A MUSEUM is adding the final touches as it prepares to reopen.

Steyning Museum, which shut earlier this year amid the coronavirus lockdown, is to reopen on Wednesday.

Visitors will need to wear a face mask, and there will be a one-way system to aid social distancing.

To celebrate the reopening, there will be a new exhibition displaying toy theatres through the ages. The collection is owned by Andrew Woodfield, the museum’s curator of exhibitions. In his childhood, Andrew and his cousins ran a family theatre. He developed a passion for toy theatres and has been adding to his collection for years.

Andrew prepared the exhibition under lockdown. It tells the story of juvenile drama – the name the Victorians gave to the hobby – from the Regency period to the present. The oldest toy theatre on display dates back to the 1880s, and the exhibition includes posters and prints that are even older.

The exhibition runs until mid-January, when it will be replaced by a Second World War display. The museum is trialling extended opening hours, from 10am to 4pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with a half-day opening from 10am to 1pm on Fridays.