A 5,500-old arrowhead has been firing imaginations at a Skipton museum.

As part of its 80th anniversary, Craven Museum and Gallery has asked a member of staff to come up with a favourite exhibit for each month.

And museum assistant David Holt chose the Neolithic flint arrowhead.

Mr Holt said he was fascinated by the arrowhead because of its ability to transport him back thousands of years.

"Just for a minute, imagine that you are back in 3500BC, somewhere in the Yorkshire Dales. This small bit of flint attached to a stick is your best chance of not going hungry," he said.

Staff members have also picked out their favourite items for permanent display and they include a card game from the 1960s designed to teach children decimalisation, a Georgian doll and a two-year-old's wooden clog which dates from 1825.

Clerical officer Ella Hatfield said the clog is reminiscent of a time when not every child would have worn shoes.

"This clog was made and worn when there was a great deal of poverty in Skipton. Some families slept in one bed with one blanket to cover themselves up and perhaps nothing but dry bread to eat.

Some children were lucky to have clogs at all," she said.

The museum, housed in Skipton Town Hall, has a wealth of exhibits from the area's fascinating and varied past.

It was first set up using private collections from Victorian times, which had been given to the town by public-spirited individuals.

Now it includes everything from items unearthed in the excavated caves around Skipton to pieces of mosaic and pottery from the Roman Villa at Gargrave.

Suzanne Callaghan, education officer, said the museum was still adding to its collection, though all items have to originate from Skipton or Craven.

The museum also hosts school visits where children learn more about specific topics connected to the National Curriculum and are given the chance to touch objects during the museum's handling sessions.

"We get both younger children and high school children and we also have special events like the big draw in October and the science week in March," she said.

There are also people from the museum who go out to schools to talk about archaeology, or the history of art.

Meanwhile the museum is keen for people to visit and make comments on its recent reorganisation.

Craven Museum and Gallery is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm and on Sundays from 12pm to 4pm. For details of all exhibitions and events at the museum contact (01756) 706407, or go to cravendc.gov.uk or cravenevents.org.uk.