The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, HP16 0AL
Nestled in the high street of the charming village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, can be found a museum unlike many others. This museum has children at its heart, and seeks to inspire visitors to tell their own stories and become real-life authors themselves, through discovering the world of Roald Dahl.
The award-winning museum, aimed at 6 to 12 year olds and their families, is currently celebrating its 10th birthday. It is by no means large, but manages to pack a lot into its three galleries.The first of these is named ‘Boy Gallery’, in reference to Dahl’s autobiographical book of the same name. Stepping through the large chocolate doors, you will discover how Roald’s experiences at school inspired many of his stories. Among the photos, funny anecdotes, and letters from the archive, are interactive displays that will keep both adults and children amused through touch screen and hands-on activities.
Moving on to the second gallery; ‘Solo’, again a reference to Dahl’s book ‘Going Solo’ that describes his adventures as a pilot, there is lots to explore. Our party included 4 boys between the ages of 5 and 12, and all of them were clamouring to explore the cockpit of a World War Two Gladiator plane, a copy of the one Roald flew, before measuring themselves up against Dahl’s characters to find out if they were as tall as an Oompa Loompa or The Grand High Witch! But, the most fascinating exhibit for me was the‘Writing Hut’. The museum carefully and painstakingly removed the actual interior of Roald Dahl’s favourite place to write, namely the shed in his garden, and transported it piece by piece to the museum. It is full of curios and pictures and then there is Roald’s writing chair and lamp. It doesn’t take much to imagine the man himself sitting there at work. The gallery is also packed with interactive screens, displays and activities that invite you to discover facts about the stories, watch animations, and even test your spark factor on a ‘Sparkometer’!
The third gallery named ‘The Story Centre’ is a place for imaginations to run free.You could easily spend an hour or more in this gallery alone; there is so much to do. Technology is cleverly used to inspire creativity; through the ‘stop frame animation‘ activity that kept our group captivated for what seemed like hours, to the cinema area where a film plays of various well known children’s authors talking about how they get their ideas. There is also the chance to dress up as characters from Dahl’s stories, invent your own made up words, cut and stick your own character and sit in a replica of Roald Dahl’s writing chair.
The museum extends into an attractive courtyard area, where there is a cafe´, shop, and areas for workshop and craft activities; namely Miss Honey’s Classroom and George’s Crafty Kitchen. The museum offers a comprehensive programme of special events for visitors at a small additional cost; anything from songs and storytelling, to cookery, circus skills and crafts - there is something to entertain almost everyone! For details of these special events check out the website at www.roalddahl.com/museum. On the day we visited, we had not booked a special event, but there was storytelling going on in Miss Honey’s Classroom (these sessions are free and run at weekends) which we joined in with. The children thoroughly enjoyed getting involved with tales from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes, led by a very enthusiastic and energetic ‘storyteller’.
In spite of my 41 years, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the museum. I was, and still am a great fan of Dahl’s stories, having read them as a child myself and revisited them more recently with my own children. Many would argue that Dahl is the best children’s author of our time, and with so many of his stories being made into films and musicals, his popularity lives on. If you have enjoyed any of his stories, or if you have school-aged children, then a visit to the village he called home for 36 years, and the museum within it, will be time well spent!
Admission charges: £6.60 adults, £4.40 children aged 5-18.
For further information visit: www.roalddahl.com/museum