At the National Wool Museum curiosity is sparked and senses are engaged.
The Museum offers an exciting range of tours and workshops. Our
learning experiences align with the Victorian Curriculum, develop the general
capabilities, and draw on inquiry-based pedagogy.
In our programs students will:
- Learn
about Wadawurrung history, culture and perspectives.
- Explore
the story of Geelong and the region, focusing on human enterprise and
innovation.
- Discover
fascinating exhibits, objects and machines.
- Make
and create with wool, fibre and textiles.
The Museum offers self-guided visits or educator-led
tours and workshops, that can be modified to suit the needs and learning
outcomes of schools.
Alongside the core exhibitions On the Land: Our Story Retold and In the Factory, we
also present a vibrant program of temporary and touring exhibitions,
with special tours and workshops often developed for these exhibits.
All facilitated programs are led by experienced museum
educators and align with the Victorian Curriculum.
For each tour or workshop the maximum group size is
30 students.
However, if you are looking to bring two classes or a whole year level, please contact our Learning Officer and we can create a schedule that works for your group.
Email:
[email protected] or call 03 5272 5053
Self-guided visits
Teachers can lead their own tour of our galleries or
exhibitions. We have guidebooks to support tours of our permanent galleries.
Alternatively, teachers can use their own worksheets.
Bookings are essential to avoid clashes with other groups
and programs.
Book online
Museum educator led guided tours
Duration: 45 minutes
Students: 30 maximum
Audience: Primary and Secondary
Learning Stage: Foundation - VCE
Learning Area: Humanities, English
Our guided tour takes students through the “On the Land” and
“In the Factory” galleries. Students explore Wadawurrung Country and
culture, learn about the development of the wool industry in Geelong, as well as considering contemporary efforts to make agricultural practices environmentally
sustainable.
Our tours are interactive and we tailor them for different learning stages. Students hear stories of shearers and wool
sales, see historical objects and inventions such as the Ferrier Wool Press and
the Axminster Loom, as well as touching wool and learning about how it is
processed.
This tour supports learning about Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander histories and cultures and sustainability, as well as
incorporating critical and creative thinking skills.
Book online
Learning workshops
First visit to the Museum
Duration: 45 minutes
Students: 30 maximum
Audience: Kinder, Childcare, Playgroups
Learning Stage: 3 to 4 year-old kinder
Learning Area: Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework
In this fun student-centred workshop children are introduced
to the world of museums through interactive stories, games and object
exploration. They will touch wool, see sheep and learn about why we need
museums to take care of our special objects. Everyone will make an artwork to remember
their visit.
These sessions are aligned with the Early Years framework and encourage
students to be curious learners who explore new environments and objects to understand
their place in the world.
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Stitch in Time
Duration: 45 minutes
Students: 30 maximum
Audience: Primary School
Learning stage: Foundation to Year 4
Learning Area: Humanities-History, Design Technology
What do objects from the past tell us about people and
places? Follow the threads of time through the Museum’s unique collection items
to look at how daily life has changed. Discover the stories of human invention
and resourcefulness connected to historical objects.
Students will view a Wagga and 100-year-old quilt and will learn about the necessity of sewing skills for past generations. They will practice their own sewing and stenciling skills creating an artwork to take home.
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Woollen Wonder
Duration: 45 minutes
Students: 30 maximum
Audience: Upper Primary to Lower Secondary
Learning Stage: Years 3 to 8
Learning Area: Humanities - History, Art and Design Technology
How does wool get from a sheep’s back to the clothing rack?
In this workshop students learn about the unique properties of wool and
the processes it goes through including scouring (washing), combing, spinning,
dyeing, knitting and weaving.
Students will examine wool fibres and experiment with what
wool can do! They will experiment with wet felting and make a colourful felted bookmark to take home.
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Mapping the Land
Duration: 45 minutes
Students: 30 maximum
Audience: Upper Primary, Lower Secondary school
Learning Stage: Year 5 to 8
Learning Area: Humanities-Geography, Design Technology, Visual Art
In this workshop, students explore Wadawurrung art and early
European maps of the Geelong area to compare different worldviews and ways of
understanding and representing Country and land.
Through artworks from our collection, students learn about
traditional Wadawurrung fishing, farming and cultural practices, and examine
early colonial maps to see how agriculture, urban development and introduced
species have changed the landscape.
Students then create their own yarn map to represent a
favourite local place.
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Industrial Innovations
Duration: 45 minutes
Students: 30 maximum
Audience: Secondary school
Learning Stage: Year 7 to VCE
Learning Area: Humanities-History, Business, Design Technology
The National Wool Museum’s 1910 Axminster Gripper Loom is
one of only two machines of its kind still operating in the world. Students
will see this remarkable loom and learn from a Loom Technician about how it
works, as well as what daily life was like for workers in a textile factory.
Students will investigate the loom’s most significant
innovation: the Jacquard punch-card programming system. This groundbreaking
technology revolutionised the textile industry and later influenced the
development of calculators and modern computer systems, changing how people
worked and lived.
Working collaboratively, students will then decode their own
Jacquard punch cards, cracking the code to create a unique design together.
Available Monday - Wednesday only
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Need to know more...
Email [email protected] for further information and bookings.