We recently ventured to Canberra on a family holiday (a.k.a homeschool trip).
I had never been to Canberra and knew very little about it except that it would be a great experience to visit the war memorial. I was surprised to learn that Canberra was actually a hub of museums, cultural centres and educational experiences.
I recently blogged about how we made a Canberra Homeschool Trip on a budget and how you can too!
The best time of the year to travel, in my opinion, is February. The weather is still great for outdoor activities...and the best bit...school kids have only just gone back to school so popular places are less likely to be full of school groups. However, if you want to avoid school groups altogether then I recommend calling ahead and asking when the groups are coming in so you can work around it.
1. QUESTACON
This place is the best for ALL ages.
We've been to Scienceworks in Melbourne a few times and it doesn't even compare.
This place has 8 galleries full of exhibits and each gallery has a theme.
It was almost empty on the day we were there which meant that my kids had all the 'scientists' working there to themselves. Their job is to engage with kids by answering any questions, doing experiments or helping them work through puzzles etc....We spent almost an hour doing actual science experiments in a lab with one scientist who was amazing at explaining difficult concepts.
We also spend time in the early childhood gallery with my daughter with special needs and they went out of their way to support her.
We spent almost a whole day here and it was so amazing we couldn't believe it was free (with the teachers pass).This was definitely a highlight!
2. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA
When we arrived, staff suggested we head straight to the children's gallery so we could participate in the new interactive exhibition. It was a really unique interactive video-type game based on the Franklin Dam controversy in 1982.
I cried (actually sobbed) through the Indigenous section while I explained the stolen generation exhibits to my boys. I don't think they'll forget that in hurry.
Overall, they didn't find the exhibits overly engaging so this is probably more appropriate for older teenagers.
3. THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN MINT
This is where they make all of our coins in Australia!
It's a small museum so you don't need more than an hour to look around. It's size is a bonus as it means kids take a more time to engage with each display. There are a few interactive displays but the best part is that they have massive windows where you can watch the coins being made. My boys thought the fact robots were doing most of the work (including a forklift) fascinating. We stood there watching for about 30 minutes - it was really interesting!
Unfortunately, we did encounter a school group here and they took over the entire space so we just sat with them and listened to the teacher (from the Mint) talk through each display. This was particularly helpful when the guide was explaining all the machinery and processes involved.
4. THE NATIONAL ARBORETUM
Museums can be hard going for kids so we broke it up with a trip to this playground at the national arboretum.
Up on the hill there is also a centre with a large cafe / restaurant. We enjoyed a coffee and some ice-cream while gazing at the stunning view of Canberra and chatting about what we were enjoying about our trip so far. There is also a bonsai garden and a cute little educational book shop.
5. THE NATIONAL DINOSAUR MUSEUM
This is a must if you have smaller kids. My daughter loved it as it doesn't just contain fossils - it also has animatronic dinosaurs! It's a small museum so once again only takes about an hour and much less if your kids race through it. We spent more time in the gift shop which is awesome and had a big collection of rocks and minerals including some pretty spectacular geodes.
6. COCKINGTON GREEN
Much to our delight, the teachers pass covered this place as well and as it was next to the dinosaur museum with decided to visit on a whim.
We were so glad we did!
It's a massive garden full of miniature displays (see the railway station pictured). Our favourite was the world architecture section where they had significant buildings built to scale from around the world.
7. DEEP SPACE COMMUNICATION CENTRE
We decided to tackle the hour drive out to this centre because it's one of only 3 centres like it in the world that communicate directly with satellites in our solar system.
Once again, it's a small museum but the dishes alone are pretty impressive and to say that you've visited one of NASA's facilities is pretty cool. 2 of my boys are interested in space so they really enjoyed the displays and videos.
If your kids are into space, then this a great place to go see!
8. AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT
This was actually a highlight for my sports crazy boys. It is only worth a trip if a) Your kids are interested in the sports / olympics and b) You do a (free) tour of the facilities as the interactive section probably isn't worth the trip alone.
The tour of the facilities goes for an hour but the best part is that you get to learn some history of Australia's involvement in the olympics, check out where they train and if you're lucky you get to see some of the athletes in action. We got to see some volleyballers training which was surprisingly impressive and witness one of the tallest basketballers in Australian sport training - he's over 7 feet and only 18 years old!
My 9 year old was inspired and now his goal is to get amazing at basketball so he can go and be part of the AIS.
9. THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
This was one of the main reasons we wanted to visit Canberra!
After spending time at smaller museums, we completely underestimated how big the war memorial is. We planned to spend about 2 hours here and then head to parliament house but ended up spending all afternoon there. It is an amazing museum with incredible displays and video footage but be prepared to discuss some tough concepts with your kids and shed a few tears yourself.
10. PARLIAMENT HOUSE
This was on our list but we didn't get there. I really wanted to take the boys to question time but parliament was closed so it will be something we do (and plan for) next time.If you happen to go when parliament is closed there are tours you can go on but they are not covered by the teachers pass and cost $15 adult ($10 a child) for a basic tour or $25 adult ($15 child) for a more extensive tour.
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