SPRING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
Odd Things & Lost Things
Tuesday 6th—Friday 9th October, 2009
Tuesday 13th—Friday 16th October, 2009
Something odd is stirring at the Powerhouse Discovery Centre these school holidays! Enjoy programs themed around The Odditoreum, a display of weird and wonderful curiosities from the deep vaults of the Museum’s collection, brought to life through fantastical stories by multi award-winning children’s author and illustrator, Shaun Tan. Holiday program highlights include our holiday show, Guess What…? You’re Mad and I’m Not!,presented by Lana Banana & Co., storytelling sessions featuring Shaun Tan’s award-winning book, The Lost Thing, a make-and-do activity, a family evening star-gazing event to mark the International Year of Astronomy and a range of educational and fun-filled workshops and other activities for children and families to enjoy.
HOLIDAY PROGRAMS
EXHIBITION
The Odditoreum
Tuesday 6th—Friday 9th October
Tuesday 13th—Friday 16th October, 10.00am—4.00pm
Come in and discover The Odditoreum, a display of weird and wonderful curiosities from the deep vaults of the Museum’s collection. Including horse’s teeth, a giant liquorice allsorts shoe, a griffin, a broom-making machine, and a magical bezoar, The Odditoreum is an extraordinary mix of objects selected for their individual peculiarity. The objects have been given a new life by multi award-winning children’s author and illustrator, Shaun Tan, whose works include The Lost Thing, The Red Tree, The Arrival and Tales From Outer Suburbia. Inspired by the ‘oddness’ of each object, Shaun has replaced real object descriptions with fantastical stories, resulting in a very potent and funny mix. During the school holidays, young visitors can let their imaginations soar when writing their own bizarre object descriptions and stories about some of the oddities, which will then be displayed for other visitors to enjoy. The Odditoreum booklet will also be available for purchase, RRP $10.00. Suitable for 5+ year olds. Free with Display Store admission.
STORYTELLING
The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan
(Duration: 30 minutes)
Tuesday 6th October, 10.30am and 12.00pm
Thursday 8th October, 10.30am and 12.00pm
Tuesday 13th October, 10.30am and 12.00pm
Thursday 15th October, 10.30am and 12.00pm
Join our story-teller for a fun presentation of Shaun Tan’s much-loved book, The Lost Thing. Hear how a young boy discovers a bizarre-looking creature which seems to be lost and how he then tries to find out where it belongs. What follows is a wonderful adventure brought to life by Tan’s beautiful images, with fun interaction for kids and parents alike! Following the story, children can accept the challenge to hunt through the Display Store to see if they can find The Lost Thing. Suitable for 3–10 year olds. Free with Display Store admission. Individual bookings not required. Bookings essential for vacation care groups of 10 or more.
MAKE-AND-DO ACTIVITY
Badge Yourself!
Tuesday 6th October 12.30pm—3.00pm
Thursday 8th October 12.30pm—3.00pm
Tuesday 13th October 12.30pm— 3.00pm
Thursday 15th October 12.30pm—3.00pm
Using drawing and a variety of paper and stickers, young visitors can create their very own button badges on our marvellous badge-making machine to take home. Easy and FUN! Limit two badges per visitor. Suitable for 3-12 year olds. Free with Display Store admission. Individual bookings not required. Bookings essential for vacation care groups of 10 or more.
Cabinet of Curiosities
Wednesday 7th October, 12.00pm—3:30pm
Friday 9th October, 12.00pm—3:30pm
Wednesday 14th October, 12.00pm—3:30pm
Friday 16th October, 12.00pm—3:30pm
Following the show by world-renowned Oddologist, Professor Ingeborg Nordfjord, young visitors have the chance to assemble their very own collection, taking inspiration from the Museum’s odd and unusual objects to make a Cabinet of Curiosities. Using craft materials, drawing and collage, kids can create a weird and wonderful miniature world to take home. Suitable for 5–8 year olds. Free with Display Store admission. Individual bookings not required. Bookings essential for vacation care groups of 10 or more.
