Onsite education programs

Explore the Gallery and discover the stories of significant Australians through a range of onsite education programs connected to the Australian Curriculum. From facilitated programs to digital app experiences and self-guided visits, there is an exciting educational opportunity for any group.

Bookings can be made through the Book Canberra Excursions portal. To help you prepare for your trip to the Gallery, see our School Visit Information.

Book now via BCE

Mission to Mars

$10 per student, 30 minutes, Years 6 - 12

Looking for a fun and energising activity to begin or end your day in Canberra? Blast off with Mission to Mars, our innovative digital app that brings together art, adventure and exploration. Students will need to work together to select a crew to launch into life on Mars. They will explore the Gallery, looking at portraits on display and deciding who should join the crew. Discussion, consideration and collaboration is essential. Who would make the best engineer? Do we need an influencer on board or is a scientist more important? Decisions need to be made quickly while navigating challenges and surprises along the way to lift off.

Headhunt!

$3 per student, 60 minutes, Years 5 - 9

Headhunt! is an innovative digital app that invites students on an expedition of curiosity, creativity and collaboration. Exciting and playful, the app appeals to all types of learners, providing students with a sense of autonomy and agency as they work in small teams to scavenge the collection to explore Australian people through the art of portraiture. Using one of the Gallery’s devices, students will be directed to different locations in the Gallery where they will choose artworks and capture their insights by completing a series of interactive activities. Students will be prompted to engage deeply with artworks that pique their interests, finding meaning through observation and conversations with their peers. But it’s not just the students who get to have all the fun! Teachers have their very own version of Headhunt! where they can track their student’s’ progress, send messages and read everyone’s thoughtful responses.

Self-guide

Free, 60 minutes, Pre-school, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary

Lead your own group visit! Self-guided visits enable educators to create their own tailored experience for their students. Be welcomed and introduced to the Gallery by one of our Visitor Experience Assistants, before you explore the collection and temporary exhibitions. 2B pencils and paper/activity sheets are welcome. We also have a variety of free learning resources to support your visit.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activism

$7 per student, 60 minutes, Pre-school, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary

This program identifies significant events and ideas in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, through key individuals who have shaped the political and cultural developments involved. Students will explore portraits via visual analysis, debate and pictorial representation; and discover how portraits can be used as historical documents.

Art

$7 per student, 60 minutes, Pre-school, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary

Our visual art programs investigate ways students can interpret portraits. They’ll look at aspects of biography, identity and culture; look at portraits that use different styles and media; and learn through discussion, activity and drawing.

Civics and citizenship

$7 per student, 60 minutes, Pre-school, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary

In these programs we emphasise recognition of individuals from diverse backgrounds and fields of endeavour who have excelled and contributed to society. Students will discover ways to examine the portraits of significant Australians – past and present – through discussion and drawing.

History

$7 per student, 60 minutes, Pre-school, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary

Our history programs identify significant historical periods, events and ideas through key individuals who have shaped Australia’s social, economic, political and cultural developments. Students will explore portraits through visual analysis, contrast and compare works from different eras, pictorial representation; and discover how portraits can be used as historical documents.

Visual Thinking Strategies™

$7 per student, 60 minutes, Years 3 – 12 and Tertirary

In collaboration with Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS™ New York), we present critical thinking and visual literacy programs for all levels of education. In them we incorporate concepts of ‘close looking’; verbalising observations and backing up theories with evidence, close listening and developing the skill to simultaneously hold different and sometimes conflicting ideas as possibilities. Students are provided with new skills to navigate and critically examine our image-saturated world. The emphasis is on discussion-based, student-centric learning.

Book now via BCE