A Guide for Deeper Learning

Gain a deeper understanding of the complex history and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.

Students will experience

• Travel through the entirety of the First Peoples exhibit.
• Enter Bunjil’s nest to experience the Creation story as told by the Kulin community.
• Journey through 2000 generations of farming, trade, ceremony, and creativity.
• Listen to First Peoples voices.
• Understand the impact of colonisation and early encounters on First Peoples in South-East Australia.
• Study the range of technologies developed by First Peoples.
• Compare the designs and uses of adornments, weapons, tools, and art from across Australia.
• See important cultural items and read their accompanying stories.

Students will learn

• About the diversity of First Peoples in Australia.
• The agricultural practices and technologies developed and used by First Peoples.
• How Galbaling Ngarruk (greenstone) was traded throughout Australia.
• Stories and Lore from the First Peoples of South-East Australia.
• Our shared history and Naarm’s (Melbourne) false treaty.
• The role government policy plays on the dispossession of First Nation’s children.
• The injustices First Peoples soldiers and their family members faced upon their return from service.
• How First Peoples experience and express their culture today.
• How children played and learnt from their parents.

Students will be provided

• Students will be provided with a trail booklet to guide them through the exhibition.

Students will need

• Before visiting Bunjilaka, students should watch the Bunjilaka Introduction video.
• Teachers may want to watch the videos on the Bunjilaka website, in particular Boorun’s Canoe and Representing diversity.
• Students will require pencils to write or draw in their booklets (pens are not permitted within the exhibit).

Other key information

• Visit the Bunjilaka First Peoples page to learn more about the exhibit. Students with additional needs can view the Bunjilaka virtual tour before visiting to familiarise themselves with the space.

Related links

• Teacher resources for First Peoples
• First Peoples: Language, Culture and History
• First Peoples learning kit
• Bunjilaka
• Museums Victoria Collections