In which I go to Oxford and get inspired...

Today, we all woke up bright and early and went to Oxford. Again, I had no real expectations for Oxford, but I was really excited because there were lots of literary-themed stops on the agenda. Well. This may have been one of my favorite days so far. Oxford's Bodleian Library is beyond beautiful. You may have seen it in the Harry Potter movies where it is the Hogwarts Library. We all know how much I loved the British Library, and this put that library to shame. It was magical and gothic and everything a library should be, complete with moving ladders. It was a place where books are clearly respected and loved, as is learning. And, on top of all that, it is currently hosting an exhibit called Magical Books which features different fantasy elements from children's literature. It was amazing, and very well put together. I continue to be amazed by the condition of the books from centuries ago. It was also nice to see the role of the library in the exhibit.

After the library tour, I may or may not have bought the entire store. They had great library related products. What a mess. And this was the sign they had on the door. How could you not like this store? 

So then, comes the highlight of the trip so far. Well. The highlight of the class. Kayaking is still pretty high up there. We went to the The Story Museum. This place was incredible. Really and truly incredible. They had this amazing blank space which they were dedicating to story telling. They had originally planned to be an organization that promoted literacy, however when they started working with teachers they realized that children do not have a strong enough vocabulary to understand the stories they were hearing. And so they began a story telling workshop in which children can listen to stories, act them out and re-tell them in various ways to increase their vocabulary. They had the left over props from an Alice in Wonderland day held this past weekend, which showed that this must be an incredible experience for the kids. I was very happy to speak to Kim for a while after the tour ended, and walked away feeling very inspired. I couldn't help but compare this with the Toy Library I learned about in Rochester, in which play is fostered by lending out toys for children, or simply providing them a space to play. I feel like these two ideas have the ability to be one amazing library space. I am just not sure how that would work. 

The Story Museum also has the most amazing signs all over the place. Some of these will end up in my library. Perhaps not the smoking one...

And finally, Humphrey made the trip to Oxford as well. While he did not see any water, he most definitely feels smarter!