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Unique Museums of Dorchester

The county town of Dorchester is home to several fascinating and unique museums, among them a family favourite - the Dorset Teddy Bear Museum. The museum documents the development from the earliest teddy bears to the television favourites of today. Housing a number of rare and extremely collectable bears, the museum is a popular destination for enthusiasts, featuring the merchandise of Steiff, Merrythoughts and Deans. Be sure to visit the Teddy Bear House exhibition, where Mr Edward Bear and his human-sized friends relax at home or work to run the 'Curator's Office' of the museum. The period shop is a must for any collector, containing fine examples of old and new favourites.

Conveniently situated in the same building as the Dorset Teddy Bear Museum is the Terracotta Warriors Museum. This site is dedicated to the Chinese Terracotta Army from the Chin Dynasty, and contains recreations of Chin She Huang Di, the first emperor of China, his uniformed officers and the life-sized clay warriors. The original warriors were designed to defend the emperor's tomb, 6,000 terracotta soldiers standing guard over the place where the former leader lay. The exhibition contains multimedia presentations detailing the culture and traditions of the Chin Dynasty.

Whilst in Dorchester's main street, treat yourself to a delicious lunch or cream tea in one of the local cafes, before continuing to the Tutankhamun Exhibition. Now a world-famous symbol of Egypt, Tutankhamun became Pharaoh of Egypt in 1333BC, when he was still only nine years old. The exhibition is concerned with the controversies surrounding the young ruler's life, death and burial, and contains recreations of his tomb and treasures. Among the displays is an exact replica of the antechamber as it was when Howard Carter entered it in 1922, and a recreation of the burial chamber at the moment when the golden coffins were removed from the sarcophagus. The presentations and replica artefacts on display offer a fascinating insight into the world of ancient Egypt.