Thanks to the Museum Outreach Program, the kinder room at Broadmeadows Valley was visited by the Museums Victoria team to learn more about Dinosaurs and Fossils, Backyard Bugs, Ocean Wonders and Australian animals. There was plenty to see, touch and discover and it was an amazing interactive learning experience for the children!
As a part of the Museum’s Autism Friendly Museum project, they’ve developed some social scripts and have written a narrative of a typical Outreach program visit to assist with describing the experience:
The Museum visit to our kindergarten
My kindergarten teacher has arranged a visit from Melbourne Museum.
A visitor from the museum will arrive in a big van and bring objects inside to show my kindergarten group.
I may get to see dinosaurs or bugs or Australian animals or something that lives in the ocean.
The museum visitor may move the furniture around in my kinder room to make space for the museum objects.
When the museum visitor begins telling us stories about the objects, I will sit on the floor and listen to them.
Some museum objects may be covered so that I can have a nice surprise during the stories.
I may want to ask questions about or touch the objects I can see, but I will wait until the museum person invites me. I will take turns to ask questions.
The objects are real, but they can’t hurt me.
When the museum visitor tells me it is okay, I will be able to touch the objects gently. I do not have to touch anything I don’t want to.
At different times the museum visitor will invite us to move around. We may touch the objects, dance, play games or make noises. I can join in if I want to.
At the end of the visit the museum visitor will pack up the objects and put them back in the van to go back to the museum.
When I get home I can tell my family about the museum visit, the stories I heard and the objects I saw today.
