As the Yorkshire Museum reopens its doors after a £2m makeover, Steve Pratt gets to grips with the jewel in the crown of the exhibits, tackles the weighty problems of prehistoric creatures and walks along the Roman way.

I DIDN’T know whether to admire it or pocket it. Having the Middleham Jewel nestling in the palm of my sweaty hand was unnerving at the realisation of how precious and how valuable this 15th Century pendant, decorated with a sapphire, is.

But then I’d already walked all over a 2,000- year-old Roman mosaic and compared my weight on the Saurian scale with prehistoric creatures. For the record, I was somewhere between a deinonychus and a dromiceiomimus, which probably means I need to lose a bit of weight.

I would have walked in the footsteps of dinosaurs, but for the warning sign “WET MASTIC – KEEP OFF” on the glass covering.

When the Yorkshire Museum reopens its doors after a £2m facelift on Yorkshire Day tomorrow, a Roman god will be waiting to greet visitors. The statue of Mars, the god of war portrayed in the finest example of Romano British sculpture ever found, is the first thing you see on entering the refashioned main hall.

The large, airy space is typical of the new look, which has seen relatively modern interior walls removed, windows unblocked and a lot of white paint give one of the earliest purposebuilt museums in the country a fresh face that restores much of the building to its former glory.

The museum was opened in 1830 as the new home for the collections of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in the grounds of St Mary’s Abbey. It was constructed on top of the remains of some of the abbey buildings, whose columns can be seen jutting through the floor of the basement gallery housing the Medieval York collection. Here, some of the museum’s greatest treasures – including the Middleham Jewel, the York Helmet and the Vale of York Viking Hoard – are now housed.

Head curator Andrew Morrison, whose enthusiasm must surely match that of the first keeper, the famous geologist John Phillips, explains that it was established as a science museum to house a collection of material from Yorkshire and the rest of the world that sparked the scientific debate about evolution.

The new-look museum aims to retain that scientific and archaeological base, while broadening its appeal to all levels of interest – young and old, amateur and professional. If visitors want to know more they can investigate letterboxes labelled “DIGGING DEEPER” that provide additional information on the exhibits.

The public were canvassed on what they wanted from the museum before the refurbishment.

“There were a very intensive series of visitor feedback surveys and asking local people what they wanted,” says Morrison.

Windows have been opened to allow the light in once more, while offering views of Museum Gardens and the abbey ruins. The museum itself has been split into three distinct sections – Roman York, Medieval York and Extinct.

The latter offers a stroll through the coming and going of species, prompted by the public’s preoccupation with dinosaurs and conservation as explained by David Attenborough on TV. “We have the exhibits to support that entire story,” says Morrison, as we pass through the gallery where a gigantic whale bone and the skeleton of a leaping lion hang over our heads.

Sea monsters, previously consigned “downstairs in a dark blue corner”, now have a waterfree tank of their own in which to “float” as they hang suspended, as if swimming.

The world’s most complete skeleton of a moa – think ostrich or emu – from New Zealand towers over the squirrels, rats and other backyard creatures in another room populated by items collectors brought back to Yorkshire from all over the world. Modern programmes of conservation and rehabilitation aren’t forgotten.

“What makes Yorkshire Museum so good is the quality of the material,” emphasises Morrison.

Many exhibits, including Greek pottery, are being shown for the first time. Lack of display room has meant they’ve languished in the storeroom in the past.

The British Museum in London exhibited some of York’s treasures during the refurbishment closure and that “swap shop” ethos will continue with a series of loans sending exhibits from London to Yorkshire for fixed periods.

THE museum isn’t just about objects, but people too. In the main hall, four Romans tell their stories on film. Researchers found out about their lives by using their skeletal remains to gather information to then flesh out their daily lives. “We try to do people in a big way because that’s where our collection is so strong,” says Morrison.

In the 300-seat Tempest Anderson Hall, a fast-moving film on The History of York plays continuously, offering a ten-minute gallop through the story of the city and the people who lived there.

There’s a new home too for the 42,000 books in the museum’s Victorian library in the Learning Level. Workshops, meeting the experts, activities and hands-on activities are planned.

One experience is more feet-on. Morrison shows a Roman mosaic floor that has been taken from the wall where it hung in the old museum and put where it belongs – on the floor.

It’s slightly unnerving to be told, “Go on, walk on it”. I felt like a naughty child doing something forbidden, but Morrison says the floor can take the wear and tear of visitors’ feet.

The museum has thought of everything.

Thick soles on modern shoes means you can’t “feel” the floor with its thousands of coloured tiles. So the museum has a supply of supple Roman sandles for visitors to wear to get a genuine feel of the floor.

As for the Middleham Jewel, temporarily removed from its case for a photograph when I was offered a feel, I opted to return it. Visitors will be able to see it in a new light as it will be displayed open rather than closed.

■ Yorkshire Museum is open daily 10am-5pm.

Tickets (valid for 12 months) £7 adults, £6 concessions.

Free entry for children under 16 and residents with a York Card.