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<\/a>Seven Stories<\/p><\/div>
\nI’ve been wanting to visit Seven Stories for a long time & it didn’t disappoint. It’s a fantastic museum dedicated to celebrating the enjoyment, wonder & pure delight of storytelling. After a full day of exploring it was clear that if this was a local museum we would be visiting frequently. It is what I would wish many public libraries could provide, an imaginative vibrant space brimming with ideas, opportunities & wonder.<\/p>\n
We began at the cafe fuelling ourselves for the day with a large slab of Victoria sponge, well we were celebrating a birthday (any excuse). Then we headed down to the craft station where there were a range of activities, Bryn opted for making a dinosaur mask inspired by Tyrannasourus Drip & Freya explored one of the many comfy book corners.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Dinosaur roars<\/p><\/div>
\nNext was the story attic where unsurprisingly they delivered daily story sessions, on one side of the room was a great big wooden chair awaiting the storyteller while on the other was a large stash of dressing up outfits. Bryn happily dressed as a dragon charging round the mini theatre much to the amusement of his sister.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Dragon meets Smartest Giant in Town<\/p><\/div>
\nBryn & I also explored the story lab, which had exhibits hidden under flaps along the wall. I loved seeing some original artwork & preliminary sketches giving a little glimpse of some of the extraordinary archives the museum holds. The room also had a few computers with interactive puzzles which Bryn enjoyed playing. <\/p>\n
Seven Stories puts the theatre back into books, with puppets, dressing up, crafts, storytelling etc. It also made me think it was worth it, now & again, to make reading an experience & not just something to make my commute bearable. So am looking forward to finding a cosy armchair, putting my feet up, snuggling under a soft blanket, stocking up with plenty of cake & whiling away an afternoon on a luxurious read (just don’t tell the kids). <\/p>\n<\/a>
\nThe highlight of the day however was the current Julia Donaldson exhibition.<\/a> A fantastical exhibition designed to make you feel like you were stepping into her books. The exhibition covered a sample of her work, each area was bright, colourful & engaging reflecting the nature of the books themselves. They was a wide range of activities for the children as well as original artwork, insights into the publishing process, story developments, editing etc. I really enjoyed the exhibition and it was fascinating to discover more about both author & illustrators. Bryn also had fun dressing as a troll, squeezing a pig & goat into a house, shaking hands with a gruffalo, drawing a cave baby and listening to many of the stories again.<\/p>\n