There are several ways for schools to visit the Powerhouse Discovery Centre. Supervised and themed tours can be highly individualised and can be tailored to each group’s specific interests and needs in order to meet Key Learning Area requirements. All visits ensure that students and teachers experience and work directly with objects from the Museum’s collection with a focus on discovery and exploration.
Teachers notes
Venue and safety information for school excursions
Display storage comes of age - Collections Council of Australia Ltd.
To enquire or to book your visit please phone the Discovery Centre on 02 9762 1300.
For further information and specific needs, please contact Lysele Assarapin, Education and Volunteers Coordinator on 02 9762 1303.
PRIMARY PROGRAMS
+ SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Fowler ploughing engine (detail)
Photo: Jean-Francois Lanzarone
Weird and Wacky Machines:
Years 3 and 4 Science and Technology Stage 2
Weird and Wacky Machines is ideal for Year 3 and 4 students studying machines and transport. This guided program relates to the Science and Technology units, Out and About, Making It Easy, and also to the COGS unit, Machines (Syllabus Outcomes PPS 2.4 and PSS 2.5). This program includes a multi-media introductory presentation, followed by a tour of the Display Store and a hands-on activity where students can handle a series of objects and models.
Detailed teacher’s notes and activity sheets are provided with your booking confirmation.
Cost: $7 Students / $4 PSP Schools. (One teacher free per 10 students)
Available: Tuesdays–Fridays, 10am–4pm
Length: 90 minutes
Bookings essential (minimum two weeks’ notice)
Life in the Past:
Years 1 and 2 HSIE Stage 1
Years 1 and 2 students discover how people lived, dressed, and travelled in Australia in the 1880s and early 1900s. This guided program is ideal for the Stage 1 units, Our Stories, Our Families, The Way We Were and Families: Past and Present (Syllabus Outcomes CCS 1.1, CCS 1.2, and CUS 1.3). This program includes a multi-media introductory presentation drawn from the story of a family visiting the 1879 International Exhibition in Sydney. A tour of the Display Store transports students back in time where they explore precious objects and early horse-drawn and steam-powered transport. The program includes a hands-on activity where students get the opportunity to examine artefacts from everyday life, past and present.
Detailed teacher’s notes and activity sheets are provided with your booking confirmation.
Cost: $7 Students / $4 PSP Schools. (One teacher free per 10 students)
Available: Tuesdays–Fridays, 10am–4pm
Length: 90 minutes
Bookings essential (minimum two weeks’ notice)
+ SELF-GUIDED VISITS
This visit allows groups to wander through the Display Store at their own pace, experiencing the excitement of discovering the thousands of objects on display. Explore larger objects such as the Museum’s transport and technology collections and discover the Museum’s treasures by opening the thematic drawers on the upper level of the Display Store.
Cost: $5 Students / $4 PSP Schools. (One teacher free per 10 students)
Available: Tuesdays–Fridays, 10am–4pm
Length: 60 minutes+
Bookings essential (minimum two weeks’ notice): 02 9762 1300
To book your visit please phone the Discovery Centre on 02 9762 1300.
For further information and specific needs, please contact Lysele Assarapin, Education and Volunteers Coordinator on 02 9762 1303.
Powerhouse Discovery Centre Education Philosophy
The Powerhouse Discovery Centre: Collection Stores at Castle Hill is the Powerhouse museum’s storage and collection care facility. Its centrepiece, the Display Store features over 3,000 objects and provides a museum like experience for visitors.
The Discovery Centre’s education and public programs provide our visitors with a range of engaging activities which encourage discovery and learning. Our philosophy is to enable visitors to enjoy and explore the museum’s collection.
The Discovery Centre presents innovative programs which provide life long learning experiences and supports teachers in the delivery of school curricula. Our ‘case studies’ enable our visitors to work directly with, and handle, objects from the Education Collection.
The Discovery Centre’s 56 dedicated volunteers and staff deliver all programs for diverse audiences.
SECONDARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS
In 2009, the Powerhouse Discovery Centre offers five new secondary school programs specifically tailored to the History, Technology and Engineering Studies syllabuses.
