On Site Programs
Please Note:
Fremantle History Museum is now closed » more information.
Education Programs
Take a journey back in time with a visit to the Western Australian Museum – Fremantle History! All programs address the Western Australian Curriculum Framework. Programs can be adapted to suit the needs of Home Schooling groups, PEAC groups, Education Support classes and students learning English as a Second Language. Choose from an existing program or contact the Education Officer to tailor a program to suit your needs.
It is necessary to book for these programs at least two weeks in advance. Please advise at the time of your booking if your group has any special needs or access requirements.
Bookings and Further Information
Bookings are essential and can be made using the following contact details:
Contact:
Education Officer, (available Mondays, Tuesdays and alternate Wednesdays)
Phone: +61 8 9430 7966
Fax: +61 8 9430 7458
Email: fhmeducation@museum.wa.gov.au
Cost:
Assisted visits - $3.00 to $5.00 per student
Unassisted visits - a class donation (minimum $10) would be appreciated
All program costs are GST inclusive.
Adult supervision:
Kindergarten to Year 7 - one adult per six students
Year 8 to Year 12 - one adult per ten students
The responsibility of children remains with the teaching
staff from the visiting school or educational organisation.
Education Programs 2008
On Site Programs
Self Guided Tours
Years K - 12 1 - 1.5 hours By donation
Bookings are essential for unassisted tours and our Education Officer will be happy to discuss ideas for your visit when you call. It is recommended that teachers visit in advance to familiarise themselves with the Museum.
Tailor-made ToursA E M S S&E T&E
Years K - 12 1 - 2 hours $5
Are you interested in one of the programs but have an older or younger group? We would love to work with you to design a tailor-made program that can include a tour of the Museum followed by some hands-on activities to suit your students’ needs.
Mangles and Marbles NewE S&E
Years K - 7 1 - 2 hours $5
Help Mrs Jones do her daily chores with mangles, washboards, chamber pots and more. Then once the washing has been done, grab some marbles and have some fun. This hands-on program introduces students to household duties and children’s leisure activities from the early 1900s.
Inkwells and School BellsE S&E T&E
Years K - 7 1 - 1.5 hours $5
Wake up at the crack of dawn and help with the family chores. There’s a lot to be done before you go to school and you don’t want to be late for the strict teacher! Sit up straight and write on a slate. Practice a steady hand with a dip-pen and ink (Year 4 upwards). All set in our authentic Victorian schoolroom.
Meet the StirlingsA E S&E
Years 4 - 7 1 - 2 hours $5
Governor Stirling has been time traveling. Meet him in the Museum courtyard and then follow him on a tour of some genuine artefacts brought to the new Swan River Colony. Step into the shoes of an early settler and complain to the Governor at the colony meeting. Meet Stirling’s wife, Ellen, and share her memories of colonial life as she looks through the trinkets in her sewing box.
Captivating ConvictsE S&E
Years 4 - 7 2 hours $5
The convicts are coming! Discover why convicts were brought to Western Australia after 20 years of settlement. Listen to the curfew bell – who will be caught out after 10 pm with his ticket-of-leave? Follow the story of WA’s most notorious convict, Moondyne Joe and discover his connection with the Museum building, formerly the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum. Experience life as a convict with some hands-on fun.
A New Place to Call HomeE S&E
Years 4 - 7 1 -1.5 hours $5
Follow the diary entries of a young girl who migrated from Holland in 1949, then remember her journey by unpacking the trinkets in her suitcase. Through exploration of the Post-War Immigration gallery, discover why people left war-torn Europe, and how they made their way to our shores.
Suitcase StoriesPersonal Tales of Immigration
E S&E
Years 8 - 12 1 - 1.5 hours $5
Listen to the true story of a fascinating young woman who migrated to Western Australia in the 1950’s. The role of Ilona is brought to life as she engages the students in her amazing life story. Afterwards, through exploration of the Post-War Immigration gallery, discover why people left war-torn Europe, and how they made their way to our shores.
Fremantle Light and Sound Discovery Centre
Science for Little Bundles of Energy
S
Pre-School 1 hour $3
This special program includes demonstrations and handson activities for pre-school children, and their parents or grandparents. Things to hear include an antique music box, the Jew’s harp, the nose flute, and music made by waving your hands about in the air. Other rare musical instruments are also demonstrated. Things to look at include the zoetrope, kaleidoscope, stereoscope, periscope and secret pictures in sheets of paper.
