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Visitor records broken
Bunjilaka: First Peoples exhibition, Melbourne Museum.  Source: Meredith Foley

Record education visitors at Melbourne Museum

More students than ever before have visited Melbourne Museum for education experiences tailored to the curriculum.

140,360 students flocked to Melbourne Museum in FY13/14, a significant 15% increase on the previous year.

Museum Victoria also broke its own record for the best ever general visitation numbers, with over 1.3 million people visiting Immigration Museum, Scienceworks and Melbourne Museum over the twelve month period, 7% more than the previous year.

The Hon Heidi Victoria MP, Minister for the Arts said that the latest figures illustrate Museum Victoria’s significant contribution to Victoria’s cultural life, and to the education experiences of young Victorians.

“From Melbourne Museum to Scienceworks and the Immigration Museum, Museum Victoria’s venues offer a range of ways for people of all ages to engage with our stories and explore the possibilities of the future,” Ms Victoria said.

“Museums can play a powerful role in education – connecting students to history, science, social issues, culture, identity and more, in an interactive and engaging way. It is wonderful to see that our museums are contributing to the development Victoria’s students at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, and, increasingly, with early learners”.

Dr Robin Hirst, Acting CEO, Museum Victoria, said, “Such strong visitation is a direct benefit of continued Victorian government investment in our long-term exhibitions, such as First Peoples and the Science and Life Gallery at Melbourne Museum.

“This investment allows our museums to continue to develop exhibitions that are contemporary, relevant to students and up-to-date with current curriculum.”

Melbourne Museum’s education programs, such as, Bugs, Bugs, Bugs, Our Shared History and Grandma’s Tool Box, relate directly to long-term exhibitions and are consistently booked out by schools from around Victoria.

“With the education sector, it takes between two and three years to establish and make a connection to new exhibitions and what we’re seeing now is a realisation from teachers of just how relevant the programs, focused on the core topics of history, science and indigenous studies, are to Victoria’s schools and educational institutions”, Dr Hirst said.

Museum Victoria’s Education and Community Programs department develops on-site programs at Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, IMAX and Scienceworks, Museum In A Van outreach programs across regional Victoria, extensive online curriculum-related resources for teachers and students and teacher personal development programs.

For further media information, interviews or images, please contact:
Claire Fitzgerald, PR Officer Museum Victoria 0400 130 675 [email protected]