Shells, butterflies and beautifully-illustrated books from the collection of Tenby Museum and Art Gallery will be among items at the centre of a special display there which is opening on Saturday

Science Classes - an exhibition of natural history books and specimens - will be on show as a backdrop to an important event which the museum is hosting tomorrow (Thursday).

This will be the first annual meeting of the Linking Natural History Collections in Wales scheme - a project designed to provide professional and public access to specimens in 100 different collections in Wales.

The project manager, Christian Baars will officially open the display on Saturday, and it will be on show for the next two months.

“A few of the items we will be displaying actually formed the basis of the museum’s original collection when it opened in 1878,” said the museum’s collections manager, Mark Lewis. “The exhibition is taking up two large show cases, and it promises to be very colourful and interesting.”

Linking Natural History Collections in Wales is led by the Welsh Museums Federation, which was ‘suitably impressed’ with the collection in Tenby, said Mr Lewis.

The project will be setting up a website to allow online access to the collections, and is also planning a major touring exhibition of the treasures of Welsh natural science.

Science Classes can be seen at the museum until March 23. The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday inclusive, between 10am and 5pm, and all accompanied children are admitted free.