British Library takes young visitors on a journey through storytelling
- Opening 16 May, Story Explorers is a free, experiential space offering children aged 2-9 and their families the chance to discover the British Library’s collection through imagination and play, featuring sound recordings from the Library’s Sound Archive, artworks, prints and books from across the world
- Explorers will travel through four distinctive environments, beginning in a library, before travelling to the far reaches of outer space, the depths of the jungle, and to the bottom of the ocean floor
- The space has been co-created with local families from Camden and will invite imaginative, hands-on interactions through an activity trail.
L-R: Elephant treatise, central Thailand, mid-19th century, British Library (Or 13652 f.20); Star chart of the north celestial hemisphere by Thomas Hood, published in London in 1590
Through a fantastical environment filled with treasures from the British Library collection, Story Explorers will encourage young visitors to explore the unique role storytelling plays in forming cultures and communities.
Following a special activity trail that is illustratively led by Daisy the library cat, explorers will begin their journey in a library brimming with incredible objects, including a Victorian record from the Library’s Sound Archive featuring animal sounds, an Indonesian shadow puppet from the early 20th century and an Ancient Egyptian stone tablet engraved with hieroglyphs.
From the library the explorers will travel into space, gazing through a telescope at the full panorama of a night’s sky, before marvelling at one of the first photographs taken of the moon, almost 200 years ago by Welsh astronomer Theresa Dillwyn Llewelyn. Also in orbit will be a richly illustrated 16th century celestial chart detailing the stars above the northern hemisphere, an Arabic astrological and astronomical handbook from the Middle Ages and a Chinese oracle bone from the Shang Dynasty recording the awe-inspiring spectacle of a lunar eclipse before stepping into a giant model of the moon itself.
Leaving the darkness of outer space behind, explorers will carve a path through the verdant undergrowth of the jungle, discovering a whole menagerie of creatures. From a colourful 19th century Thai manuscript depicting elephants frolicking to a microscopic image of a dung beetle by contemporary photographer Levon Biss, explorers will marvel at how technology has helped us view the rich colours and textures of the natural world in new ways. Challenges caused by our interaction with animals with also be illustrated through a remarkable drawing of a Dodo, from Extinct Birds, by Baron Rothschild published in 1907.
From the canopy of the jungle, explorers will dive into the depths of the ocean, discovering how different cultures have used stories to capture the mysterious creatures of the sea before creating their own illustrations inspired by marine life. Explorers will begin with a map by 16th century cartographer Abraham Ortelius that depicts an Iceland surrounded with sea monsters before heading next to the Pacific Northwest and an illustrated print of a salmon, created in the style of the Haida people, an indigenous group native to North America, who believe salmon offer a spiritual connection to the sea.
Travelling across the Pacific, to the sounds of whales singing, explorers will see one of the earliest printed Japanese works that captures the anatomy of a whale, by artist Kajitoriya Jiemon, from 1794. Continuing their journey through the Seven Seas, explorers will see luminescent coral from The Great Barrier Reef near Australia, depicted in technicolour by William Saville-Kent in 1893, before arriving on the shores of West Africa, where they’ll read a beautifully illustrated story about the Sea Goddess Mami Wata, by acclaimed author and poet Véronique Tadjo.
Greeting them at the end of Story Explorers will be a giant octopus, surrounded by books for reading, containing a special star chart (2023) by artist Darren Marsh waiting to be discovered.
Nicola Pomery, Family and Community Programmes Manager at the British Library, said: ‘Story Explorers will offer families the chance to discover how stories take us on adventures to worlds beyond our own, through amazing items from the British Library’s collection. Created in partnership with a group of families in Camden who helped shape and design the exhibition, visitors will experience the joy of stories, and how they can help us make sense of who we are today. Libraries are incredibly special places, providing young readers with the opportunity to discover stories from all over the world. We hope Story Explorers becomes part of that wonderous journey of discovery.’
Story Explorers is open from 16 May 2025 – 18 January 2026. It has been co-created with local families from Camden, working in partnership with Camden Family Learning and Edith Neville Family Centre. Story Explorers has been generously supported by The BAND Trust and The Klein Family Foundation.
Notes to editors
For more information please contact the British Library press office: press@bl.uk
Story Explorers16 May 2025 - January 2026
https://events.bl.uk/exhibitions/story-explorers
The exhibition is free, but booking is essential. Booking in advance online is recommended to secure your preferred slot.
About the British Library
We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.
We have millions of books, and much more besides. Our London and Yorkshire sites hold collections ranging from newspapers and maps to sound recordings, patents, academic journals, as well as a copy of every UK domain website and blog. Our public spaces provide a place to research, to meet friends, to start up a new business or simply to get inspired by visiting our galleries and events. We work with partners and libraries across the UK and the world to make sure that as many people as possible have the chance to use and explore our collections, events and expertise. And we're always open online, along with more and more of our digitised collection.
See: www.bl.uk
About Camden Family Learning
Camden Family Learning is about empowering parents to support their children’s education at home and in everyday life through fun, engaging activities. https://www.camden.gov.uk/adult-community-learning