Alexandra Coke on developments at Oxford’s Story Museum

Halloween is over but strange things are happening at The Story Museum. The builders have been in since September, transforming our ground floor into a shop and café, our middle floor into a wonderful education space and our top floor into offices and writers’ studios.

Holes are appearing, walls are disappearing, the electricity comes and goes. We’re changing our pumpkin into a coach: Cinderella is one step closer to the ball.

Giving our front building a makeover is keeping everyone busy. Our volunteers Natalie and Tom joined me in October to paint and varnish three square metres of wood for comic artist Neill Cameron. Neill has turned our Pembroke Street frontage into a giant comic, complete with pirates, Pegasus and a thrilling battle. Most exciting of all: we’re collecting your dreams and wishes for The Story Museum. Do you want a room made entirely of cake? A labyrinth in the basement containing a real minotaur? Now is your chance to tell us what you would like to see: pick up a postcard on Pembroke Street, pop your suggestions in our special letterbox and they could be displayed in the windows of our telephone kiosk. If you want to get involved, either by volunteering or donating, visit storymuseum.org.uk /get-involved – and if you know of any hordes of treasure, please send us a map to them.

We’re closed to the public while the building work goes on, but selected events are still running. The Bodleian Hand-Printing Workshop is home to several beautiful antique printing presses, and you can get up close and personal with machines dating back to the 1600s. Families can learn a new skill together, and discover how early stories were printed, on Saturday, November 30. Adults can attend a one-off session on Tuesday, November 19 and there will also be the chance to sign up for a six-week course in the new year.

On Friday, November 22, we’ll be open for Christmas Light Night, serving festive refreshments in our courtyard. Join us for a glass of mulled wine, and print your own Christmas keepsake on the Bodleian’s antique printing presses. Come and say hello, find out what we’re up to in spring 2014, and learn how you can become part of the story. We’d love to meet you.