+ HISTORY
Photographic print, black & white, Australian Flora in Applied Art and Economic Botany courts, Technological Museum, photographed by NSW Government Printing Office, Sydney, New South Wales, October 1906 (Museum Archives number MRS 295/4/3, scan number 00221579)
Historical Inquiry: Preserving Our Past
Years 7 and 8 History Mandatory Stage 4
In Historical Inquiry, Years 7 and 8 History students take on the role of a historian/museum curator allowing them to handle a variety of objects in order to explore the nature and significance of history.
The visit begins with a multi-media presentation introducing the concepts of history, museums, and the conservation of heritage, followed by a tour of selected museum objects in the Display Store focusing on historical inquiry and the importance of preservation. The highlight of the visit is a glimpse inside one of the Discovery Centre’s behind-the-scenes storage areas, giving students the unique opportunity to learn about the importance of collection care and maintenance. This program is ideal for the Mandatory History Topic 1, Investigating History (Syllabus Outcomes 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6).
Please note that for visits booked on Thursdays only, students have the option to visit the Collections Lab to view the Australian Memorial AIDS Quilt documentation project. The Quilt comprises of 128 panels, created by friends and families to remember the lives of loved ones who died from HIV/AIDS in Australia. This provides students with the opportunity to engage with and explore aspects of current social history.
Detailed teacher’s notes and activity sheets are provided with your booking confirmation.
Cost: $10 per student / $7 PSP Schools (One teacher free per 10 students.)
Available: from Term 2, 2009, Tuesdays—Fridays, 10.00am—4.00pm
Length: 120 minutes
Maximum number of students per visit: 60
Bookings essential (minimum two weeks’ notice)
Examining Evidence: Constructing Our Past
Years 8—10 History Elective Stages 4 and 5
Examining Evidence: Constructing Our Past has been created for Elective History students, Years 8—10 (Stages 4 and 5), Topic 1: Constructing History, Syllabus Outcomes E5.2, E5.6, E5.8. This program focuses on developing the students’ understanding of the museum collection and reconstruction of the past by using a variety of primary and secondary sources.Following a multi-media presentation focusing on the history of the museum and its role in the preservation and storage of objects, students tour through the Display Store where they investigate a range of objects. A hands-on activity enables students to develop an understanding of the museum curator’s role as they create narratives by examining objects and other evidence. Students will also get the opportunity to learn about collection care and maintenance by visiting one of the Discovery Centre’s behind-the-scenes storage areas.
Detailed teacher’s notes and activity sheets are provided with your booking confirmation.
Cost: $10 per student / $7 PSP Schools (One teacher free per 10 students.)
Available: from Term 2, 2009, Tuesdays—Fridays, 10.00am—4.00pm
Length: 120 minutes
Maximum number of students per visit: 60
Bookings essential (minimum two weeks’ notice)
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Years 9 and 10 History Mandatory Stage 5
The Times They Are A-Changin’ is designed to provide Stage 5 History students with an insight into how the lives of people have changed in the 20th century. Following a multi-media presentation, students investigate heritage first-hand by handling and examining individual objects to create their own timelines and sequences of change. A tour of the Display Store enables the students to explore a series of objects which demonstrate how life has changed in Australia during the last century. This program supports Mandatory History Topic 1 and 8 (Syllabus Outcomes 5.1, 5.4 and 5.5).
Prior to booking you will be required to choose three themes from the following; Home Appliances & Domestic Life; Entertainment & Leisure; Transport; Work & Inventions; or Fashion & Design. Students will also get the opportunity to learn about collection care and maintenance by visiting one of the Discovery Centre’s behind-the-scenes storage areas.
Detailed teacher’s notes and activity sheets are provided with your booking confirmation.
Cost: $10 per student / $7 PSP Schools (One teacher free per 10 students.)
Available: from Term 3, 2009, Tuesdays—Fridays, 10.00am—4.00pm
Length: 120 minutes Maximum number of students per visit: 60
Bookings essential (minimum two weeks’ notice)
+ TECHNOLOGY
Design, Make, Evaluate!
