Plan a family day out in historic Oxford

Oxford’s famous city streets, boasting  dozens of exciting interactive exhibits and activities, are a great place to visit with your family. With our walk-in, hands-on experiences, children can discover through play and exploration how things used to be in the olden days.

For a multi-sensory telephone experience take your child to the glass-paned red ‘box’ in Broad Street where people used to go to communicate with others. Children can try out the enormous key-pads used back in the twentieth century and, for a reasonable fee - payable in coins or by card, they can actually find out for themselves the workings of the hand-held earpiece and speaker. They will be amazed to discover where the sound comes from.

For added fun and learning, find the unique number of the box located on the ‘cradle’ and just call it from your mobile (if you are calling from an overseas mobile remember to add the international dialling code plus 44 and omit the zero at the beginning of this number). Your child will be able to hear the telephone ring, pick up the handset and hold a conversation with you.

For further entertainment, watch the fabulously British (or possibly, after tomorrow, English) dance of the window dressers just a few minutes’ walk away in the High Street.