Buffalo catcher, diprotodon, Frank Hurley and more

Why is there a buffalo catcher in the National Museum of Australia? What is a diprotodon? And who is Frank Hurley?

In Talking Points students are introduced to some of the highlights within the Museum's galleries in a one-hour guided tour. Students then investigate the Museum further under the supervision of their teachers.

Details

Year levels	P–12
Group size	40 students – divided into groups of 10
Duration	1 hour facilitated, plus 45–60 minutes for teacher-guided exploration
Cost	$4 per student
Availability	Tuesday–Friday, hourly, 9am–3pm
Curriculum links	Australian History curriculum links to our programs (178kb PDF)

Aim

Introduce students to the Museum's main themes of land, nation and people through a tour of the National Museum of Australia's galleries.

Structure

Introduction – students are met in the Main Hall by education volunteers and divided into a maximum of four groups.
Museum tour – students are then guided through the Museum by an education volunteer, stopping to discuss several key objects and stories in the galleries.
Museum exploration – all four groups meet at a previously arranged point in the Museum and are encouraged to explore the Museum further to build on the experience of the tour. This part of the program is supervised by the school's own staff.

This program needs to adhere to a tight schedule. Please assist by having your students divided into four groups before your visit. Each group will be given a different coloured lanyard and will follow a separate route through the Museum.

Exploring the Museum

You may like to allow extra time to visit other exhibitions and to explore other places in the Museum, such as Circa and Kspace. For everything you need to know about visiting, see Plan and book a visit.

Related resources

These activity ideas might be useful in your classroom.

You may be interested in our resources related to historical skills.