LEGO lovers are in for a treat at a County Durham museum this summer.

That's as The Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, teamed up with renowned LEGO artist and Brick This creator, Steve Mayes.

Mr Mayes is in the process of building a replica of the museum which will be the star feature of the exhibition.

It will sit alongside 15 treasured pieces collected by museum founders John and Josephine Bowes, which will also be made with LEGO including its iconic Silver Swan, Josephine's dress and the mechanical mouse.

Mr Mayes will be creating an "imaginative playground" throughout the museum with a trail where children and adults alike can recreate some of John and Josephine's favourite pieces.

The exhibition gallery will host the museum replica in all its glory which will be accompanied by a Lego Creation Station, where people of all ages can let their imaginations go wild and take inspiration from their own collections to plan and build their own museum of treasures.

The museum will have 10,000 pieces of LEGO

Archive pieces showing the original plans of the museum itself will also sit alongside the LEGO museum.

A programme of talks, workshops and events has been put together to keep the whole family entertained including those that are dementia friendly, the opportunity to make stop motion animations, travelling through space and time and late night Block Parties where adults can "embrace their inner child" with bricks and a drink.

The museum will celebrate the opening of this exhibition with a family fun day on Saturday May 25, where visitors can be challenged with robotics workshops, creating vehicles to compete to see how fast they can go on a ramp, and have a go at printing with LEGO and investigating the museum's design laboratory.

Jane Whittaker, The Bowes Museum head of collections, said: “The sculptures of our most treasured objects will really take your breath away as will the scale of our LEGO Creation Station.

"So, we’re calling on the young to help us to collect new treasures and to make the LEGO Museum of the Future.

"There’s a real nostalgia to building with LEGO. It rekindles a youthful optimism - making anything possible.

"It’s a way of disconnecting from our busy world’s for a while – it’s mindful and therapeutic – and gives us an opportunity to share joyful moments across the generations.”

Steve Mayes, Brick This creator, has completed several monuments from around the region including The Angel of the North, in Gateshead, and the Transporter Bridge, in Middlesbrough.

He said: “It’s been a thrill to recreate the treasures of the Museum in LEGO.

"I’m really looking forward to seeing how my creations will spark people’s imaginations, what kinds of museum’s they might build and what objects they would treasure.”

The exhibition will be open from May 25 until October 13.

For more information about the exhibition and events visit thebowesmuseum.org.uk or call 01833-690606.