My first review of the Story Museum in Oxford was an emotional roller coaster! At first I was uncertain which type of ticket we should be getting (more on that later). Then we were really excited about how amazing the Whispering Wood is, then really worried I’d made a huge mistake, and then super excited again!
This review of The Story Museum is based on multiple visits, some of which were gifted, some which were self-funded. They however had no input into the contents of the review.
First up, which tickets do you need? Small Worlds is billed as suitable for ages 0-5 and the Galleries for ages 5+. If you have children in both age groups, like I do, which do you choose? I originally thought I’d be best off booking tickets for all of them for both galleries (which you actually can’t do as it turns out). Small Worlds is most definitely only for very small kids. If you’ve got mixed ages, just go for the galleries.
Small Worlds
Small Worlds is the under 5’s space. It’s a space for role-playing, story-telling and nursery rhymes. There’s a MASSIVE bed that everyone can sit on and tell stories together. Each session lasts 60 minutes.
During our visit to The Story Museum we didn’t take part in a session, but I did get the chance to have a look around during our first review so I could show you what it’s like. Definitely not right for the boys, but Smallest Child probably still would have got something out of it (she was bang on 5 at the time).
The Portal
This is where you start your tour of The Story Museum’s galleries and if you haven’t been for a couple of years, like us, then things have changed a bit. The amazing wands have gone, which we did find a bit sad. Instead you get to choose your character, and each one has things that they have to look out for. And then you’re off.
There’s no more headphones as you go around, instead you are given instructions by a really helpful guide inside the Whispering Wood.
The Whispering Wood
This is where you start your tour of The Story Museum. The Whispering Wood has got several trees in it, activate each tree to see inside and listed to each story on the earphones. You’ll hear various different short stories as you wander through the wood. Some you’ll already know in one form or another, some you might not. One thing that was quite handy was that the headphones start when you pick them up so if you come along 5 minutes after everyone else then you don’t miss out.
There’s little activities to do along the way as well. Simple puzzles to solve etc, or maybe try your hand at extracting Excalibur? Actually I say simple, I couldn’t solve the dragon one!!
The Whispering Wood at The Story Museum is wonderful, but this is also the point of the review where I started to get really worried. We got to the end of the wood and had only been in here for 25 minutes. I was seriously worried that this was “it”. Thankfully it really wasn’t – there was much more to see.
The Treasure Chamber
When the review was written the Story Museum had a temporary gallery co-created by Cressida Cowell called There be Dragons. All three of my kids are big “How to train your dragon” fans and so they were super excited about this. I think they’ve done an amazing job in this room, and there is so much to do. As Hubby pointed out, this room is mainly going to appeal to the kids (and the young at heart like me!) but we spent ages and ages in here.
There’s crafts you can do, stories to listen to or read, dressing up costumes, some incredible dragon artwork and sculptures, games to play and more. There’s also the chance to design your own dragon and, if you’re lucky, they’ll add it to their book of dragons. Honestly, anything to do with dragons and it is in this room! Obviously they also have all of the How to Train your Dragon books, including the audio versions.
The Enchanted Library
Fancy travelling to Narnia? Play poohsticks? Or looking up the rabbit hole before deciding to “eat me” or “drink me”? You can do all of that in the Enchanted Library. There’s immersive scenes from various well-loved children’s stories. Or visit the Cittagazze from the Subtle Knife .
If the kids are fans of the Snowman then they’ll love this. You start off sitting down, all cosy watching an old school telly. Then it gets projected onto the walls around you. It’s only a 5 minute scene, but it’s very cool.
Choose your own adventure
If you read my original review of The Story Museum, or have visited previously, then you will know that they used to have a mock-up of Horrid Henry’s bedroom in the Enchanted Library. Well that has gone now and has been replaced by a create your own adventure room. Now this is an awesome concept; use clues in the boxes and make choices along the way to create your own story. Apparently there are 20 different endings.
I think we did something wrong though, actually I know we did. There are three starting points, we tried all three. The clues to two of them led to another box, which were both the “The End” boxes and the third one we just couldn’t find a clue in at all. I asked a member of staff what we were doing wrong and unfortunately she didn’t know what we were supposed to be looking for. Not sure what we were doing wrong but we ended up just opening all of the boxes to see what was inside.
The Story Arcade
The Story Museum have now launched a new, permanent, gallery called the story arcade. It’s open every day during the holidays and Tuesday – Sunday term time. It’s all about the world of storytelling, through video games. And they have lots of video games that you actually get to play. From Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, The Secret of Monkey Island (best game ever) through to Stray and Saltsea Chronicles.
They have various side-quests to do, activities, dressing-up etc. Lots of things for the kids who maybe aren’t old enough to play to do. It’s included with admission.
Our The Story Museum Review
All told, we were in The Story Museum for about an hour and a half each time that we’ve visited. It always feels like a lot longer though, in a good way. Depending on how long you spend in the temporary gallery though you could stretch that out. This place is 100% up our family’s street.
It’s captivating, magical and really unique. For a “story” museum there’s very little to read – it’s more about experiencing the stories than reading about them. I think that makes it more accessible really, particularly for younger ones. The boys are already planning on going back to one of their monthly comic clubs with Neil Cameron (who is one of their idols!)
Admission cost
£15.50 per person for the galleries (£7.70 for 1-4 years). Ticket prices are correct at the time this review of The Story Museum was published. For the latest prices please visit their website.
Parking / How to get there
Parking – Use park & ride or town centre car parks
Address – 42 Pembroke Street, Oxford. OX1 1BP
Toilets
On-site, including baby change
Food
Cafe on-site
What else is there to do nearby?
Oxford is full of loads of great things to do with the kids. There’s firm favourites such as the Natural History Museum and the Ashmolean Museum, or you could visit the playgrounds and splash park at Cutteslowe Park. Have a look at my guide to free things to do with the kids in Oxford as well.
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Hi, I’m Vicky. My husband and I live in Aylesbury with our three children; a 14 year old son, an 12 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. I (mostly) love spending time together as a family. We visit all kinds of places and we’re quite happy to drive a fair distance for a decent day out. A few years ago I decided to set up Free Time with the Kids as a way to share our experiences of these family days out.
You’ll find the essential information you need to know before your visit that can be surprisingly hard to find out. Where do I park? How much will it cost me to get in? Are there any discounts available? Are there loos? Can I take a picnic or get food? My aim is to be your go-to guide for all your free and cheap family days out across Bucks, Beds, Oxon, Herts & slightly beyond. I really hope you find the reviews helpful. If there’s anywhere that you’d recommend please get in touch contact@freetimewiththekids.com or get in touch via Facebook