Norma lives in another [[world]], far away from our world. In her world there are no adventures, no new ideas, and no wonderful inventions. This is because no one in her world is ever [[brave and curious.->brave or curious]]But Norma is different. Deep down inside, there is a part of her that wants to know what things are and [[what they could possibly be,]] but no one in her world understands. And so she feels quite [[alone.->alone]]One day as Norma was walking down her grey street she noticed something strange. A corner of something sticking out from behind a grey block. It was bright blue. When she saw it, that deep-down part of her started to wonder what it could possibly be… so she gathered up all of her bravery and she [[investigated!->investigated]]She found a suitcase. An old, battered, bright blue suitcase and on the top of it were some words:
[[BRAVE AND CURIOUS]]For a reason she couldn’t explain, these words made Norma excited. They seemed to be [[for her]].She took the suitcase home and hid it [[at the bottom of her grey bed]] and went downstairs to eat [[dry toast]] with everyone else.That night she when everyone had gone to sleep she pulled out the suitcase and wondered what was inside.
BRAVE AND CURIOUS
Somehow it seemed like an instruction.
Well she was already curious about what was inside.
Now she would be brave and [[open the lid…]]Inside there was a letter. And on the envelope it said:
//To Norma, the brave and curious girl//
She [[opened it…]]
//Dear Norma,
This is the Museum of Brave and Curious.
It only exists when you are brave and curious. It hasn’t been to your world for a very long time. The Museum would like you to make it more incredible. You are its new curator.
If you look inside the suitcase you will find some things that will help you.
Good luck [[Norma]],
The Museum of Brave and Curious//Norma wondered what the letter could possibly mean. How could a suitcase also be a museum? It was unlike anything she had thought of before.
Her world was just [[not like this.->not like this]] She slid the letter back into the envelope and went to put it back in the empty suitcase…
But now the suitcase [[wasn’t empty.->wasn’t empty]] Now there was a folder and it was bulging with papers, [[records]], old drawings, photographs…At the top of these there was a report.
It was about the last time the Museum of Brave and Curious had appeared. It described the visit of a group of incredibly brave and curious explorers to the Museum. It mentioned a little boy called Norman, and how the explorers had shared their memories and their songs, transformed into characters, made exhibits, told stories, built a museum of dust… So many [[strange things.->strange things]]Each time she looked into the Museum suitcase there seemed to be slightly [[different]] things in there...There were descriptions of previous curators, those who had come before, who each had their own ways of being brave and curious.
Each curator had looked after the Museum and each curator seemed to have gone on to have incredible adventures, invent marvellous things, think wonderful thoughts. And every single [[curator]] was a child, just like Norma.The more she investigated the more [[full and strange]] it became...In a little pocket in the inside of the suitcase there was a small book titled:
//Brave and Curious Journal//
It looked like it needed to be filled – [[but with what?->but with what]]She got the feeling that there was an endless amount of wonder, as if the more she thought about it the more [[intricate->possibilities]] the Museum became.Suddenly Norma felt overwhelmed, this all seemed too big for her to take on alone.
She knew that she would need [[help.->help]] But no one else in her entire world was even one bit brave and curious.
[[Who]] would know how to help?
She didn’t know what to do. She tried thinking about what she had found in the Museum so far.
Then she remembered the [[explorers]] from the report, the ones who had visited the Museum of Brave and Curious. She checked the report again.
On the back of the report there was a table with two columns – one for ‘Explorer Name’ and one for ‘[[Address]].’ There they were, the names and addresses. The addresses were in a strange form that she hadn’t seen before with symbols like @ and . in them. She was starting to understand the strange ways of the Museum of Brave and Curious. She was getting the feeling that it was giving her just what she needed.
She [[looked]] inside again.Sure enough she noticed an unused envelope in the suitcase.
It had a [[stamp]] on it.
Inside the envelope was a sheet of writing paper with a big white space for a letter. So she began to write a [[letter]] to the explorers, asking for their help.It was a special stamp, with a picture of the museum and a little hot air balloon on it. Maybe that was how the [[letter->looked]] would travel? By balloon?//Dear Explorers
I don’t know how this letter will get to you but I hope it does.
I come from another world.
In my world no one is brave and curious, except perhaps for me. I have found a suitcase which says it is the Museum of Brave and Curious and that I am its curator now. I think it's too much for me alone, I haven't had much practise at being brave and curious, and no one here can help me.
Would you help me curate the Museum of Brave and Curious? I am starting to understand it but it’s a bit hard to explain. I think the more I can put in my journal the more beautiful the Museum of Brave and Curious will become.
I will try to show you things from the museum by putting them in this special envelope and sending them to your strange addresses. If it works I will show you all the things I have found but the most important one so far seems the be the journal.
The Museum is already growing full of wonders and I am excited to see what will happen with your help. I expect you know some very brave and curious people. I think the more people you can find who want to help the more amazing it could become.
Yours
[[Norma->finished]]//
As she finished writing she saw, printed at the bottom of the letter paper, a question:
//Would you like the recipient of this letter to see the story of how you found the Museum of Brave and Curious?
[[Yes]] or [[No]] ?//
She circled 'Yes', put the letter into the envelope, wrote all the names and strange addresses on the front and put it into the suitcase. Then she shut the lid of the suitcase and as she went to sleep in her grey bed she wondered how her letter would reach the explorers in another world and [[she hoped for a response…]]Yes, seriously, if you are never brave and curious this is what you end up eating. It was hard being Norma. To be honest she couldn't wait to go to bed and [[investigate the suitcase...->at the bottom of her grey bed]]As she thought about [[all the things that could possibly be->intricate]] in the Museum of Brave and Curious, her head began to swim...Let's have a little look inside her brain for a second:
"Hmm I know thats a bundled up leaf, but I wonder if it could possibly contain Rick Stein's Fossilised lunch? And I know that is an empty glass jar, but perhaps it could be a jar that gives you whatever you desire. And it's obvious that this is a small red oil can, but I wonder if it could possibly be the oil can for a gnomes morotbike?..."
How [[curious!->brave or curious]]Her pen hovered over the 'No'.
"Maybe they wouldn't be interested," she thought. But then she thought about how fearlessly they had explored the Museum of Brave and Curious. She realised that they would definitely want to hear a story as unusual as hers. Her pen swang back to the '[[Yes]]'...***A special message from THE MUSEUM OF BRAVE AND CURIOUS***
The Museum of Brave and Curious is very excited that Norma has been able to get in touch with you.
We hope to build a culture of being brave and curious.
It kindly requests that you help Norma in her explorations of becoming more brave and curious by sharing your own explorations. You can share them by making your own Brave and Curious Journal. There are instuctions among the artefacts at the website linked below.
Please begin your own Brave and Curious Journals and send them to the Museum so that it can share what we are all discovering together. You can send them by electronic mail.
The museum has also created a Facebook page so that you can share your explorations more directly with the community of explorers. Please have a look in the Journal section of the website to find a link for that.
To find artefacts from the Museum that will aid you please follow this link -> (link:"to the Museum archives")[(gotoURL:"InvolvedSchools.html")]
The password is: braveandcurious
You can get back to this story and read it again at any time from the "The Museum's Story" page on the website.