Creation Station 

Jump straight into the pages of your favourite books with creative craft activities that the whole family can join in with. From crafty collage to BIG pictures, marvellous model making and more, there is always something new to create and take home.

All drop-in activities are included in your admission fee and change on a weekly basis, check out our ‘What’s On’ calendar for all our themed weeks and weekends.

The Creation Station is often used by school groups during term time, but don't worry, our creative craft activities are always available elsewhere in the building.

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Cafe

Put your feet up and relax in our family-friendly cafe with a selection of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, wraps and soups as well as a delicious range of cakes and buns. Entry to the café is FREE and with stunning views of the Ouseburn and its wildlife this is the perfect place to refuel during your visit.

Baby facilities are available including high chairs, buggy park, a microwave to warm baby food and access to baby change facilities.

Our café is open from 10am – 4pm Monday – Saturday and 10am – 3pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

The afternoon menu is available from 2.30pm Monday - Saturday, 2pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays, serving a selection of hot drinks, cold snacks and delicious cakes.

Please Note: We politely request that you do not consume your own food or drink in the Seven Stories Cafe or anywhere else in the building.

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Entrance and Bookshop

Yes, that's right; you enter Seven Stories on Level 3! The centre used to be a Victorian mill and we have tried to keep as much of the original architecture as possible. From levels 1, 2 and 3 you have beautiful views of the Ouseburn River.

We're very proud of our Independent Bookshop, which has been recognised by the Booksellers’ Association as one of the biggest and best independent children's bookshops in the country. Our staff are passionate about children's books, and are only too willing to help you with any book-buying decisions you need to make.

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Gallery 4: Mystery, Magic and Midnight Feasts - the Many Adventures of Enid Blyton

Opening Saturday 4 May 2013

Enid Blyton is one of the best-selling writers for children of all time, her stories have delighted generation after generation. This exhibition shows, for the first time, Seven Stories unique Enid Blyton Collection of original typescripts and illustrations.

This is a special opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in Enid’s worlds and stories, adventuring with The Famous Five, discovering Toyland with Noddy and escaping to the The Magic Faraway Tree with Silky and Moonface, all before heading to Green Hedges for tea.

Click here to find our more.

Bookden

The Bookden currently showcases 'Caring, Sharing, Gentle Words', an innovative project between Seven Stories and Action for Children. The art work in the exhibition was made as part of the Early Year’s Art’s Initiative, which aimed to use creativity to introduce very young children to words and behaviours that protect against bullying. The theme of ‘Caring, Sharing Gentle Hands’ used picture books within the workshops to highlight anti-bullying themes in an age appropriate way. Children’s books were then brought to life through activities such as music, painting and drawing.

Choo-Choo! We love our new train set which was funded by our 7th Birthday fundraising campaign. Find it in the Bookden along with stories about all your favourite steam-engines.

The Bookden is also the home of our popular Birthday Parties. Choose from 5 different themes, including Under the Sea, Damsels and Dragons and A Walk on the Dark Side.

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A Viking’s Guide to Deadly Dragons with Cressida Cowell

The brand new exhibition developed by Seven Stories and Cressida Cowell, includes Cressida’s original drawings, manuscripts and working processes from her hugely popular How to Train Your Dragon book series, which have also been made into a popular film by DreamWorks animation.

This exhibition will transprt you back in time to the Dark Ages, a world where Vikings ruled and Dragons roamed. Our hero, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is our guide, introducing us to his tribe, the Hairy Hooligans, his island home of Berk, his hunting dragon Toothless and his quest to become a hero the hard way. Join us to explore the wild dragons cliffs, sail on a viking boat and share epic yarns in the Great Hall. You can see how Cressida's series has been made into the popular How To Train Your Dragon DeamWorks film animation.

Supported by Hodder Children's Books.

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Story Lab

Britain has a wonderful heritage of writing and illustration for children. Did you know that Seven Stories holds the national collection of manuscripts and illustrations from British children’s books? Take a sneaky peak behind the walls in the StoryLab and discover some original art work and manuscripts from our Collection. Plus play digital games to test your knowledge on how we protect our precious Collection from creepy crawlies, finger prints and even sunlight!

Visit during the school holidays and you will often find workshops and film screenings happening here, check our What’s On page to find out what is coming up.

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Artist's Attic

We love stories and we bet you do too! Join in with daily storytimes in the Artist’s Attic at 11.30am and 2pm to hear some of your favourite stories and discover the best new picture books. Packed with plenty of chances to join in, our story times are fun for all the family.

You never know who you might meet in the attic, from storybook characters The Gruffalo and Maisy Mouse to inspiring authors including Jacqueline Wilson and David Almond. We host lots of special events with your favourite authors, illustrators and characters throughout the year. Check our What’s On page for details.

At the moment, the Attic has been transformed into a scene inspired by Oliver Jeffers' The Incredible Book Eating Boy! Oliver became an artist in residency during 2010 October Half Term and has suspended hundreds of books from our attic beams and included all of your self portraits!

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