AMBITIOUS plans have been announced to ignite young minds through the creation of a £5m interactive engineering gallery.

The National Railway Museum in York hopes the “Wonderlab” gallery will inspire youngsters to get hands-on and invent their own solutions to engineering challenges.

It will create a “wonder-filled” environment where young minds can discover their own potential through building, testing and learning

That includes the chance to have a go at pulling a locomotive as well as exploring how fast things travel and how they move. A tinkering workshop space with live demonstrations, shows and experiments will also inspire the next generation of engineers.

Wonderlab will be based on the interactive galleries created by the Science Museum Group at its Bradford and London museums, which have already sparked the curiosity of many thousands of young people - Wonderlab at the Science Museum has been described by Time Out as "The best thing to do in London with kids".

As well as appealing to families, it is hoped that double the current number of school children, up to 80,000, will visit the gallery.

Director Judith McNicol said: “We have a vital role to play in inspiring the next generation of engineers and it is fitting to announce these exciting plans during the 2018 Year of Engineering. The UK currently has an annual shortfall of 20,000 engineers and scientists, but it’s predicted that we’ll need 1.8m new engineers and technicians by 2025.

“Our vision can help plug this gap through inspiring and challenging young minds. Wonderlab offers a unique experience where young people will design and create their own solutions – just like real engineers."