An exhibition is to open at Mansfield Museum to mark the golden anniversary of the 1969 Moon landing.

Man on the Moon – A 50th Anniversary Celebration opens on Saturday 20 July and runs until 5 October.

The exhibition is being staged at the award-winning museum in collaboration with Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society and has been made possible thanks to a £9,500 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Mr Robert Dawes, chairman of the society, said: “On 20 July, 1969, Neil Armstrong uttered his now iconic line ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ by becoming the first man to set foot on the Moon.

“This is an even more amazing achievement when you consider that in the 50 years since that moment, only 12 people have walked on the Moon and none since 1972, so it remains an extraordinary feat of human achievement.

“We are delighted to be working with Mansfield Museum on this timely exhibition to help inspire the next generation with the wonders of space exploration. Who knows, maybe an astronaut of the future will be from Mansfield!”

Cllr Stuart Richardson, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Growth, said: “Mansfield Museum’s exhibitions are always popular and well thought out by staff and with the help of volunteers, which is why it has won so many awards over the years and this latest exhibition will be no exception.

“Space travel and the Moon landings hold ‘universal’ appeal for all ages and, thanks to the National Lottery funding, many of the activities are free, so why not make time to go along over the next few weeks – with or without the kids or grandchildren!”

The exhibition will feature models, provided by the Astronomical Society, to illustrate how space exploration has evolved, from the first steps of space travel and getting into orbit around Earth, until the last Apollo mission left the Moon.

There will also be memorabilia and space race posters on show and a full size lunar landscape, featuring a cardboard cut-out of Moon landing astronaut Buzz Aldrin, for visitor photo opportunities.

The National Lottery funding has helped stage the exhibition and support a full summer-long learning programme of hands-on workshops at the museum and space-themed talks by the society at the museum and its observatory in Sutton-in-Ashfield.

Among the children’s activities planned will be the chance to watch gravity being defied and make ‘alien slime’ and edible ‘space dust’ with Dragons’ Den-winning science party organisers, Sublime Science.

Their 90-minute parties are free and start at 11am on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 30 July to 29 August.

Other activities include crafts sessions to make a stained glass rocket, straw rocket, kitchen roll rocket and rocket mobile, and a chance to dress up on Dr Who Day on Wednesday 31 July and Star Wars Day on 14 August.

For budding space scientists, there will also be hands-on experiments in a free CHAOS Science Roadshow on 7 August from 10am to 3pm.

As with all the children’s activities at the museum, children must be supervised by an adult at all times and should wear appropriate clothing. There is no need to book but if the session is busy, you may need to wait for a place to become available.

For more information and the details of the full programme, see: www.mansfield.gov.uk/museum