Museum in a van incursion: Australian animals and megafauna

Australia is home to some of the most interesting animals in the world. This hands-on program engages children to learn about the lives and habitats of our favourite mammals, birds and reptiles, as well as extinct ancient megafauna.

Through storytelling, movement activities and hands-on exploration, children will develop an understanding of how special these animals are and build awareness of the importance of caring for the natural environment. The program features:

• A wide range our favourite taxidermied animals from the Museums Victoria collection.
• Fossil casts and full-scale representations of Diprotodon (the largest marsupial of all time), Thylacoleo (a leopard-sized marsupial predator) and Koolasuchus (an ancient car-sized amphibian)

Booking details

$250 (GST inclusive) per session, maximum of 33 participants

Read our booking conditions and cancellation policy before proceeding.

'Museum in a van' kindergarten presentations

Our travelling museum in a van brings rich museum learning experiences to 4-year-old kindergarten groups all over metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Sessions include interactive stories, games and exploring objects and replicas for strong learning engagement. Most of the items presented can be handled.

Each session is between 45 - 60 minutes in duration.

Bilingual Auslan-English presentations

Bilingual Auslan-English sessions are available for all kindergartens and schools for Deaf children subject to staff availability.

Bilingual presentations integrate Auslan signs into the learning program. The programs are delivered by an Auslan presenter in collaboration with an English speaking presenter. Through hands-on exploration, play and Auslan storytelling, children are encouraged to learn basic Auslan signs related to dinosaurs and fossils.

These sessions are available by request (pending availability of presenters) for all kindergartens including schools for Deaf children. Where possible, priority will be given to kindergartens or schools that have a child/children that require Auslan to access the program.

Social story for Museum incursions

The social story is a visual story-based resource that educators can use with their pre-school groups prior to the Museum incursion. It has been developed in consultation with autism organisations to assist children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The social story is a valuable resource that can be used to prepare all pre-school children to understand the social learning environment and behavioural expectations for when the Museum comes to visit.

The resource may be edited to suit your group’s needs or you may view the webpage.