Address: 42 Pembroke St, Oxford, OX1 1BP, United Kingdom
Phone: +441865807600
Rating: 4.6
based on 130 reviews.
Interactive Exhibits
Pros:
"This highly unique place is full of intriguing interactive exhibits for toddlers right up to adults."
"Different areas keep it interesting, there are interactive elements throughout - worth a visit for young and old."
"There is so many interactive activities for children."
"The museum offers many interactive activities and hidden secrets to keep everyone entertained."
"The different parts of the museum were all interactive and unusual."
"Story museum was fantastic lots of interactive experiences and staff really helped make the day with their enthusiasm."
"A magical experience for kids, but also for those who are kids at heart, especially fans of Narnia, His Dark Materials, and Alice in Wonderland."
Cons:
"The first part with the story trees was a little lacklustre and they found it a little bit dull."
"The room with talking throne is very tired and needs some work."
"A lot of it feels a bit tatty and somehow unfinished."
"Only thing was comic book area needed a little bit of love."
"Could use a bit of fixing in certain places."
"The exhibits were underwhelming, the whole layout chaotic and the building itself seemed to us to be most unsuitable for such an event."
"It was not clear exactly who this was targeted at on entry."
Staff and Entertainment
Pros:
"Beautiful museum with some of the most wonderful staff team members."
"James in particular was a wonderful story teller / entertainer."
"Staff were friendly and really helpful."
"The staff were great and kept in character when helping the kids."
"Staff were brilliant and engaging with the kids who both loved story time."
"Staff were absolutely wonderful, the children were entertained from start to finish."
"The staff are really in to the stories of local and national authors and their knowledge is excellent."
Cons:
"The person I spoke to, Sophie, was incredibly rude and had no empathy for this honest mistake at all."
"The staff in the cafe are unbelievably rude and do not seem to understand the concept of common courtesy."
"apart from shop staff who didn't look happy at all."
"Pretty good however staff and volunteers could well learn to stand back and let you explore."
"A plethora of Guides at the ticket office but none were to be found when trying to navigate our way through the exhibition itself."
"Disappointing to find the shop is cash free though - try explaining to a young child why their £5 pocket money won't buy a £5 item."
"Dreadful website. Very little detail about what each part of the museum is, what you need to buy tickets for."
Facilities and Layout
Pros:
"The cafe was lovely although we only had drinks so can't rate the food. The cakes did look lovely though."
"The little shop has some nice books and little gifts."
"Cake is good, coffee is good and they have a bike rack that's visible from the courtyard seating."
"The building is huge and really well laid out."
"Parking is close by in the Westgate shopping centre where there are a few places to eat should you need before or after your visit."
"Cafe on the ground floor is wheelchair accessible and serves decent cake."
"Great toilets and changing facilities. Food was good and reasonably priced."
Cons:
"Certainly not value for money."
"Nothing really special. The set up is a bit confusing."
"I took my 3 year old who enjoyed it but got a bit bored after a while and asked to leave."
"We bring our own snacks as there's not a huge amount for the youngest children in the café."
"Lunch in the cafe connected was expensive for what it was and of average quality."
"The cafe looked like it had a small but nice selection of cakes and tea/coffee, but there was a bit of a wait and the handful of tables were taken so didn't try it."
"The only thing we didn’t love was ordering a kids lunch box for £6.50 and getting a lunch in a paper bag."
Value and Experience
Pros:
"Good price and well worth it."
"We were there about 3hrs in total and have great fun with our two boys."
"A great place for children's parties and they hold all sorts of events too."
"Every single part was well thought-out, imaginative and beautiful."
"A great experience for children of all ages (I am a state pensioner!)."
"Absolutely brilliant day out! We were expecting 2hrs but landed up there for 4 because the kids were fascinated with each section!!"
"A wonderful, memorable experience with family."
Cons:
"Deeply disappointed with our visit to The Story Museum."
"Son in law took us around the place, it was far too busy for my liking at the time."
"Whilst I appreciate a new building is under construction... Upstairs was a bit squashed 're doing the stones but Rhona was amazing with the children."
"For £7.50 an adult, we were expecting more of an exhibition, than just an exaggerated play area for kids."
"However I thought it was overpriced."
"you have to sign up for an account & hand over your phone number and address just to buy a ticket online (why?), and no Apple or Google Pay checkout options."
"Shame you have to buy multiple tickets to access it all but otherwise a nice experience."