Discover a treasure trove of winter holiday fun at the Maritime Museum
Published
Travel back in time this winter at the Australian National Maritime Museum these school holidays with an exciting program of themed activities based around the Museum’s latest exhibition, Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard.
Kicking off with a Free Open Day to celebrate the beginning of NAIDOC Week – these winter school holidays are jam-packed with creative, educational, and fun-filled activities and workshops.
From a collaborative Lego® mosaic build to photography and art workshops, to underwater drone operation, and Museum tours and activity trails designed especially for kids, there is so much to discover at the Maritime Museum these school holidays.
See the highlights of this exciting program below and view the full program here.
Free Open Day – Celebrate NAIDOC
On July 5, the Australian National Maritime Museum will host a free day of family fun to celebrate the start of NAIDOC week and honour the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth, exploring stories and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Join in cultural activities for all ages as we celebrate ‘50 Years of Deadly’ this NAIDOC week at the Museum with lively performances, artmaking activities, guided tours and workshops.
Dates: July 5
Times: 10am – 4pm
Ages: Suitable for all ages
Booking: No bookings required
Price: Free
Jewellery Making Workshops with Haus of Dizzy
Join proud Wiradjuri woman, designer and founder of Haus of Dizzy Kristy Dickinson for creative jewellery-making workshops at the museum to celebrate NAIDOC week. Make your own iconic piece (badge, earing or keychain) using dazzling handmade designs and materials from Haus of Dizzy HQ in workshops for all ages.
Suitable to all levels of experience. All materials and jewellery making tools provided.
Dates: 4 July
Times: 11am-12:30pm
Ages: Suitable for ages 6-14
Booking: Bookings essential
Price: $70 General $60 Member/Earlybird
Kids on Deck
From raiders and traders to crafty artmakers, journey back in time and be inspired by life in the Viking Age at our Kids on Deck maker space.
Learn to write your name in runes, make your own hammered and embossed jewellery, a marvellous model longship or your very own recycled armour. Channel your inner archaeologist as you uncover treasures from our dig site, experiment with the alchemy of transforming materials into new objects using our plastic recycling machine or dress up in costume and step inside our very own Viking longhouse-inspired cubby.
Dates: Daily
Times: 10:30am – 4pm
Ages: Recommended for ages 4-14 and accompanying adults
Booking: No bookings required
Price: Entry included in any paid admission
Bricktropolis: Viking Village
Create a bricktastic world inspired by early-medieval cultures – from mythic monsters and legendary longboats to the architecture of antiquity. Let your imagination lead as you use Lego® bricks to craft your own models for collective display and fill them with curious custom Minifig® characters.
Builders of all ages can also join our Mysteries of Midgard Mosaic – a largescale collaborative mosaic bricks mural to reveal a spectacular hidden scene. Help construct the Viking-Age Vessel image pixel by pixel using mosaic bricks and watch it grow, plate by plate, over the duration of the school holidays.
Dates: Daily
Times: 10am – 4pm
Ages: Suitable for all ages
Booking: No bookings required
Price: Entry included in any paid admission
Deep Sea Screenings
Take a break and enjoy calm creative activities in our theatre. Pick up a copy of the field sketching guide and some pencils to try your hand at scientific art while you enjoy ambient screenings of spectacular deep sea ROV dive footage by SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE
Dates: Daily
Times: 10am – 4pm
Ages: Suitable for all ages
Booking: No bookings required
Price: Free
Museum Treasure Trail
Adventure around the Museum galleries to uncover a trove of mysterious treasures and hidden gems. From pirate loot to historical relics, discover each precious piece in this fun-filled activity trail.Complete the trail to receive a treasure of your own!
Dates: Daily
Times: 10am – 4:30pm
Ages: Recommended for kids ages 4-10 years
Booking: No bookings required
Price: Free
Mini Mariners – Silly Sea Creatures
Pack your bags for an imaginative journey up, off and away, over- seas in a special character tour for under 5s and their carers. Explore different cultures and places from across the seas. Sing songs, dance and enjoy storytime, and then you can create your own printed book bags and whale puppets to take home.
Dates: Every Tuesday
Times: 10:30am – 11:15am, 11:30am – 12:15pm
Ages: Ages 2-5 and their carers
Booking: Bookings essential
Price: Child $12, Adult $8, Members/Annual pass holders and see it all ticket holders FREE.
Underwater Drone Challenge
Explore below the surface of the harbour with our underwater drones. Have fun testing your gaming skills by challenging family and friends to see who’s the best U-Drone Pilot. Undertake challenges to get your u-drone pilot licence, survey vessels and explore marine habitats around the harbour. Underwater drone sessions include a private workshop with our ocean-science educators and access to amazing underwater footage highlights to keep and share.
Dates: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays
Times: 12pm, 12:45pm, 1:30pm, 2:15pm, 3pm
Ages: Recommended for ages 8+
Booking: Bookings recommended
Price: $35 general/ $25 members (includes See it All museum admission for one player)
Sensory Friendly Days
Enjoy a comfortable environment for kids and adults with a variety of sensory differences. On Sensory-Friendly Days our new exhibitions and activity areas will be open extra early or late for a quieter experience and modified to suit people on the Autism spectrum and visitors with a range of differing abilities. Our trained staff and volunteers will be on hand to assist with access and facilitate creative activities.
Dates: July 19
Times: 8:30am – 11:30am
Ages: Suitable for all ages
Booking: No bookings required
Price: $12, children under 4 and members/companion card holders FREE.
Amulets and Adornments – Metalwork and Jewellery Workshop with Squarepeg Studios
1 Day Workshop
Inspired by the extraordinary objects of the Galloway Hoard, participants will explore how jewellery and adornment have historically acted as symbols of protection, identity, storytelling, and personal meaning.
Beginning with a guided tour of Treasures of the Viking Age – The Galloway Hoard, participants will gather inspiration from the forms, textures, patterns, and symbolism found within the hoard before developing their own wearable contemporary object. Participants will learn jewellery-making techniques including metal stamping, roller printing, texture making, light forming and finishing techniques, and may create and take home a pendant, cuff, or ring using copper, brass or aluminium. No previous experience is required!
Dates: 9 July
Times: 10am – 4pm
Ages: Suitable for ages 8-14
Booking: Bookings essential
Price: $110 General $95 Member $100 Earlybird
Cabinet of Curiosities: Fighting Vikings
Explore wonderful and curious Viking age tools, treasures and textiles from our education collection in this hands-on discovery device in our galleries. Wield Viking age weaponry, handle rune-carved amulets and run your hands over a reindeer pelt as you discover how archaeologists learn about the people of the past through excavation of the traces they leave behind.
Dates: Daily
Times: 10:30am – 11:30am & 2pm – 3pm
Ages: Suitable for all ages
Booking: No bookings required
Price: Free
Cockatoo Island Adventures, Photography Workshop
1 Day Workshop
Ferry out to the spectacular shipyards of Cockatoo Island for an adventurous one-day photography workshop. Build skills in using digital SLR cameras, experimenting with ISO, aperture, shutter speed, framing and macro photography as you explore the island. In the afternoon, return to the museum to explore photography in the collection and prepare for your own exhibition. Your best photos will be exhibited in a special exhibition at the museum after the workshop.
This course is held in partnership with Spitting Image Photography and the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.
Suitable to all levels of experience. All equiment provided.
Dates: 15 July
Times: 10am – 4.30pm
Ages: Suitable for ages 8-14
Booking: Bookings essential
Price: $110 General $95 Member $100 Earlybird
