Before visiting the Museum

We encourage teachers and group leaders to integrate a visit to the Museum with a topic or theme students are studying at school in order to maximise the learning experience of the excursion.

The Teacher Resource Pack you can download contains a number of topics or themes the Museum is offering as a led activity.

Currently, the Museum offers three education programs, which are a combination of a led and self-led activity:

• Pirates
• Shipwrecks
• Lighthouses

More programs, aligned with the Australian curriculum, are being developed.

The Museum also offers self-led activities using student workbooks for Kindergarten, Foundation – Year 3 and Year 4-6 school groups. Depending on the duration of the excursion, it is possible to combine led and self-led activities when visiting the Museum. Often, self-led activities follow on the completion of the led activity.

You are welcome to visit the Museum to familiarise yourself with our exhibitions and facilities. Admission is free – simply show your teacher registration card at Reception.

Admission is $5 per student, teachers, group leaders, parents and carers accompanying a group have free admission. We will send you an invoice after the completion of the visit.

Further general information with regard to visiting the Museum you can find elsewhere on our website. There are tables and benches at the BBQ area inside the Museum premises where students can have morning tea or lunch.

Prior to visiting the Museum, we suggest that you:

• Share the purpose and objectives of the planned excursion with students (why are we going?)
• Organise groups – the ideal group size is about 30 students per teacher or group leader (how will we be visiting?)
• Familiarise students with what a museum is all about and what to expect at the Maritime Museum (what is a museum?)
• Share the proposed excursion timetable with students and group leaders (what will we be doing?)

Make a booking

We encourage you to contact the Museum via telephone or email before making a booking to ensure that the proposed excursion date does not clash with visits by other groups or activities planned at the Museum.

Download school booking form

Once a date has been confirmed, please download, fill out, scan and email the School Booking Form.

Plan your visit

Before embarking on your excursion, please:

•  Download and print the Museum’s WHS Conformity Statement that identifies hazards and risks when visiting.
• Organise your groups.
• Prepare your resource materials, e.g. notes, student workbooks, pencils.

Download WHS Conformity Statement

Upon arriving

• A staff member will meet you at the main entrance gate to direct you to the tables and benches of the BBQ area where students can safely leave behind any school bags.
• Students will then assemble in the Reception area of the Museum before the start of the led or self-led activity. They should bring along their pencils, notes and other resource materials.
• The person at Reception will note the number of students (for invoicing) and number of accompanying adults (for statistics).

Once you have arrived

• A staff member will welcome the students with their teachers, group leaders and other accompanying adults and do a housekeeping and safety briefing, which includes emergency evacuation procedures.
• The led or self-led activities then begin.
• Morning tea, lunch and other breaks are guided by the timetable for the excursion.
• Students must stay within the Museum precinct.
• Students and adults are welcome to take photos and videos for personal, non-commercial use only and share them with us on social media.

Upon departing

• Please ensure that students take along their bags and other personal belongings.
• Allow time for students to go to the toilet before departing.