The+National+Museum+of+Australia

__The National Museum of Australia__ 

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Location: Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula, Canberra ACT 2600 Phone: (02) 6208 5000 Opening Hours: 9am-5pm Daily (Closed Christmas Day). I visited the museum and was able to see how the teachers of two year 5 classes used the museum effectively for teaching SOSE. Throughout the excursion we visited many of the exhibitions that were on at the museum, these included:

**__Circa__ ** This is an enclosed rotating theatre that tells the story of early Australia to now. It can help students to construct a narrative overview of Australian history, develop empathy with people in the past, help students speculate about aspects of history and can be useful for teachers to develop a starting point for further exploration of a particular aspect of the SOSE syllabus.

Some of the topics included: Federation, Captain Cook, The Gold Rush, modern conveniences (television, telephone etc.), immigration, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and many more. The [|Teachers Guide] to Circa provides a range of the museum objects and useful suggestions for how teachers can effectively use Circa and incorporate this into the classroom.

Australian Journeys This gallery focuses on the connections Australia has to other countries, the interconnectedness and how they have influenced our lives today. It explores personal stories of migrants and how their objects have connected places in Australia with places overseas. In this gallery, it looks at the economic, social and political impacts this had before European settlement right through to the 21st century.

The pictures above show the layout of many of the displays in this exchibition, which i thought would be particularly useful for teachers. It displays many artefacts to do with the person or event, featured above is the story of Carmelo Mirabelli a Sicilian-born migrant who came to Australia and then tells more about their story, which the class could read and then it also describes the artefacts and continues to tell more of the story through these.

**__Eternity__** This exhibition tells the personal stories of fifty ordinary and extraordinary Australians. It's is a glimpse into Australia's past, present and future through the lives, emotions and experiences of its people. It has several screens with various stories about Australian's in history including in the section on 'Passion' is Graeme Clark and the development of the bionic ear, in 'Mystery' is Harold Holt and the mystery of his disappearance, among many others. The layout of the area and the way technology is used makes it a very engaging and interesting experience for students. Teachers can use this resource to develop the skills of communication and empathy. The National Museum of Australia provides teachers with a [|Unit of Work] based around Eternity. It involves the students thinking about the message and meaning of objects and the ways that these objects can help tell the stories. It's aimed at students in years 6-10 and teachers could incorporate this resource into the classroom after the visit to the museum.

Old New Land This gallery looks at 3 aspects of the relationship Australian's have with the land. These include 'Encountering Australia' which looks at the way people have reacted to the land and the environmental effects this has caused. It looks at the native species of animals and plants that were here before settlers and then looks at the species they imported into Australia, why and the effects they had. It also looks at 'Living with the land' which is the development of different ways of life in the various environments in Australia, it deals with Australia's climate, water, soils and the affects of the weather e.g fire, floods etc. And 'Understanding Australia' considers how knowledge of our land and its vast history has developed and changed over time, Australia has a long and diverse history of people and cultures and this looks at how people are still learning about the land and how to deal with the environmental challenges we can face. There are a lot of interesting artefacts and stories in this exhibition that teachers can use to talk about issues such as Australian animals, plants, the affects of introduced species (rabbits etc.), current events in Australian history (bushfires, floods) and many more.

Display of a timeline of fire disasters in Australia.

**__Age Groups:__** The museum offers education programs that cover various themes that are suitable for students in Preschool to Year 12. The education programs can be a useful resource for SOSE as the teacher can choose a program that is relevant to what the class is currently focusing on at school and organise the excursion to fit into a particular unit of work. These programs offered each meet a variety of outcomes in the SOSE curriculum. These include:

Australia's Migration Stories/Exploring Australian History/Exploring Australian Identities Students investigate the contribution of migrants to Australian life and study some migration stories. They are able to reflect on how people came to Australia, how attitudes have changed, changes in Government policy etc.

2. The student understands and applies the inquiry process

21. The student understands about Australia and Australians

22. The student understands and values what it means to be a citizen within a democracy

Then and Now / Icons, Symbols and Legends

Students investigate changes in Australian life over the past one hundred years. It involves students investigating and exploring a variety of historical objects from everyday life. In Icons, Symbols and Legends students investigate some iconic objects that symbolise aspects of Australian life and history. They then explore the galleries to identify a range of Australian icons, symbols and legends.

21. The student understands about Australia and Australians

Aboriginal Australia/Tools of the Land

Students handle and investigate Aboriginal artefacts and explore the diversity of Aboriginal people and their culture. The students are introduced to the concept of Dreaming through interactive storytelling.

21. The student understands about Australia and Australians

Early Contact

Students explore the impact of early European settlement upon Indigenous Australians. Students explore a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts to help them understand how people lived in Australia before European settlement.

In the Later Childhood area students will have opportunities to:

2.LC.10 conduct searches for information and uses a range of sources (e.g. information texts, maps, artefacts and images)

21.LC.3 the ways Australia's Indigenous peoples lived prior to colonization, including distribution across Australia, diversity of cultures, languages, customs, social organizations, technologies and land uses

21.LC.13 explain current and past events using evidence from investigation.

Sustaining Our Environment

Students explore the relationship between the Australian continent, its people and they consider how sustaining the environment will continue to influence the Australian experience through object handling and discussion.

20. The student acts for an environmentally sustainable future

21. The student understands about Australia and Australians

Investigating Sources Students are able to handle and investigate a variety of source materials from the Museum’s collection and are challenged to consider how reliable the sources are in telling Australia’s story.

21. The student understands about Australia and Australians

22. The student understands and values what it means to be a citizen within a democracy

The Museum also offers more information about the Education Programs available: [|2010 Booklet]

Other Information - Bookings are essential to help the museum staff best meet your needs. - The National Museum can tailor services to best suit your needs and it is encouraged that you to contact them to discuss your requirements before your visit. - Teacher-guided visits are free and bookings are essential - Prior to the visit the schools will receive an email that has important information about the visit which includes a 'Museum Do's' list that outlines the appropriate behaviour for students when they visit the Museum. It emphasises the fact that teachers have the duty of care for students when they are visiting the Museum and that all students should be in sight of a teacher or carer at all times.

Kate Bush