Manchester Museum is an architectural beauty in itself, a befitting home to the wonders that lie within. Before heading inside, I pause to gaze up at its ornate windows and grand arched entrance.

Greeted by an enormous brown bear and the skeletal remains of a magnificent prehistoric beast, we climb the stairs to come face to tusk with the colossal skeleton of Maharaja – the elephant who walked to Manchester (a friendly museum guide tells us the charming story). All this and we’ve barely started.

Heading deeper into the labyrinth of exhibits, we pass cautiously through the Ancient Egyptian section (those mummies quite frankly give me the heebie jeebies) and arrive at the most beautiful part of the building, the newly renovated natural history area, also home to the Nature Discovery Gallery – an impressive interactive space.

Low-lit glass cabinets contain a whole host of mammals who return our gazes and a collection of skulls that trace the timeline of the human species. Upstairs, in the balcony area, I let out an internal squeal of delight as I browse the stunning anthropoid and ornithology collections and marvel at their rainbow colours and alien-like bodies.

Each time I visit the museum I discover new treasures and get lost in awe at their beautifully arranged collections. The place is always buzzing with activity and has a diverse range of interactive exhibits on all aspects of history, nature and culture. There’s even a live Vivarium section which the kids particularly love. I leave inspired and with a kaleidoscope of images running around my mind.

All images by Sam Young