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our aims
 “Stories are the most important thing in the world. Without stories we wouldn’t be human beings at all.”
Philip Pullman
Stories are especially important for children. Hearing and telling, reading and writing stories develops vital skills – language, reasoning, empathy, imagination. From family anecdotes to oral epics, board books to teen fiction, stories help children understand the world and shape their own futures.
As we enter the digital age, the stories that children encounter are changing fast, both in format and content. Storytelling and books are rapidly being displaced by screen-based entertainment, a cause of growing concern.
The Story Museum aims to highlight the importance of stories – particularly spoken and written ones – for children and to demonstrate 1001 enjoyable, memorable ways of helping children learn through stories as they grow.
“All stories teach, whether the storyteller intends them to or not. They teach the world we create. They teach the morality we live by … We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. 'Thou shalt not' is soon forgotten, but 'Once upon a time' lasts forever.”
Philip Pullman
some reasons why:
Only 45% of 5-year-olds are ready to start primary school because they cannot speak sufficiently.
Office of National Statistics, 2007.
21% of children leave primary school functionally illiterate (unable to look up a phone number).
DCSF, 2006.
Half of the UK’s prisoners have serious problems reading, four-fifths with writing.
HM Prison Service, 2002.
Since 2001 British children have fallen from 3rd to 19th in an international survey of reading literacy. 37% now play computer games for three or more hours a day.
PIRLS, 2007.
Enjoyment of reading has a greater impact on educational attainment than any other factor including parental education and income.
PISA cross-cultural study, 2000.
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