HOLIDAY SHOW
Guess What…? You’re Mad and I’m Not!
(Duration: 45 minutes)
Wednesday 7th October, 11.00am
Friday 9th October, 11.00am
Wednesday 14th October, 11.00am
Friday 16th October, 11.00am
Join eccentric Oddologist, Professor Ingeborg Nordfjord, Curator of the Wundercammembert Facility for Odd Things in Kunstkappstromdorfland, for a madcap and fun-filled tour of The Odditoreum. Professor Nordfjord is an expert in the exploration of ‘exquisitries’, the observation of all oddities and the foundation of philosophies, the collection of curiosities and the purveyor of peculiarities! Please note that questions may, or may not, be answered! Presented by Lana Banana & Co. Suitable for 5 years+. Free with Display Store admission. Individual bookings not required. Bookings essential for vacation care groups and groups of 10 or more.
ASTRONOMY EVENING
Planets & Pizza
Wednesday 7th October, 6.00pm—8.30pm
Join us for an outdoor family event under the stars to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy! Presented in partnership with Sydney Observatory, participants can make a planisphere, a star chart used to identify stars and constellations, enjoy some pizza, and then join Sydney Observatory astronomers with their telescopes for night sky viewings and stories. The time of year is perfect to view the planet Jupiter and also the globular cluster of half a million stars called NGC104 in Tucana. Bookings are essential as numbers are strictly limited to 80. Includes pizza, soft drink, tea and coffee and admission to the Display Store on the night. Suitable for children aged 5+. $25 adult, $20 concession/child, $70 family (2 adults/2 children or 1 adult/3 children). Powerhouse Members $20 adult, $16 concession/child, $65 family. Children under 3 years free. Adult supervision of children aged 16 years and under is essential at this event. If it is not possible to view the night sky due to weather conditions on the night, an audiovisual astronomy presentation and fun astronomy workshop will be offered.
WORKSHOPS
Extraordinary & Ordinary: ‘Zine’ Making Workshop
Thursday 8th October, 10.00am—12:30pm
Thursday 15th October, 10.00am—12:30pm
Become your own magazine publisher in our zine workshop! Zines are both extraordinary and ordinary! The term ‘zine’ or ‘fanzine’ is used to refer to publications that are self-produced, one-off, handmade publications as alternatives to mainstream magazines. Generally low budget and often photocopied and stapled, zines are becoming a popular medium of creative expression. Led by western Sydney-based visual artist, Regina Walter, workshop participants will view a range of current zines and learn a range of techniques and design approaches to create their own zine to share with friends and fans! Learn how to make a zine with just one sheet of paper, explore different methods of printing from using stamps to lemon juice, and practice some basics in cartoon illustration with step-by-step drawing techniques to develop cartoon characters. Suitable for 8 to 13 year olds. $20/$16 Powerhouse Members. Bookings essential as numbers are limited to 20 per workshop.
Scratch! Animation Workshop
Tuesday 6th October, 10.00am—4.00pm
Tuesday 13th October, 10.00am—4.00pm
Presented in partnership with Computer Explorers, this hands-on workshop teaches participants the basic skills of ‘scratch’ animation—creating and editing different forms of media together. Working in small groups, participants will develop their computer skills by creating interactive stories, games and animation sequences using ‘scratch’. Create characters that can dance, sing and interact with each other and then add sound effects and music clips to create a dynamic video animation. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants can post their animations online so that friends and family can play and enjoy them! Scratch is an innovative computer programming language created just for kids by internationally respected Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Suitable for 8–12 year olds. $60/$55 Powerhouse members. Please bring your own lunch. Bookings essential as numbers for the workshop are limited to 16. Terms and conditions apply. Credit card numbers are required at the time of booking to secure places due to popularity of workshops.
