Taking students on a walk through history

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Museums of History NSW educators discuss the benefits of excursions for student learning

FOR CHILDREN, an excursion is often the most memorable day of their school year. Though COVID-19 put physical trips on hold, sites across Australia are opening their doors once again and are ready to add a new dimension to classroom teaching. Among these are the 12 sites operated by Museums of History New South Wales (MHNSW), which runs a broad range of on-site and online education programs. Learning manager Rebecca Kummerfeld says the benefits to students can be seen as soon as they walk in the door, as they are coming to places where history actually happened. “It allows teachers to take all of the things they’ve been teaching in class and make it a tangible experience,” Kummerfeld tells The Educator.

Museums of History NSW is changing the way our past is understood and our future will be experienced. This new ‘home’ for the history of NSW brings together the historic houses, museums and collections previously in the care of Sydney Living Museums with the vast archives and records in the NSW State Archives Collection. Dedicated to engaging people in our past, Museums of History NSW provides greater access to these assets and to a broad range of stories about our social, cultural and political histories and identities. As custodians and storytellers, we are committed to preserving and presenting NSW’s unique history. Our places and collections comprise some of the most significant historical material in the country. With this as our foundation, we bring history to life through diverse voices and viewpoints, supporting audiences of all backgrounds to gain fresh perspectives and understandings of their past, present and future.

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“You’re not just learning the dates – you’re seeing the way the bricks join together in the walls, hearing the way the gravel crunches under your feet”

Rebecca Kummerfeld, Museums of history NSW

“You’re not just learning the dates – you’re seeing the way the bricks join together in the walls, hearing the way the gravel crunches under your feet, or perhaps seeing the historic plants in the gardens that are maintained by our horticultural team. There’s so many ways to engage in our spaces. They take you far beyond what’s possible in a classroom.” Among MHNSW’s sites, some of the most popular are the Hyde Park Barracks, a UNESCO World Heritage site that gives an insight into convict life; Rouse Hill Estate, which features the restored 1888 Rouse Hill public schoolhouse; and Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta – a homestead built in 1793 for John and Elizabeth Macarthur, who arrived in Sydney on the Second Fleet and remain well known for their contributions to the Australian wool industry.

One of the most popular excursions is a relatively new program – Garuwanga Gurad (Stories that Belong to Country) at the Museum of Sydney. Developed in partnership with D’harawal Knowledge Keeper Shannon Foster, the excursion explores Aboriginal stories, philosophies and culture. “Students get to explore bush tucker by looking at different plants, and they learn an Aboriginal lore story in the most immersive way possible through a light installation,” Kummerfeld says.

“You’re really taken to another place, and Shannon is a beautiful storyteller. You watch students do the program, and it’s really not what they expect from a museum building in the city! Students go on an odyssey into another time. They explore the First Nations concept of the ‘everywhen’ – the idea that history is the past, the present and the future.” In this program, Stage 3 students studying ‘The Australian Colony’ learn about the history of Warrane (Sydney Harbour), and they undertake this learning via First Nations pedagogies such as yarning circles, making and storytelling.

MHNSW senior producer of learning programs Naomi Manning, who has helped develop a number of excursions, says they have been specifically created to align with the curriculum and give students the chance to immerse themselves completely in the site’s history. “We’ve had a lot of feedback from teachers that they want hands-on activities, so while the programs are all curriculum-linked, the kids are always doing something,” Manning says.

When it comes to timing their visits, teachers have a range of different approaches. Some choose to do the excursions at the beginning of a unit, with the idea being to ignite curiosity in their students, while others come at the end of term to consolidate students’ learning. It can also be useful to visit at certain points during the unit of study to examine one idea in greater detail. MHNSW also has a suite of virtual excursions, where an educator speaks to students on Zoom and takes them on

a virtual tour of the sites. Manning says these are particularly popular at regional schools and those outside of NSW, and some teachers even use them as a precursor to an on-site visit.

A year of research – how excursions are developed

Fitting excursions into the school year

Published 04 Sep 2023

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“The driving philosophy of the virtual excursions was that they had to be interactive. It’s not a case of just watching a video”

Naomi Manning, Museums of history nsw

“That might be role work from the past, like doing the washing using washboards. They might be using a plan of the Hyde Park Barracks and building a fireplace or wall section with foam bricks. They’re also using a wide range of authentic replicas of objects from our collection, so they’re learning to be curious and ask questions by handling those objects.”

Kummerfeld notes that all the experiences are underpinned by rigorous and extensive research by MHNSW’s curators, researchers and educators. Rouse Hill Estate is a great example, where the team drew on school policy documents from the 1880s, looked at the list of names of students who attended the schoolhouse, and researched the experiences of students and their families. They also considered the students’ ages and the farming work they would have done before and after school, as well as historical photographs, to inform the costumes that today’s students wear during their visits. “Museum educators have this enormous luxury of time and research,” Kummerfeld says. “If we are looking to develop a new program, we should expect to spend around a year doing deep research. Our programs are developed from historical evidence and primary sources. “No teacher can invest a year into developing a 90-minute experience, but we can,” she adds. “We strive to create experiences that are engaging, meaningful and memorable, but also underpinned by rigorous research.”

“The driving philosophy of the virtual excursions was that they had to be interactive. It’s not a case of just watching a video,” Manning says. “The educator speaks to the students, asks some questions, shows the kids objects and discusses them. They also show some short videos so the students can get a taste of what the property is like. Then there’s always a post-excursion activity that the teacher can continue with once the educator says goodbye.” Virtual excursions are bookable at any time, and MHNSW also runs a number of free online events each year. Kummerfeld says the goal is to make things as easy as possible for teachers, particularly coming out of a difficult and turbulent period. “We know that coming out of COVID, going on excursions is not always easy for teachers,” she says. “We really see ourselves as partners to support teachers to connect with us either virtually or on-site. Please do reach out to us to ask how we can support you in your classroom learning.” To learn more about MHNSW and its on-site and virtual excursions, click here.

Museums of History NSW: Popular sites

Hyde Park Barracks

Rouse Hill Estate

Elizabeth Farm

Museum of Sydney

sites

learning programs across seven sites

virtual excursions

Museums of History NSW: Excursions