Presenting Blue Peter taught the children’s show’s longest running female presenter, Konnie Huq, how to be happy with less. Fronting the programme from 1997 to 2008, Konnie, who has two sons, Covey, 14, and Huxley, 12, with her husband, Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooke, 55, says some of her interviews were a real eye opener.Now 51, she says: “I remember so many trips to a village where the kids have absolutely nothing and they want your empty water bottle. We interviewed a family once and paid them with like rice and cooking oil. They wanted the carrier bag, because it was durable and useful. I was right out of uni and it taught me to value everything and not waste stuff.“I don't buy anything unless it's an absolute necessity, because I don't really need anything. And then that makes you happy with what you've got, as opposed to sad about what you don't have.“You can have all the social media followers in the world, or all the money, or whatever, but if you're not happy with what you've got already, then you're the loser, really.“If you're a foodie who will only eat in Michelin-starred restaurants and you can't get pleasure from a cheese sandwich, then you're going to have a lot of displeasure in your life. You're going to be an annoying, hard-to-please person that other people won't want to be around.“People are so snobby about brands and just snobby in general. And that perpetuates this insane culture that we live in, that's just exacerbating [people’s dissatisfaction] because there's too much on offer.”As part of her drive to find free fun, Konnie has teamed up this summer with Art Fund, the national charity for art, for their third annual Kids Aloud initiative. It aims to encourage families to use one of the country’s most abundant free resources: its museums and galleries.More than 60 are taking part nationwide and hosting both free-to-all events and additional activities available for free or half price to families with a National Art Pass.The campaign comes as new research reveals two-thirds (65%) of parents feel too worried or embarrassed about noise or behaviour to take their children to museums, despite data showing interactive museum visits keep kids engaged for longer than watching television.Konnie says: “This is a free resource at your fingertips. And I know the feeling of taking rowdy children to a silent museum - it can feel exposing. I took mine recently to the Vatican. “But playing is what children do, they can learn while they play. Even if they're just laughing at Michelangelo's David having no clothes on.”Konnie stresses that once parents overcome those initial nerves, there is a whole world of free entertainment to be discovered. She says: “The more people that take children to museums and galleries, the more normalised and less silent they will become. The less exposing it will feel.”Konnie also says it’s a brilliant way to get kids off screens and into something that the whole family will love. She says: “Get your kids off the screens, get them out, get them to a museum or gallery. You can all learn something in the process.”And we will be supporting the UK’s incredible cultural heritage. She adds: “If we stop taking our kids there, if we stop going there, then the squeeze will get squashier and funding and resources will go.“Once people stopped going to the libraries, the libraries started closing down. We don't want that for our museums and galleries. Going to museums and galleries is cheap, it's easy, and it kills time with the kids, while educating and entertaining them. It’s a win win for the summer holidays.”10 museums offering family-friendly events this summer:Bletchley Park – Milton KeynesElizabeth Gaskell’s House – ManchesterDiscovery Point & RRS Discovery – DundeeHMS Belfast – LondonLeeds Museums and Galleries – LeedsNational Coal Mining Museum – WakefieldNational Emergency Services Museum – SheffieldNational Museum Cardiff – CardiffRoyal Pavilion – BrightonThe D-Day Story – Portsmouth*For more information, see ART FUND