Discover Children's Story Centre is a place where children and their families can enjoy playing, learning and making up stories together.
At the heart of the centre, our purpose-built Story World and Story Garden are creative play spaces designed to inspire children’s curiosity and imagination. Our team of dedicated Story Builders guide children and families through the space and encourage them to create their own stories for Hootah, our resident baby space alien, to send back to his planet Squiggly Diggly, which has run out of imagination.
Changing once every six months to a year, our interactive exhibitions immerse families in the world of their favourite authors, from Oliver Jeffers to Michael Rosen and Dr. Seuss. Throughout the year we invite much-loved and up-and-coming authors, illustrators, poets, musicians, artists and storytellers to run exciting workshops and take part in our annual The Big Write Children’s Literature Festival. We want to help improve reading, writing, speaking and listening skills for children in fun and imaginative ways.
We also work with schools, libraries and in the local community. Last year over, 100,000 children and adults visited and worked with Discover.
In 2012 we were shortlisted for a new International Children’s Museum award. In May 2011 we won a Museums and Heritage Award for Excellence. We have also been awarded the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance marque from Visit Britain and the Learning Outside the Classroom kitemark. Time Out voted Discover one of London’s top five family days out, and named our bookshop as one of the top five children’s bookshops in London.
In 2016 we underwent a major refurbishment to our building, expanding our Story World and creating a new Storytelling space and café.
Accessibility
Parking
There are blue badge holder bays in the immediate vicinity of Discover, on Bridge Terrace, off Bridge Road, which are clearly marked. All blue badge holders can park in the shared use/permit parking bays in the surrounding streets (Bridge Road, Dawn Crescent, Bryant Street, Widdin Street, Pitchford Street) without time limit providing the blue badge is displayed.
Wheelchair users and customers with reduced mobility
Discover is wheelchair accessible, with step-free access to all entrances and a lift serving all floors. An accessible toilet is available on each floor. On the Ground Floor the accessible toilet is fitted with a height adjustable changing bench and ceiling track hoist system.
Visitors who are deaf or have a hearing impairment
An induction loop is available at the Reception Desk. To use the loop, you will need to switch your hearing aid to the “T” position. BSL interpreted performances are available for some of our events. Please check individual event information for further details.
Visitors who are blind or have a visual impairment
Certain play areas within Discover have dim lighting. If this may be a concern, please use the contact details above or ask a member of staff when you arrive at the Centre.
Multi-sensory play
The majority of play equipment and events at Discover incorporate multi-sensory elements, mixing visual, tactile and auditory stimuli so they can be enjoyed by the widest audience possible.
Animals
Assistance dogs are welcome at Discover.
Visitors with SEN or additional learning needs
All our sessions are led by dynamic and skilled Story Builders who are trained to support core language and literacy key skills. Our sessions are accessible to children with SEN, EAL & disabilities.
Story Builders use a variety of creative and arts based techniques to engage with the children in different ways using visual, auditory and kinaesthetic systems of communication to stimulate and interact with children’s individual ways of accessing and learning in the centre. The Story Builders will be on hand to support free play with family visitors and ensure that the children and their grown-ups get as much out of the centre as they can.
In a story building session, the Story Builders use the children’s own ideas from their free play as a starting point and build on what they are interested in. They use drama, music, rhythm, rhyme and call and response songs when appropriate to the group and the story. Props are used to support the visual learners and children can be involved – taking part as a character, for example – depending on their needs. It is a collective story telling session so all children feel supported by each other and the Story Builder throughout.
We have created Social Stories for our Story World and The Fantastic World of Dr. Seuss to give you and your child an idea of what spaces and sounds to expect when you arrive.
The Mighty Mega Saturday Club
The Mighty Mega Saturday Club is a club for children with disabilities/SEN and their families/carers. Our sessions provide a creative and open atmosphere for exploration, fun and interactivity, where children can take part in storytelling, music, dance, arts, crafts and immersive multi-sensory experiences.
