About Us
Sharing great stories in great ways.Welcome to the online treasure trove of The Story Museum’s collection.
About The Story Museum
Based in the heart of Oxford, we’re a museum dedicated to the magic of stories – how they connect us, inspire us, and spark imaginations. Our mission is to build a collection that reflects every child, celebrates the rich history of storytelling, and showcases stories in all their marvellous forms and genres. As a charity, we harness the power of stories to boost literacy, wellbeing and creativity in children and young people.
Browse All Stories
About this website
The 1001 Stories is a story finding resource for educators, parents and carers, showcasing The Story Museum’s collection of great stories to grow up with. The site provides a synopsis of each story, links to supporting resources which might include a recording of an oral story, a lesson plan or an activity to try at home, or ways to further explore a story and/or author. The site also features creative responses from children and young people such as zines, podcasts and book reviews. Where relevant, stories link to objects and displays featured in the physical Museum.
Curating the collection
All the stories in the museum collection are identified in consultation with advisors, partners and audiences, including:
- children and young people (find information about our Youth Collection Ambassadors and Collections Club here)
- those working in the field of story making (storytellers, authors, illustrators, publishers, film makers etc),
- those studying and commenting on story (academics, researchers, journalists, students)
- those working in professions where stories are central (teachers, librarians, booksellers)
We track the history of stories made for children
Our collection also celebrates the roots of storytelling – the journeys, the turning points, the changemakers. We dig deep by:
- Conducting research into the history and evolution of children’s stories.
- Consulting experts across literature, education, publishing, and more – to spotlight influential works that may not have wide popular appeal today.
- Recognising that historical and cultural impact is just as important as current popularity – some stories deserve a place because of how they changed the game, even if they’re less read now.
What makes a great story?
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to what makes a story great – and that’s the magic of it. To help us decide on what to include we:
- look for patterns in feedback from children, families, and gallery visitors – are lots of people loving the same tale?
- Equally, a passionate case made by a young person or group (like our Youth Collections Ambassadors or Collections Club) can be a powerful sign of impact.
- We also use promoter-style scores (e.g., “Would you recommend this story to a friend?”) to help us measure enthusiasm
Meet the Collections Manager
Meet Cath Hogan, Collections Manager at The Story Museum. Cath was interviewed by young people and talks about her role at the museum, the 1001 collection - and what scary stories we can find in the museum!
