12 ways at Christmas... here's how you can help Torquay's museum

Torquay Museum has chosen a famous and well-known Christmas carol for its latest fund-raising drive.
For the 12 days of Christmas now read the 12 Objects of Christmas.
Barry Chandler, the museum's Collections and Engagement Manager, says: “Christmas is a time when communities come together and people choose to support their favourite charity to spread joy and hope.
“This year, Torquay Museum – one of the oldest local charities - needs your help too and it is offering unique gifts in return. Like the popular Christmas carol, we’ve chosen 12 of the museum’s most treasured objects for adoption for a year.”
He added: “No matter what your interests, there will be something for you to adopt for yourself or give as a gift for a loved one, and it will come with yearly passes to the museum and our guidebooks so you can visit your object or see our temporary exhibitions anytime you wish.”
Barry said the museum's remit is to collect and preserve the natural and human heritage of Torbay. “Our core funding has been static for many years but our costs continue to rise and looking after and engaging people with the 400 million years of Torbay’s extraordinary past is becoming more and more of a challenge. Our insurance bill for one year alone is £12,000,” he said.
“At this time of year, visits to the museum drop and our income falls dramatically. With this in mind we really need the community people to get behind the museum and help little by adopting some of our most fabulous local objects."
Details can be found on the museum's Crowdfunder page, but the treasures up for adoption can be found in almost all of the museum galleries - and could make an ideal and unusual Christmas gift.
In the entrance hall treasures include one of the gold late 16th century posy rings found at Cockington, believed to have belonged to Wilmotta, the wife of Sir George Cary.
Barry says: "This is perfect as a romantic gift as the inscription reads 'no treasure to a true friend'.
Also up for adoption is a touch of geology in the form of a famous marble plaque of Babbacome Beach, which is also in the entrance hall. Barry says: “This remarkable object, of the highest craftsmanship, was almost certainly made at Woodley’s in Torquay and is featured on the cover of our guidebook.”
Barry added: “The museum’s unparalleled collections from the Ice Age are also there. You can adopt a wolf skull which is in our Time Art Gallery, found at Kent’s Cavern or our most famous exhibit, KC4 a jawbone fragment of Britain’s first anatomically modern human in our Ancestors Gallery.
“Of course, we couldn’t leave out Torquay’s most famous daughter Agatha Christie. If your passion is for the ‘Queen of Crime’ why not adopt the Swan cane used by David Suchet from ITVs Poirot TV series or Joan Hickson’s costume and knitting from the BBCs Miss Marple.”
He explained: “When you adopt an object we will place a special label with the object for a year saying who adopted it and we will send you a unique Christmas card featuring your object with your other rewards.”