This summer we spent a few days visiting the Cotswolds for a mini-break, with a few days out with the kids. On our way home to Milton Keynes, we stopped off at Oxford for a mooch around, as neither of us had really been before.
One place that we had discovered, and decided we had to take the kids to, was The Story Museum.
Both of my children are book worms, which I adore. And particularly over the last year my stepson Reuben has really got into his books and loves Roald Dahl and David Walliams. So as they both love to read, I thought The Story Museum would be the perfect day out with the kids when visiting Oxford.
The Story Museum is a museum dedicated to exploring all types of stories, from mythical tales to classics, to modern books. It’s described as ‘the most unusual museum’, with the ability to explore 1001 stories in all of their magnificent glory. I saw a few photos online when we decided to visit, and was very excited about it!
There are two separate bookable experiences at The Story Museum; Small Worlds (recommended for 0-5 years) and The Galleries (recommended for 5+).
Normally we try to find activities that suit my nearly 2-year-old daughter, however, we had my 10-year-old stepson with us too, so decided to pick The Galleries option so that we could all go around together and not have to be in two separate groups. A lot of it was aimed at older children, but we thought it would still be interesting for Ivy.
With a ticket to The Galleries you have 4 different sections; The Portal, The Whispering Wood, Enchanted Library, and The Treasure Chamber, which currently has an exhibition called ‘Book of Hopes’ – based on a book by the same title.
The Portal
The Portal is where your journey into The Galleries begins.
We were greeted by our story guide, who explained to us how The Story Museum works, and what we were going to see. We were also all able to pick our own magical wand, which we could use to touch things around the museum.
We were then all given a set of headphones, which would introduce us to Firouz the hare, who led us through a carved wooden door and lead us to The Whispering Wood.
The Whispering Wood
The Whispering Wood is an immersive audio trail to discover the roots of stories.
The stories include myths and legends, fairy tales, and the background to many of the books and comics we read today. Each tree told a story and had parts that lit up, and even hidden animals for you to find.
This is the only area you need to wear headphones for, which Ivy didn’t want to do, but the rest of us enjoyed the audio trail.
The Treasure Chamber
After we had finished in the Whispering Woods, we moved into The Treasure Chamber; with an exhibit called ‘Book of Hopes’ based on a book by Katherine Rundell. The book is about finding hope in the little things and imagining the possibilities.
This section was created to spark your creativity, with sections with comfy chairs and books to read, and four different creativity sheds. The creativity sheds included different activities, from doodling to writing your own story, to hunting for aliens, and dressing up!
We easily spent about 30/45 minutes in this section, as it was so much fun running around and doing all of the different activities, plus there were loads of books to help yourself to and read!
Enchanted Library
The final section was the Enchanted Library – where you can wander between the shelves and find yourself within a story.
There are eight different stories to explore and wander around. My favourites included Winnie the Pooh and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe – where you can actually walk through a wardrobe into Narnia! Reuben really loved the Horrid Henry area as he’s read all of the books, and told me the room was just like he’d imagined! He also really loved The Snowman, as it was his granny’s favourite story.
There were a few books in here that I’ve not read before too, including Noughts and Crosses, and The Art of Being Normal – but I loved these sections that it’s sparked me to add these to my to-read list!
We probably spent about 30 minutes in this section, as we took our time moving between rooms and taking it all in.
We absolutely loved our visit to The Story Museum, and Reuben even told me it’s his favourite museum he’s ever been to! I loved all of the different themed rooms in The Enchanted Library, and the creativity that went into them, they are amazing! – I could have honestly spent hours here.
Even though they recommend 60-90 minutes to make your way through The Galleries, there was no rush from the staff to move through the museum, and you could take your time exploring. The staff were all so knowledgeable and were happy to show you different things you may have missed, and answer a lot of questions from an interested 10-year-old.
We’re planning another trip back here in the near future, to hopefully explore Small Worlds when we just have Ivy on her own, as although she had a great time in The Galleries, it was for older children and she didn’t have the patience or understanding for a lot of it.
How to Find it
The Story Museum can be found at 42 Pembroke Street, Oxford, OX1 1BP, use the map below for directions.
There is no parking here when we visited we used the park and ride into Oxford and walked here, about a 5/10 minute walk from the centre.
Good to Know
- The Story Museum is open everyday from 9.30am – 5.30pm. Timeslots need to be booked in advanced, and are every 10 minutes for the galleries – aim to arrive 10 minutes before your timeslot so that you can get your wrist bands & put your buggies in the buggie park if you need to!
- Tickets cost £8 for The Galleries, £5 for Small Worlds, £5 for The City of Stories, and under 1’s are free.
- If you’re visiting for Small Worlds it’s worth noting that these are timed structured sessions so you will need to arrive on time. They run on Thursday and Friday mornings, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. During the school holidays sessions run all day.
- Allow 60-90 minutes to walk around The Galleries (or longer if you like to explore!), and Small Worlds sessions last 60 minutes.
- The Story Museum also has various events happening, take a look at their What’s On page.
