IT was a Pharaoh story at Bolton Museum on Saturday as youngsters learned all about ancient Egypt.

Children took part in a number of activities with an Egyptian theme, including arts and crafts, face painting, re-enactment and storytelling.

The youngsters also learned about the tilapia fish found in the river Nile, which was thought to be a gift from the gods.

They also had the chance to cut out and colour their own fish, and dress like an Egyptian prince or princess by creating their own pectoral collar jewellery.

Zarina Rahman, aged 33, went with her son Umar, aged three, who had his face painted like an Egyptian prince.

She said: "We come to the library a lot and when I found out the theme was Egypt I thought he would enjoy learning about it and taking part in the arts and crafts."

The free event showed the importance of fish in Egyptian times at a craft session which also featured artefacts from 6,000 years ago.

Pete Liptrot, collections access officer for the aquarium, said: "Fish were a very important part of the ancient Egyptian diet because they are a reliable source of protein.

"It was thought that the tilapia were a gift from the gods because the female looks after the eggs and babies in their mouth, so when a fisherman caught one and they spilled out of her mouth, it was seen as rebirth."

Faiza Akhtar, aged 34, of park Road, Heaton, brought her two children Maliha, aged 10, and Qasim, aged nine.

She said: "My son is doing a project at school on Egypt so we thought it would be really good to come and find out more about the fish.

"It's really good for the children to be creative while learning — it can make it more interesting for them."