The Story Museum unveils a new Choose Your Own Adventure® installation within the Enchanted Library

 

The Story Museum unveils a new Choose Your Own Adventure® installation within the Enchanted Library

The Story Museum in Oxford is opening a brand-new immersive story space based on ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’, the book series which captivated and inspired a generation of young readers throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. The installation allows visitors to choose between more than 28 different plot lines, each one beautifully brought to life in miniature by The Story Museum’s team of designers and artists.  Visitors will be able to search for the Abominable Snowman, take a terrifying trip on the Titanic, look for the lost jewels of Nabooti, and blast off into hyperspace. In the words of the books themselves – “You alone are in charge of what happens in your story.”

Daniel Clark, Director of Creative programmes says: ‘There’s such an obvious synergy between the Choose Your Own Adventure books and The Story Museum’s approach of finding ways to let people step into stories. We’ve really enjoyed creating an experience that brings the books to life in a physical space and one that will bring visitors back again and again to explore a different narrative each time’

The new space is one of eight featured “stories” in the museum’s Enchanted Library, and coincides with a huge revival of interest in the interactive book series, spearheaded by Chooseco, publishers of Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks, the fourth bestselling children’s book series of all time. The original publisher of the series in the 70s, the late R. A. Montgomery co-founded Chooseco with current Publisher, Shannon Gilligan in 2006 to relaunch the books for a new generation. Most recently they teamed up with Penguin Random House for a brand new Stranger Things Choose Your Own Adventure, based on the fourth season of the hit Netflix series.   ‘Heroes and Monsters’  is set to be released just a few weeks after The Story Museum’s immersive space opens to the public in April.

Nathan Penlington, author, performer and Choose Your Own Adventure superfan, assembled the experience by linking extracts from more than 30 different original titles.  'Like millions of children in the 1980s, I grew up reading Choose Your Own Adventure books, fully embracing the freedom of narrative choice they promoted. Having the opportunity to collaborate with The Story Museum team to bring the books to life has been incredible. The result is a new immersive space full of surprise and adventure, it's a fitting celebration of the power in putting the reader at the heart of the story.'

Shannon Gilligan, adds, ‘Ray (R.A. Montgomery) and I have always known this series creates readers. There are few things children have agency over, and the ability to make choices in CYOA books empowers them.  Again and again, I have heard testimony from really accomplished and impressive adults that Choose helped them develop a life-long love of reading.   We are absolutely honored the series is being celebrated in a way that mirrors the testament of choice for which the series is famous.’

Choose Your Own Adventure is included within a Galleries ticket to The Story Museum. Tickets cost £12 per person and can be booked online at www.storymuseum.org.uk, by calling the Box Office on 01865 807600 or in person at The Story Museum Pembroke Street, Oxford OX1 1BP

The Choose Your Own Adventure story space is supported by Chooseco.

For further information or to request images please contact marketing@storymuseum.org.uk or call 01865 790050.

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NOTES TO EDITORS 

About The Story Museum

The Story Museum is a most unusual museum in the heart of Oxford.

The Museum aims to enrich lives, especially young lives, through story. The Museum was established to ensure that everyone can enjoy and benefit from engaging with great stories and create stories of their own in a place full of wit and wonder.

Highlights include a Whispering Wood, an Enchanted Library and Small Worlds, a dedicated space for younger children as well as a 100-seat theatre, a learning studio and a temporary exhibition space. In addition to welcoming public visitors and school groups to its Galleries, the Museum also delivers an extensive public programme, including skills courses, workshops, drop-in activities and access visits for those wanting to enjoy the Museum in a more relaxed way, alongside a programme of funded community and school participation projects with targeted groups. The Museum attracts up to 100,000 visitors a year. Please visit our website for more information and details of museum/shop/café opening hours. 

Website: www.storymuseum.org.uk

Instagram: @thestorymuseum

Twitter: @TheStoryMuseum

Facebook: @TheStoryMuseum

Youtube: storymuseum 

About ChooseCo

Chooseco is a purpose-built publisher that relaunched the ground-breaking Choose Your Own Adventure series of interactive gamebooks in 2006. Since then, Chooseco has sold over 15 million copies of original bestselling, and all-new books. The series has been translated into 40 languages. Over 270 million books are in print worldwide. www.cyoa.com