Little Sounds of the City with Oli Steadman from Stornoway

Oli Steadman of Stornoway is leading a family music workshop at the Museum of Oxford on Monday 21 December, and it's one of those sessions where the kids do the heavy lifting. It's called Little Sounds of the City, aimed at ages 5 to 11, and the whole point is for children and their accompanying adults to write and perform a brand-new song about Oxford together. The song is built from the sounds and stories of the city, so it's less about music theory and more about listening to the place around you. No musical experience is needed — just your voice.

The workshop sits within the museum's Sounds of the City: LIVE programme, which runs from October to December. That programme itself builds on Sounds of the City, an exhibition of objects, memorabilia and stories celebrating Oxford's music scene that opened in July. The exhibition was curated by Beth Jones and guest curator Autumn Neagle, and it's funded by Arts Council England. It stays on display at the museum until 13 March 2027, so if you're coming for the workshop, you can easily make time to walk through the galleries before or after.

The Museum of Oxford is the only museum dedicated to the city, and it tells the story of Oxford and its people through social history objects and interactive displays across two galleries. It's located inside Oxford Town Hall on St Aldate's, right in the centre of town.

On the day, there are two 90-minute sessions to choose from: one from 11:00 to 12:30 and another from 14:00 to 15:30. Tickets are £6 per child, with the accompanying adult free, and that price includes gallery access for one child and one adult. So you get the workshop and the exhibition in one go.