We recently enjoyed a fantastic visit to the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, where we discovered how stories can begin with the smallest ideas and how inspiration can be found all around us.
One of our favourite activities was Matilda bag making. Before creating our bags, we explored the gallery to look for ideas and inspiration, just as Roald Dahl looked for inspiration from the people, places, and experiences around him. As we wandered through the museum, we spotted interesting objects, colourful displays, and story clues that helped spark our imaginations.
After gathering ideas, we designed and made our own bags. Everyone chose different colours, patterns, and decorations, making each creation unique. It was exciting to turn our ideas into something we could take home. Once our bags were finished, we continued exploring the gallery, learning more about Roald Dahl’s life and the stories he created. We discovered how authors often collect ideas from everyday life and use them to build amazing adventures.
There was so much to explore throughout the gallery. We experimented with amazing optical illusions in the illusion room and discovered how our eyes can sometimes trick us. We created shadow puppets, played with the shadow wall, and used green screens to place ourselves in different story settings.
One exciting part of the visit was crawling through a tunnel inspired by Fantastic Mr Fox. We also tried a voice simulator that transformed our voices to sound like The BFG. We even had the chance to dress up as Victorian children and imagine what life might have been like many years ago.
Three Things to Try at Home
1. Create Your Own Illusion
Draw a simple optical illusion or search for ideas in books. Show it to family members and see if their eyes are tricked too. Can you explain why the illusion works?
2. Make Shadow Puppets
Use a torch or lamp and a blank wall to create shadow puppets. Try making different animals or characters and then put on a short shadow puppet show for your family.
3. Design a Story Bag
Using a paper bag, reusable shopping bag, or a sheet of paper, create a design inspired by your favourite book. Add pictures, words, colours, and symbols that represent the story and its characters.