Learning opportunities

A range of learning experiences on offer

The Gale History Museum at Macquarie University offers educational opportunities and resources for school and university students.

Undergraduate Learning Support

The Gale History museum facilitates gallery-based and object-based learning (OBL) tutorials for undergraduate units of study.

If you would like to request objects from the museum's collection for use in OBL tutorials, please complete this form: Object Based Learning - Request Form – Fill out form

If you are interested in learning more about how object-based learning could be used in your teaching, please reach out to us via ghm@mq.edu.au.

School excursions

The Gale History Museum offers a number of excursion opportunities for school students. Our current programs includes:

Stage 6 Ancient History core study: Cities of Vesuvius – Pompeii and Herculaneum (submit an enquiry)
Stage 1-2 Geography: Waterways as special places (submit an enquiry)
Stage 1-3 History Colonial Australia: The White Hart Inn a colonial way-station in Western Sydney (submit an enquiry)

Our rates: Our group excursion rate is $500 (excl. GST). Group sizes are capped at 20 students.

Make a general enquiry: if you wish to make a general enquiry, please email us at ghm@mq.edu.au.

Program overviews

See an overview of each of the programs below.

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Students will use material culture and object-based analysis to consider how artefactual sources can be used to interpret the past and support historical arguments (AH12-6). They will explore what objects can tell us about everyday life, economy and religion (AHCAH374; ACHAH376; ACHAH377).

Students will learn about the changing nature of excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum and the importance of these sites for the evolution of archaeology as a scientific discipline (ACHAH383).

They will gain insights into the ways in which new research and technologies are enhancing our understanding of life and society in ancient Roman cities (ACHAH381; ACHAH385).

Make a booking enquiry: EOI - Cities of Vesuvius – Fill out form

hands holding an ancient Roman coin

The program includes:

museum gallery tour with a focus on Roman objects on display
a gallery-based activity
object-based learning session in which students will have an opportunity to handle Roman antiquities and develop their analytical skills
a seminar offering an overview of the history and archaeology of Pompeii and Herculaneum led by
Dr Yvonne Inall, who will share her experiences of excavating at Pompeii with the Anglo-AmericanProject in Pompeii and their important discoveries.

Timetable

Our program runs over four hours, including lunch, commencing from 10am. Groups are advised to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to commencement to allow for morning tea, toilet breaks, etc. Students will engage in three one-hour sessions, located in the museum gallery and our object-based learning lab.

Make a booking enquiry: EOI - Cities of Vesuvius – Fill out form

The Gale History Museum offers Geography excursions for Stage 1 and Stage 2 students centred on the importance of waterways as significant places (ACHGK002; ACHGK003).

A landscape image of a creek flowing past a bank with lush, green grass.

This 2.5-hour program will encourage young learners to engage with museum spaces and the natural world. Students will explore woven objects in the museum gallery and think about interactions with the natural world and how resources may be used sustainably in everyday life.

Students will engage fine motor skills in a weaving activity, producing woven mats as an individual, supervised activity.

Students will engage in close observation of a living waterway familiarising themselves with the features of our hydrological ecosystem. This will be followed by a group activity where learners will simulate a waterways rehabilitation exercise.

Make a booking enquiry: EOI - Geography: Waterways as Special Places – Fill out form

Program Details:

Time	Activity	Description	Syllabus Link
11am	Welcome and acknowledgement of country	Welcome students to MUHM. Introduction of staff, acknowledgement of Country.
11.10am	Gallery tour	Students will look at woven objects. Students learn about how these objects were used in everyday life.	ACHGK002 ACHGK003 ACHGK010 ACHGK011
11.30am–12pm	Weaving activity	Students will weave a paper mat that they can take with them.	ACHGK002 ACHGK003 ACHGK010 ACHGK011
12–12.30pm	Break
12.30-1.30pm	Waterways talk Rivers as special places and places of importance and belonging	Students will walk to the creek in front of 25WW and talk learn about why water and clean waterways are important. Students will observe the creek and describe what they see. Is it a special place? What makes it feel special? We will talk about why these special places need to be protected. Students return to OBL lab to ‘clean up’ a dirty river and restore it by planting trees and attracting fish and birds, to make a healthy and protected river environment.	ACHGK002 ACHGK003 ACHGK010 ACHGK011 ACHGK012 ACHGK014 ACHGK015 ACHGK018
1.30 pm	Reflection and farewell

The White Hart Inn a colonial way-station in Western Sydney

Artist's reconstruction of the 19th C White Hart Inn. Illustration of a two-storey colonial inn, surrounded by a verandah.

In this program young learners will explore the past and present through the lens of the 19th century colonial White Hart Inn. Students will learn about how people travelled in the past, contrasted against the experience of travel in the present.

The Gale History Museum at Macquarie University holds the archaeological archive from the White Hart Inn site. The site was discovered at Kellyville and excavated during the Sydney Metro expansion.

Evidence of children at the site through material culture such as toys, allows learners to consider the experience of childhood in the past. Students will embody their learning through interactive play with toys and games consistent with 19th century children's experiences.

Experience of place will be explored through a storytelling and mapping exercise, allowing students to develop their own narratives about the past and the present.

Make a booking enquiry: EOI - Colonial Australia – Fill out form

For general enquiries about this program, please email ghm@mq.edu.au

Program details:

Time	Activity	Description	Syllabus link
11am	Welcome: Now and then	Welcome students to MUHM, introduction of staff. Students will learn about how people travelled in the past compared to how people travel now. Students will learn about the archaeological material from the colonial era White Hart Inn and how we can explore these traces to understand the past. Students will explore evidence of children in the past.	Distinguish between the past, present and future (ACHHS032, ACHHS048). Explore and use a range of sources about the past (ACHHS034, ACHHS050). Identify and compare features of objects from the past and present (ACHHS035, ACHHS051). Develop a narrative about the past, focussed on the remains of the past (ACHHS037, ACHHS053). Identify differences and similarities between the past and present (ACHHK030). Explore changes in technology as they relate to travel, communication and domestic life (ACHHK046).
11.25am	Play in the past, play today	Students will look at the remains of some toys from the White Hart Inn site and think about what play was like in the past. Students will play some historic games.	Identify and compare features of objects from the past and present (ACHHS035, ACHHS051). Develop a narrative about the past, focussed on the remains of the past (ACHHS037, ACHHS053). Identify differences and similarities between the past and present (ACHHK030).
11.45am	Break
12pm	Storytime and drawing	Students will sit on a rug in the gallery learning space for story time. Story highlights will be read from the children’s storybook My Place. Children will be invited to draw their place.	Develop a narrative about the past, focussed on the remains of the past (ACHHS037, ACHHS053). Identify differences and similarities between the past and present (ACHHK030).
12.30pm	Reflection and farewell

Such a valuable real-life connection for our students. Yvonne's wealth of knowledge about Pompeii, Herculaneum and ancient Rome, teamed with the way she conveyed it (clear, accessible and wittily), hooked the students in the first moments. Some students were heard to say that this was better than learning in the classroom.

Our students came for tutorial on collective memory. Using specifically chosen World War I memorabilia, they interacted with the objects to spark discussions about how collective memories are formed and maintained. The students loved the class as it prompted discussions in a unique and engaging way. I highly recommend using OBL in your classes!

The Gale History Museum at Macquarie University
25C Wally’s Walk
Macquarie University NSW 2109

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