Other Worlds: the rooms

secrets, clues and stories

More than 25 rooms, each with a story to tell. These are just some of the secrets that have found their way out...a few at a time (for Quick Links see panel, right). The rest await your visit.

Don't forget to visit @TheStoryMuseum #Otherworlds. We'll post up individual Twitter feeds over the next few weeks.

a crafty fag

Roger Horberry, Andrew Hulme, Alex Walker

When Bob, GPO maintenance man and the longest serving employee in the place, emerged from his attic he always looked a lot healthier than when he went up – refreshed, you might say. So what exactly was he doing when he nipped off “for a crafty fag”? He most definitely isn't what he seems. Why don’t you have a look through the periscopes and decide for yourself?

the National Audio Sneeze Laboratory

Chris Davenport, Ian Styles

Every sneeze contains a story, and here’s the scientific laboratory evidence to witness it and prove it. Learn about nasal tradition and incredible new discoveries made around the spread of stories, where they come from, and how they go viral. Look into the microscopic biology of a story, and see a remarkable new sneeze processing technique which turns a latent, hidden story into a developed, visible story.

after Davy

Claire Falcon, Michael Hirschl

A wooden hut, a door ajar, what’s inside? Rustle through the leaves underfoot to see. School can be a scary place. Dangerous, even. When a young boy loses his beloved elder brother in unexplained circumstances, he finds solace in their hut in the woods. Even there the world closes in – but as the crisis comes, he finds unexpected strength.

the drawing room; the writing room

Susan Moxley, Tessa Paul

Express your inner dreams artistically in a room for drawing out stories and one for writing them.

In the Drawing Space, etchings, drawings and video encourage visual narratives. In the Writing Space, written quotes and thoughts provoke storytelling, showing that imagination can go anywhere and everywhere.

the time traveller's bureau

Anelia Varela (lead writer, Dark Angels), David Varela (writer) Shaun Lawley (designer)

Where do you hope to be next year? Who do you want to be? What are you looking forward to? What are you worried about today? What promises have you made? Surprise yourself. Remind yourself. Inspire or reassure yourself. Write a letter to your future self and post it on your way out. In early 2013, your letter will appear through the post on your doormat – a message from your past self.

where do lost things go?

Lizzy Tinley, Murray Allen

Paragraph: Lost things are everywhere until they become found. Meet Eileen. She’s the manager of The English Society of Lost Things Found. But she likes to think of herself as ‘The Keeper of Lost Things’. It’s Eileen’s job to return things of value to their owners. Every found item is categorised and filed, ready to be returned to their owners... Room 38 is where it all happens. This is a story about the secret lives of everyday things…

build your own story

Heather Atchison, Rachael Dinnis, Paul Reeves

Fun with beginnings, middles and endings. Three rooms: together they make a three-part story, created by you.

are you looking at me funny?

Nick Parker, Brendan Lancaster

The Story Museum has many hidden faces. We've revealed some of them in our portrait gallery...

half heard, in the stillness

Stuart Delves, Catriona Taylor

In the middle of a darkened room hangs a solitary swing. A sentence is scratched into the wood of the seat. On the seat is  a hand-made book containing six poems and illustrations of children. A film of light through trees, the sound of children’s voices: all evoke the lost domain of childhood.

is my secret safe?

Gerry Blackburn, Martin Lee

It starts with a confession that’s not ended – but there’s a key to this story that might not leave you feeling safe.

Pick a key, read a confession… to find out the secret of the story ending, you need to match the key to its box in the vault.aims to inspire people to a greater love of words and language in business and in life.

the invisible woman

Rachel Francis, Finn Francis, Becky Doyle, Sue Palmer

Adam Smith published Wealth of Nations in 1776, but even as he laid the foundations for our economic system today, what was his mother up to?

An imaginary tale featuring Adam Smith’s mother, Margaret Douglas Smith. Set in Kirkcaldy 1776, this is a story of intrigue, nakedness, Calvinism, mulberry bushes, compost and the wealth of nations. The conclusion may surprise.

authorised personnel only

Andy Milligan, Dave Brown

Six stories of people who were responsible for security in the building. Humorous, historical, coincidental and strange, each explores how being authorised and authorising affected their lives. You can hear their voices, recorded and played in the gloom of the former security office while the old monitor screen of the closed circuit television system flickers pictures of the building today.

the Queen of Found Objects secret store room

Philippa Cowley-Thwaites, Julie Brooker

Every object tells a story. Enter the world of the Queen of Found Objects and tell a few of your own.

Follow the clues to stories being made. The Queen is on a quest to find objects with a story to tell. Enter her secret world and look around her store room. You’ll find some special objects behind glass, with stories to tell –and maybe inspire you to make up some of your own.

the day of the door

Jamie Jauncey, The Flower Appreciation Society (Ellie Jauncey & Anna Day)

A race of tiny people grows plants up a cliff face to reach a mysterious door.

The Day of the Door is an annual ceremony in which the Babatuni, a peace-loving race of tiny florivores, make a symbolic attempt to reach the mysterious Door, set high in the face of a cliff. Earlier in their history, their ancestors tried repeatedly to reach the Door but no matter how hard and ingeniously they strove, it remained forever beyond their reach. Will this be the year when The Door finally reveals it secrets?

the word storm

Alix Harwood, Elen Lewis

Another world, filled with word rain and the sounds and sights of a night storm.

Rain and light pour through a gaping hole and overflow creating a glowing silver column… a pathway to another world, with strings and tidemarks of words hanging and stretching to the walls. Visitors can fill the gaps in the text with their own word storms.

the story angels

John Simmons, Anita Klein

Painted angels and a spoken story welcome you to the world of storytelling. In the exhibition's entranceway angels rise and fall all around you, reflecting the seasonal cycle and its archetypal links to all storytelling.

a mystery

Paul Redstone, Paul Strange

What happened to the room and its occupant? Find the clues, piece together the story: a dimly-lit room,  eerie shadows. Maybe you saw something moving in the corner of your eye? You hear sounds but can’t quite make them out. In the middle of the room there’s a table and chair. An unfinished cup of coffee: is it still warm? Papers and charts; scientific equations. What do they mean? Now you can definitely hear voices...