'Ice Age', a touring exhibition from Museums Worcestershire, opens at The Museum in the Park in Stroud next week.

'Ice Age' explores half a million years of ancient local history. From mammoths to man-caves, from treeless tundra to sultry swamps and fascinating forests, the Ice Age is full of surprises!

Alexia Clark, documentation & collections officer at The Museum in the Park, said: "35,000 years ago the Stroud District was right on the edge of a gigantic sheet of ice.

"The Ice Age exhibition will use the museum collections to paint a picture of a very different world to the one we know today. Wooly mammoths and rhinoceros roamed the area, coming down to the Frome to drink. Deer and elk were frequent visitors, with wild horses, aurochs and boar a common sight for the occasional human visitor to the area.

"Whilst we have the remains of all of these animals in the collections, humans left almost no trace of their presence here in Stroud. Fortunately, the collections of local antiquarian Vernon Parry Kitchin will allow us to also present tools from the wider UK to demonstrate the lives of humans during the Ice Age."

The Ice Age exhibition was originally part of Lost Landscapes; a joint project between Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service and Museums Worcestershire, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Museum in the Park exhibition will be accompanied by talks and special events made possible by a grant from Arts Council England.

The exhibition is enhanced by rarely-seen artefacts from The Museum in the Park's own collections.

Come and explore the exhibition, join free online talks, take part in fabulous family activities at weekends and during school holidays...the museum team look forward to welcoming you!

'Ice Age' is open from Tuesday, January 25th, until Sunday, March 27th, Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4.30pm, and Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4.30pm. 

Exhibition entry free, no need to book, donations welcome. For further details and events keep an eye on www.museuminthepark.org.uk