One of the best things about working with kids at the National Museum of Australia is haptic learning (learning by touching). We’ve got a pretty interesting handling collection, so kids can come into our rooms and handle a sheep skull or a werris (Torres Strait Islander sardine catcher) or paraphernalia from Holden or Akubra. They can feel the weight of a mining core sample, a rabbit trap or an Indigenous head pad used for balancing wooden bowls on the head. I’ve seen kids put their faces right up close to objects, poke them, sniff them and even, on one memorable occasion, lick the WWI dead man’s penny!
It kicks off a different kind of learning. You see kids feel the thick wool of a convict jacket and wonder what it would be like wearing that in the middle of an Australian summer. You see the kids handle a spear thrower and be captivated by the elegant deadly grace encapsulated in the deceptively simple tool. It’s a real privilege to see the way objects can help kids connect with and wonder at their own histories.
[...] Eep! I can’t believe my last blog was in February! I resolve to blog faster, harder, longer… Hmm, possibly I should just resolve to blog more frequently? Still, I hear you asking, ‘where have you been? Why aren’t you berating us with your ideas about museums and education and haptic learning? [...]