School visits
The Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne is excited to welcome you and your students to a space that offers hands-on educational experiences that align with current curricula and are closely connected to our program of thematic exhibitions and behind the scenes with our art collections.
Below is general information and resources to help you plan your school excursion.
For further information, contact us on 03 8344 1420 or school-bookings@unimelb.edu.au
Teacher Responsibilities
As with all school excursions, the duty of care and responsibility for supervision and behaviour management of students travelling to, during and travelling back to school from a Potter Museum of Art excursion rests with the accompanying staff members from your school. Please read the Cultural Safety expectations. On the day of the program, the visiting teacher will also be asked to sign the Attending Teacher Cultural Safety document.
We also ask that you inform parents/carers and students about the Potter Museum of Art exhibition content and learning program in accordance with the information provided on this webpage and accompanying resources.
Supervision
We ask that the number of supervising staff from your school meet the Department of Education and Training Supervision requirements for day excursions of 1 to 20 staff-student ratio with a minimum of 2 staff.
Resources
Exhibition Teacher Resources
Teacher Resources contain an overview of the exhibition, curriculum mapping, discussion points and related resources for each work, and suggested activities that can be completed before, during and after your gallery visit to provide teachers with an opportunity to extend and tailor the student learning experience.
The booklets are freely available to download:
- Booklet 1: Preparatory Materials
- Booklet 2s – Case studies
- Grades 3-4: Connection to Country
- ·Grades 5-6: Continuity of culture
- ·Grades 7-8: Land, belonging and time
- ·Grades 9-10: Rights and freedoms
- ·Grades 11-12: Truth-telling through curating
Risk Assessments
These risk assessments allow teachers to familiarise themselves with Science Gallery Melbourne exhibitions and learning programs to inform their own school’s risk assessment, excursion approval and parent/carer consent processes. Please note, multiple risk assessments apply for each program, so click all relevant links.
Potter Museum of Art Self Guided VCE Visits
We have limited availability for Self-guided exhibition visits for Year 11 and 12 VCE Art Making and Exhibiting. Teachers may use the year level specific tour risk assessments and Ngarrrngga resources to guide their students through the exhibition. Teachers are advised to focus on the artworks prescribed in the Year 11/12 ‘Truth-telling through Curating’ tour resource. Please note these visits still incur an Educational Booking fee, contact school-bookings@unimelb.edu.au directly if you’re interested.
Venue and Planning information
Location
Corner Swanston Street and Masson Road, Parkville
Bus drop-off zone
The Potter Museum of Art bus drop-off zone (Google Maps Link) is located on Tin Alley, off Swanston Street. This is a shared drop off zone. Please note there is no bus parking area available at the Potter Museum of Art.
Public transport
Tram: Melbourne University, Stop 1 (raised platform). Tram stop serviced by Trams 1, 3-3a, 5, 6, 16, 64, 67, 72.
Train: Closest station is Melbourne Central, which is a 12-minute walk along Swanston Street.
Bus: Bus routes 402 (East Melbourne to Footscray) and 546 (Heidelberg to University of Melbourne) stop near the Museum.
See the University website for more details.
Meeting Points and opening hours
At the start time of your program, we will meet you at the Potter Museum of Art foyer.
The Potter Museum of Art is open 11am-5pm, Tuesday to Friday. So, if your excursion starts outside these times and you arrive early, please give us a call on 03 8344 1420.
Accessibility
If you or your students need assistance with accessibility, please provide details at the time of booking. More information about accessibility at the Potter Museum of Art can be found here.
In the exhibtion: Pathways are 1.2m wide throughout the gallery, and seating provided on each level.
Staff will assist with the movement of crowds in tight exhibition spaces. There is lift access across all gallery levels.
Lunch and breaks
There are plenty of freely accessible outdoor areas across the campus, including the paved area with benches outside the Potter Museum of Art, theStudent Precinct Amphitheatre close to the gallery, and the Oculus at Melbourne Connect, near Science Gallery. A searchable map of the campus can be accessed here
Toilets
All toilets are single-occupancy, gender neutral cubicles each fitted with hand-washing and drying facilities and have accessible facilities.
Bag storage
Students and teacher bags will be placed in trolleys that are kept in a locked storage room, accessible during programs by request to your facilitator.