Royal Mail has joined forces with museums and galleries nationwide to create Museum Trails that run throughout the summer. Families will be able to theme their museum and gallery visiting by following the trails which bring to life the subjects of the stunning sets of stamps being issued this summer.

Children will have their museum visits enhanced with inspiration from Punch puppets, fashionable hats and the world's first scratch and sniff stamp. Families can find out about the trail in their area by clicking on the 24hourmuseum website, already a popular place for information hungry kids.

Kids with a craze for collecting and swapping can surf the site to receive a free Museum Trails wall chart and find out where to buy their stamps. In addition they'll be able to conduct a virtual tour of all the Museum Trails wherever they are. Mouse-movable jigsaws and email competitions are also part of the fun.

The regional Museum Trails can be followed in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, London and Northern and Southern England. Each trail takes in museums and galleries from the area where exhibits have been specially selected to represent the four themes.

Broadcaster and chairman of the Campaign for Museums Lloyd Grossman, a man who knows a thing or two about perfect recipes, says he reckons this is the ideal way to keep kids on the go over the six week break. He said: "Special stamps mark the notable achievements in our society and culture and the subjects being celebrated this summer by Royal Mail tie in very well with what you can see at museums at the same time. The trails are a fun way to help children explore different subjects and the stamps will be a great memento of their journey"

Visit Royal Mail's Museum Trails on-line at www.24hourmuseum.org.uk.