Mysterious Musical InstrumentsA S
Years K - 7 1 hour $3
Hear musical demonstrations of some amazing, rare and historic musical instruments; including the theremin, the Stroh viol, the musical saw, the Jew’s harp, the nose flute, a harmonica that plays all by itself, and more. The stories of their invention and how each works is explained to the students. The program also includes the demonstration of historical hearing aids.
Light and Sound ToysS S&E
Years K - 7 1 hour $3
Discover a range of old, rare and beautiful toys that use light and/or sound. Hear a music box over 100 years old, a wind-up toy gramophone from the 1920s, a zoetrope from the 1870s, and various thaumatropes, kaleidoscopes, and stereoscopes. The source of energy used by each toy (springs, batteries, hand-power, gravity, etc.) is demonstrated. Many other light and sound toys are available for hands-on activities.
Movie MagicA S T&E
Years K - 7 1 hour $4
Students can explore the science and the history of the movies, from the magic lantern picture show to the cinema. They can use a thaumatrope, phenakistoscope, mutoscope and a praxinoscope to see moving pictures. They will experience the phantasmagoria, a magic lantern picture show and a silent movie. Students can also make their own zoetrope movie strip and a thaumatrope to keep.
Spectre – The Science of IllusionsS
Years 3 - 7 1 hour $3
Explore some amazing illusions, from Benham’s colour discs to colour after-images, Moiré patterns, the famous Invisible Box, invisible writing and a virtual light globe. This program also includes a range of hands-on illusions and activities that will challenge students’ minds.
The Tale of the Talking MachineS S&E
Years 3 - 9 1 hour $4
The story of the invention of the gramophone and the phonograph is told using original talking machines. Students can record their voice on a cylinder record and hear it played back, and make a working ‘horn gramophone’ out of paper.
Sound and HearingH&PE S
Years 4 - 9 1 hour $3
Students will explore the science of sound and our hearing. The program is introduced with a demonstration of some rare, early hearing aids. The sources of sounds (vibrations) and the range of frequencies that can be heard are demonstrated. The importance of earplugs is illustrated by the use of an old foghorn and a decibel meter to measure loudness. Care of ears is emphasised throughout the program.
Mirrors and ReflectionS
Years 4 - 10 1 hour $5
Explore the reflection of light using mirrors of all shapes and sizes. See an infinity mirror, real and virtual images in unusual shaped mirrors, and the mirror with a memory. Activities include mirror writing, viewing 3D pictures with a mirror, sending Morse code messages using a reflected beam of light, playing laser tennis, and attempting the famous STAR challenge. Students can also make a periscope or a kaleidoscope to keep.
Fun with Fotography NewS
Years 4 - 10 1 hour $5
Explore photography from the days before the digital cameras. Students can construct a model of an 1830s Camera Obscura, with a real lens, that actually works. They can use it at home or at school to take photographs using Smart Paper that can be processed without special chemicals. No computers or bubble jet printers required.
Light and SightH&PE S
Years 4 - 12 1 hour $3
Sight is introduced using a range of illusions. The program then covers stereoscopic vision, the blind spot, colour vision, colour blindness, persistence of vision, and colour afterimages. Students can also explore various antique optical devices, and the science involved in the design and use of each device will be explained. This presentation is set at different levels for different age groups.
The Great Morse Code ChallengeM S S&E
Years 5 - 10 1 hour $3
Maximum group size 20 students
Learn about the convicts that came to Western Australia in the 1850s and 1860s. Hear how some convicts escaped and became bushrangers. Find out about the invention of Morse code, and its importance in communications before the telephone and the radio. Then in an exciting challenge, students work in teams using Morse code to help capture an escaped convict.
Radio RadioS T&E
Years 5 - 10 1.5 hours $8
Maximum group size 16 students
Students will be introduced to the basic components of electronics, namely the resistor, diode, tuning capacitor, inductance coil, aerial and earth. Then they will assemble a ‘toilet roll radio receiver’ (crystal set) that actually works. Information will also be provided on how to build other sets. This is an inspiring introduction to the study of electronics.
ColourS
Years 5 - 12 1 hour $4
Students are introduced to the structure of the eye, and the nature of white light and its spectrum. Colour vision, colour blindness and colour after-images are investigated. The spectacular colours produced by crossed polarizing filters are used to illustrate the study of materials under stress. Colour addition (RGB) is demonstrated. Colours produced by filters, prisms, diffraction gratings, spectroscopes, Benham’s disc, and chromatography are included. Students will also make a diffraction grating spectroscope to keep.