Years 7 and 8 Technology Mandatory Stage 4
Design, Make, Evaluate has been planned specifically to target Years 7 and 8 students studying Technology (Mandatory). The syllabus outcomes covered include 4.1.1, 4.1.2 and 4.1.3.This program investigates the process of design, with a focus on opportunities for designing, factors affecting design and the importance of designers using appropriate technology and resources. Students will have the unique opportunity to be able to view first-hand the work of professional designers and to compare the processes that these designers have used for the work undertaken in their own design projects at school.
This program includes a multi-media introductory presentation, a tour of the Display Store and a hands-on activity in the Resource Room. The hands-on activity has a key focus on the environment and students will have a unique opportunity to view the EcoLogic Kit, a mobile resource developed to engage consumers on the topic of designing for ecological sustainability. Students will be able to handle many product samples that have already had a positive impact on the environment. They will learn about the crucial role that designers have in creating an ecologically sustainable future, as well as what they can do, individually, to help ensure such a future.
A highlight of the program is a behind-the-scenes look inside a storage area where students have the rare opportunity to view a range of costumes and props from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Also on display are design models, storyboards, drawings and prototypes assisting students to get a feel for the design process undertaken by designers, from the initial ideas through to the finished product.
Detailed teacher’s notes and activity sheets are provided with your booking confirmation.
Cost: $10 per student / $7 PSP Schools (One teacher free per 10 students.)
Length: 120 minutes
Available: from Term 2 2009, Tuesdays-Fridays, 10.00am – 4.00pm
Maximum students per visit: 60 (Groups will be split into three groups of 20)
Bookings essential (minimum two weeks’ notice)
+ ENGINEERING
Distance Conquered
Engineering Studies: Stage 6
Distance Conquered is ideal for Engineering Studies Stage 6. This structured program is based on the modules of Personal and Public Transport and Aeronautical Engineering. It relatesspecifically to the history of transport in Australia, traces materials choices and manufacturing methods and looks at the use of specific materials in light aircraft design.
The program includes a multimedia presentation followed by a tour of the Display Store and a behind-the-scenes storage area. The tour will conclude with a review of current transport systems and a look at possible future directions through the sociological and environmental impacts on society.
Cost: $10 per student / $7 PSP Schools (One teacher free per 10 students.)
Available: from Term 3, 2009, Tuesdays—Fridays, 10.00am—4.00pm
Length: 90 minutes
Bookings essential (minimum two weeks’ notice)
+ GENERAL VISITS:
Display Store Visit and Site Tour
History (Years 7, 8 Mandatory and Years 7–10 Elective History) and Design and Technology students, Years 7–10.
Introduces Secondary and Tertiary students to the history of the Powerhouse Discovery Centre followed by a tour of the Display Store. The Display Store provides students with a museum experience where they can see an extensive range of objects large and small, including trams, buses and steam engines. Students will also have the opportunity to get a sneak peek inside a storage area to view some of the extraordinary objects not normally shown to the public. Learn more about how museums care for their collections.
Cost: $10 per student. (One teacher free per 10 students)
Available: Tuesdays–Fridays, 10am–4pm
Length: 90 minutes
Bookings essential: (02) 9762 1300
Collection Focus Visits to Other Stores
Secondary Design and Technology students and Tertiary Museum Studies students.
These specialised visits give students access to the stores not normally open to the public, as well as the Display Store and the Resource Room. Students may look at highlights of the site and the collection, follow a theme or focus on a particular part of the collection. Visits can be tailored to the needs and interests of the group. In the Resource Room students can research the Museum’s collection online.
Cost: $16 per student. (One teacher free per 10 students)
Available: Tuesdays–Fridays, 10am–4pm
Length: 90–120 minutes
Bookings essential: (02) 9762 1300
To book your visit please phone the Discovery Centre on 02 9762 1300.
For further information and specific needs, please contact Lysele Assarapin, Education and Volunteers Coordinator on 02 9762 1303.