bporterfield@pvdemocrat.com — Whether you’re young or old toys tend to bring a little excitement, especially when a Pauls Valley museum dedicated to that very thing is gearing up for a busy year in 2013.

A long list of fun activities with many overlapping each other is coming throughout the year to the Toy and Action Figure Museum starting in February.

From events promoting upcoming movies to special comic book and Hot Wheels days to another installment of a unique gathering for superheroes, the museum in downtown PV has plenty on the plate for toy enthusiasts.

The thought of all the activities brings a smile to museum director Ryan Peacock.

“This is going to be a fun, exciting year,” Peacock said.

“The museum’s going to be a busy place with all kinds of activities during the year,” he said.

“In February we’ll ease into it with a movie promotion, but when spring break rolls around there will be one event after the other.

“We’re going to have stuff monthly, stuff weekly during the summer.”

That first promotion will focus on the movie “Escape from Planet Earth” on Feb. 9, which like all events of this kind comes days before the movie opens at theaters.

Then in March comes the start of a spring break action figure all stars event. It includes more movie promotions for “The Croods” and “G.I. Joe Retaliation” followed in April by “Iron Man 3” and “Star Trek: Into Darkness” in May.

May is a big month at the museum starting with a Star Wars and Comic Book Day on May 4.

In a reference to the movie the event is called “May the 4th Be With You” as the Star Wars gathering will again feature things like costume contests for kids and adults alike and Whack the Wookie, referring to a character from the movie series.

Later in the month, May 25 to be exact, it’s the museum’s famous Hot Wheels Double Dog Dare Derby.

This event normally done during Pauls Valley’s annual Brick Fest celebration will come on its own day as a way of placing more of the spotlight on the fast little cars.

“We’ll have a lot of activities going on besides just the Hot Wheels,” Peacock said. “We’re turning it into an event of its own.

“We hope to get a larger, bigger crowd and keep them here. We want it more like a Nascar even where you stay to the end. We want more people to be there when the winners are crowned.”

Plans include the possibility of holding a real hot rod car show as part of the event.

Summer activities at the museum will naturally include an arts and reading program.

It will also feature special months just for some special movies coming out, such as the Man of Steel month in June for the new Superman movie, along with Wolverine and X-Men month in July.

Both of the events will feature extra activities for the upcoming superhero movies.

“We’ll have costume contests, an activity on how to draw the character and things we’ve done in the past that kids really enjoy,” Peacock.

With other movie promotions packed in there as well, the museum will hold another unique International Superhero Day on Aug. 3.

Like last year’s first event, the day will give anyone and everyone the chance to come up with their own original superheroes.

According to Peacock, all the activities during the year provide a win-win for the museum and town with many visitors staying to check out PV’s local businesses.

“We want to have more events to bring people into Pauls Valley, not only for the museum but to help out businesses here,” he said.

“We’re fulfilling our goal for the museum by being a catalyst for the economic growth in the downtown.”