satellite transmissions, and TV Heaven, which offers TV addicts the chance to sit through some of the best - and worst - of British soaps, drama and comedy.

We had not given ourselves enough time to see several other exhibitions, which include the Kodak Gallery where visitors are taken through the history of photography, and Wired Worlds, which apparently explores the reality of the digital age with exhibits and interactive virtual creatures. I must return sooner rather than later to explore the rest of this excellent museum.

Fact file

National Museum of Photography, Film and Television is just off Manchester Road in Bradford city centre, close to the Alhambra Theatre and the Ice Rink, and is just two miles from the end of the M606 with signs to direct visitors.

Bradford Interchange, with bus and rail services, is just five minutes walk away.

Open: Tuesday- Sunday 10am - 6pm.

Admission to main museum is free, but IMAX admission is: adult: £5.80, child/concession: £4, children under five: free.

To book and for further information: call 01274 202030.