3D NewS
Years 5 - 12 1 hour $4
This program begins with demonstrations and activities involving binocular vision and 3D images. This is followed by hands-on activities using many different stereoscopes, including some rare and historic viewers. Students view some amazing 3D images. Then they make a working Brewster Stereoscope (to keep), and learn how to take a genuine 3D photograph to view in their own Brewster Stereoscope. Group sizes of 16 students or less are recommended.
Incredible InventionsS T&E
Years 5 - 12 1 hour $3
This program involves demonstrations of some amazing light and sound inventions. These include some 1890s stereoscopes, a 1930s mechanical television set, a 1948 wire recorder (forerunner to the tape recorder), the 1894 non-visible typewriter, a 1910 Edison phonograph and its cylinder record, old light globes, the telescope, the theremin, and more. The story of why these items were invented and the science involved in each is explained.
History of Pop MusicS T&E
Years 6 - 10 1 hour $3
An audio presentation which traces the history of popular music through the 20th Century. Students explore musical trends, from sheet music and ragtime of the 1900s, jazz in the 20s, swing and big band music of the 30s and 40s, rock ‘n roll, British groups of the 60s, heavy metal, disco, 70s glamour and 90s hip hop. Classic examples of each style are played.
Good Vibrations NewS
Years 6 - 10 1 hour $5
Students will hear the amazing sounds made by singing metal rods. They can test the limits of their hearing, and measure the loudness of a fog horn. They can see the wave pattern of their voice on a giant C.R.O., and make a Zip-o-Phone (talking card) to keep - it actually talks.
Light and Sound EnergyS
Years 7 - 12 1 hour $3
This program includes demonstrations and activities that illustrate how light and sound energy can be produced from other forms of energy. It does this using both antique and modern technologies, where the science involved is clearly visible. The production, transmission and detection of light energy are illustrated. The production, transmission and detection of sound energy are also demonstrated, with emphasis on the production of musical sounds.
Science of Musical InstrumentsS
Years 7 - 12 1 hour $3
This program involves the use of unusual and historic musical instruments to illustrate Energy and Change aspects of Science. Various instruments are used to demonstrate the three things that all musical instruments must have; namely something that vibrates, some way of controlling those vibrations, and some way of making the sound produced louder. Early gramophone records are used to demonstrate the relationship between vibrations and sound, and resonance. The Stroh viol is used to illustrate how horns can make sounds louder and Chladni plates are used to demonstrate some spectacular standing waves.
From Magic Lantern to MovieplexA E S T&E
Years 8 - 10 1 hour $4
Great for Media students!
This program covers the science and the history of motion picture technology. It includes persistence of vision, the magic lantern projector, thaumatrope, phenakistoscope, zoetrope, mutoscope, kinetoscope, motion picture film, video images and more. Students will also be challenged to make a strip for a zoetrope and a thaumatrope, or a phenakistoscope to keep.
From Daguerreotype to DigitalA brief history of photography
A S
Years 8 - 12 1 hour $3
Maximum group size 16 students.
This program traces the early history of photography. It starts with the camera obscura, and explores the science involved in many of the different photographic processes. Examples demonstrated include the daguerreotype, ambrotype, calotype, tin type, and albumen and collodion photographic materials. Students will also learn about the evolution of the camera and the flash.
History of Entertainment MediaS&E
Years 9 - 12 1 hour $3
Students will experience some of the many media technologies that have been used in the home over the past 150 years. Special emphasis will be given to the impact each technological innovation has had on our leisure time. Students will see a range of music boxes, stereoscopes and graphoscopes, cylinder and disc record players, early photographic media, wire and tape recorders, the wireless, early television and home movies. A number of these historical technologies can be used by the students.
Astounding StonesPhysics and the properties of gem stones
S
Years 10 - 12 1 hour $3
Maximum group size 16 students.
A suitable context for the upper school Physics course. Refractive index, polarization, diffraction, 2 and 3- phase inclusions, hardness, lustre and cleavage are all physics concepts used by gemmologists to tell the difference between a sapphire, an amethyst and a piece of glass. In this program students will learn how physics is used to identify gem stones. Real gem stones are used in the various demonstrations and activities. This is also an ideal context for light and sight topics.