Lego® Robotics Workshop
Wednesday 7th October, 10.00am—3.00pm
Wednesday 14th October, 10.00am—3.00pm
Presented in partnership with Computer Explorers, this full-day, hands-on workshop teaches participants the basic
skills of robotics. During the workshop and working in teams of three, participants will build robots with Lego® and then program them to move, dance and conquer obstacle courses using touch and light sensors. Later in the day, teams participate in a challenge to determine the best-designed robot on the day. Please note that this workshop does not include a robot to take home at the end of the workshop. Suitable for 8–12 year olds. $70/$65 Powerhouse members. Please bring your own lunch. Bookings essential as numbers for the workshop are limited to 12. Terms and conditions apply. Credit card numbers are required at the time of booking to secure places due to popularity of workshops.
Lego® Build Construction Workshop
Thursday October 8th, 10.00am—3.00pm
Thursday 15th October, 10.00am—3.00pm
Become a Lego® master builder! Presented in partnership with Computer Explorers, this full-day, hands-on fun workshop will stimulate creativity while developing teamwork and problem solving skills. Introducing concepts of 3-D visualization, participants will work in small teams to build houses, castles and towers of strength using Lego®. Please note that this workshop does not include Lego® to take home at the end of the workshop. Suitable for 6–8 year olds. $60/$55 Powerhouse members. Please bring your own lunch. Bookings essential as numbers for the workshop are limited to 12. Terms and conditions apply. Credit card numbers are requested at the time of booking to secure places due to popularity of workshops.
Lego® Robotics Advanced Workshop
Friday 9th October, 10.00am—3.00pm
Presented in partnership with Computer Explorers, this is a full-day, hands-on explorative workshop. You already have the basic robotics skills, now you can learn advanced programming skills to design the ultimate dream Mindstorm® robot, its limitations only bound by your imagination! Using state-of-the-art NXT Lego® Robotics components, participants build on their skills in robotics and programming the Lego® NXT—the intelligent, computer controlled brain of the Mindstorm® robot. It is a pre-requisite that advanced workshop participants have completed the basic Lego Robotics workshop. Please note that this workshop does not include a robot to take home at the end of the workshop.
Suitable for 8–12 year olds. $70/$65 Powerhouse members. Please bring your own lunch. Bookings essential as numbers for the workshop are limited to 12. Terms and conditions apply. Credit card numbers are required at the time of booking to secure places due to popularity of workshops.
Game On! Computer Game Design Workshop
Friday 16th October, 10.00am—4.00pm
Ever had a great idea for a computer game? Back by popular demand and presented in partnership with Computer Explorers, this workshop will equip participants with the skills to create their own personalised computer game. Working in pairs, the workshop begins with a tour of the Discovery Centre to find inspiration and then design and create your own computer game. At the end of the workshop, participants take home their game to play—with 30-day free trial software—to continue to add to and play their game! Suitable for 8–12 year olds. $60/$55 Powerhouse members. Please bring your own lunch. Bookings essential as numbers for the workshop are limited to 16. Terms and conditions apply. Credit card numbers are required at the time of booking to secure places due to popularity of workshops.
Create Your Own Storybook!
Create your own personalised storybook of your visit to the Powerhouse Discovery Centre. Write your story, add your own drawings or stickers of your favourite objects and then take home your storybook as a souvenir to share with friends and family. Suitable for visitors 4–10 years. Free with general admission. Bookings not required.
Discovery Trails!
A self-completion activity trail that takes young visitors on a journey of discovery, focused on critters and creatures, or wheels or wings in the Display Store. Collect your Trail in the Display Store foyer. Suitable for visitors 4–10 years. Free with general admission. Bookings not required.
Illustration © Shaun Tan
Spring School Holiday Opening Hours:
10.00am—4.00pm,
Tuesday 6th—Friday 9th October, 2009 and
Tuesday 13th—Friday 16th October, 2009.
General Admission Prices:
$8 adult, $5 child / concession / senior and pensioner,
$25 family (2 adults + 2 children),
Free admission for Powerhouse Members and children under 4.
Additional charges apply for some school holiday programs.
Bookings:
To book your place in our school holiday programs, phone 02 9762 1300.
Parking and Access: On-site parking available. Vehicle and pedestrian entry via 172 Showground Road, Castle Hill. Please note that there are no food facilities on site.