This autumn families are invited to tie up their togas and spend the day having a Roman adventure at the Australian National Maritime Museum as it presents a range of activities for children inspired by its major new exhibition Escape from Pompeii – the untold Roman Rescue.
Daily activities:
Kid craft activities: Roving with the Romans
9 – 23 April 2017, 10am – 4pm
5 – 12 years
Play, create and discover at Kids on Deck with art making interactive games and dress ups! Be inspired by the fascinating history of the Roman Empire. Craft your own centurion’s helmet or wreath crown, make marvellous jewellery and Emperor embossed coins or sculpt spectacular Roman inventions – from colosseums to catapults.
Science show: Empires and Eruptions! Spectacular science of the Roman World
9 – 23 April 2017 (daily except Saturdays), 11.30am, 12.30am and 2pm
How did the Romans build one of the biggest empires Earth has ever seen? Their amazing inventions! Come and discover how their extraordinary buildings, roads and water ways were constructed and how a whole city ended up frozen in time by a volcanic eruption. Enjoy spectacular science demonstrations and a cast of kooky characters in this live and interactive show.
Cabinet of Curiosities Touch Trolley – From Togas to Triremes
9 – 23 April 2017, 11am – 12 noon and 2 – 3pm
Explore the wonderful and curious replica artefacts that tell the story of the Roman world in this hands on discovery activity in our galleries.
Activity backpacks – Pompeii tours for children
Daily throughout the run of the exhibition, 9.30am – 5pm
Explore our latest exhibition Escape from Pompeii and the galleries with fun and creative activity backpacks especially designed for children aged 2 – 12. Limited availability. Book your backpack at the concierge desk on arrival.
All daily activities are included in the museum School Holidays Big Tickets which provides access to everything the museum has to offer including Action Stations, RAN submarine HMAS Onslow, destroyer HMAS Vampire and HMB Endeavour - Adult $35 | Child $20 | Concession $25 | Family $89. For further information visit www.anmm.gov.au/schoolholidays
Family Torchlight Tour: Pompeii Mysteries
20 April, 6pm - 7.30pm
Ages: 4 -12 and adults
Join your character guide for a dramatic after-dark tour through the museum galleries and our Escape from Pompeii exhibition. Enjoy creative capers, light refreshments and exclusive after-hours access to the exhibition Escape from Pompeii.
$22 per child, $18 per adult. Bookings essential: at www.anmm.gov.au/schoolholidays
TV presenting workshop: Reporting live from Mt Vesuvius
12 –13 April, 10am – 4pm
Ages 8-14
Create and star in your own imaginative TV segments inspired by our Escape from Pompeii exhibition. Learn clever techniques in green-screen, scripting, directing, acting and film-making as you produce your own creative digital stories. Have your finished work displayed for family and friends in a special-event cinema screening.
$160 per child; $140 earlybird special (to 6 April) and members
Bookings essential: www.anmm.gov.au/schoolholidays
Casting and mould making – Sculpture Spectacular
19 or 20 April, 10am – 4pm
Ages 8-14
Be inspired by the archaeological casts in our Escape from Pompeii exhibition. Experiment with specialist sculpting and mould making materials to craft spectacular creations using your own favourite objects, your hands or your feet. Create your own moulds and casts to fill with a variety of materials – soap, wax or even chocolate!
$78, $75 members. Bookings essential: at www.anmm.gov.au/schoolholidays
Exhibition: Escape from Pompeii – the untold Roman Rescue
Opens 31 March 2017
This new international exhibition will reveal the untold story of the dramatic rescue attempt by the Roman navy following one of history’s most famous and devastating natural disasters – the eruption of Mt Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD.
The exhibition brings to Australia rare artefacts from Pompeii, Herculaneum and from sites around the Bay of Naples including beautiful jewellery, lamps, tableware, a mirror, and even food items such as bread, wheat and figs, all remarkably preserved in the ash and debris.
Five haunting body casts of victims of the eruption are also included, capturing their final moments which were also preserved in the ash.
Escape from Pompeii has been developed by the Australian National Maritime Museum in association with Expona and Contemporanea Progetti.
Escape from Pompeii opens to the public on 31 March 2017. Entry is included in the museum’s Big Ticket Adult $35 | Child $20 | Concession $25 | Family $89.
For full details about the exhibition and all the associated school holiday activities, visit www.anmm.gov.au/schoolholidays
Media images available on request.
Media inquiries: Shirani Aththas (02) 9298 3642; 0418 448 690; email saththas@anmm.gov.au
Jude Timms (02) 9298 3645; 0418 219 841; email jtimms@anmm.gov.au