Canberra’s national institutions are closed to the public during lockdown, but their websites offer plenty of ideas to keep youngsters occupied. Pay them a visit – online!
Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD)
Federal Parliament is sitting next week, and children can learn about our political system at Old Parliament House’s living museum of social and political history – the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD).
The award-winning OnAir PlayUp series is aimed at pre-school children. Each episode includes facilitated activities, and is accompanied by a downloadable guide (that includes helpful craft instructions!).
The episodes are themed, so you’ll find something to suit your family’s interests and they’re all packed with games to play, books to read, and songs to sing, a MoAD spokesperson said. Recent topics include National Threatened Species Day, World Humanitarian Day, National Science Week, National Tree Day, and the International Day of Friendship.
MoAD also has learning resources aimed at primary and secondary students learning about Australian democracy; topics cover women in politics, civics and citizenship, sustainable change makers, how young people can make a difference, and more. There are digital workshops, activity sheet downloads, online image galleries, podcasts, and plenty of practical resources.
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia has fun at home DIY activities for children and families – ideal for hands-on kids. Make a box car, paintings, puppets, toy theatres, woven animals, sculptures, and toys using materials found at home and in nature. (Videos online.)
The Museum from Home has much to engage both adults and children. You can explore the collection and exhibitions through broadcasts and recorded Q&A sessions with curators and staff; find out about the Museum’s car collection; or learn about key people and defining events in Australian history.
If you’re looking for engaging activities linked to the Australian curriculum, the Digital Classroom features learning modules, games, quizzes, and primary sources that can be filtered according to a child’s year level and area of study. Students can learn about prehistoric Australia, the struggle for Indigenous rights, Ned Kelly, the gold rush, and more, or journey through Australian history.
“At the National Museum of Australia, we care about all the people at home, and hopefully these will give them some ideas of activities to do during lockdown,” said Senior Families programmer, Amanda Coleman.
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia offers art activities and learning resources, virtual tours and a gallery walkthrough, and documentaries.
Artist activities, developed by artists in collaboration with the NGA’s learning team, are guaranteed to bring out the artist in everyone. From making koalas to crafting Ned Kelly masks, these activities often use materials you can find around the home, so will keep the whole family entertained.
Students of all ages can learn about art and artists with the NGA’s extensive range of online and classroom resources. They can take a Virtual Interactive Lesson of Sidney Nolan and Ned Kelly or meet Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhale family and investigate concepts of love, care and responsibility in relation to ourselves, families and the wider world.
You can take a virtual tour of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander galleries and see the world’s largest collection of Australia’s First Nations art from your own device, or reconsider Australia’s history of colonisation through a presentation of 19th-century Australian art informed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists.
There are also documentaries on five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and on the significance of Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles, Canberra’s most famous painting, then the most expensive American painting ever sold.
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial has an extensive learning from home section for schoolchildren on their website. It includes classroom resources, a section for arts and crafts, a virtual tour of the Memorial, and a variety of Online Exhibitions directed at school aged students.
The Virtual Tour is a great way to view the Commemorative Area and view the Pool of Reflection and the Roll of Honour, said a Memorial spokesperson.
Teachers, students, and parents can find:
- Tiny Tours – short films for early learners which encompass a tour and craft activity
- Virtually There – 30-minute films that encourage primary and secondary students to explore the Australian War Memorial and its collection
- On Closer Inspection – take a look inside some of the Memorial’s large technology objects
- Virtual visit – use Google Street View to explore the Memorial at your own pace
- Art of Nation – explore photographs and works of art in the way that Memorial founder Charles Bean had intended, in the space that he designed in 1919
A high school teacher got in touch with the AWM last lockdown to discuss how he could use the Memorial’s Education resources, the spokesperson said. He organised a “digital scavenger hunt” for his students. They used Google Street View to find some objects on display, and Art of Nation to find some specific art works and photographs that related to their unit of work.
There is also a really interesting section of Stories of people who have served for Australia. It includes stories from World War I and World War II, stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wartime service, and post-1945 conflicts .
For older children, there are podcasts through the ‘Museum at Home’.
They can also research veterans in their families and view their photographs and stories.
Another page to highlight is the 3D Treasures page which allows the viewer to see items of the collection up close and in 3D. “It’s really amazing to see the detail,” the spokesperson said.
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