James Cameron: Challenging the Deep — School visits

"I’m an explorer at heart, a filmmaker by trade." – James Cameron 

JAMES CAMERON – CHALLENGING THE DEEP is an immersive exhibition that explores his lifelong pursuit of deep-ocean science, technology and exploration. Developed by the Australian National Maritime Museum, this exhibition takes visitors to the depths of our oceans through the lens of Cameron’s underwater cameras and his other incredible technological innovations that have enabled us to see the least known places on earth. 

With his hybrid interests in science, design and storytelling, James Cameron has developed a unique skill set that will inspire your students by showing how STEM knowledge can be applied to the real world. His passion for exploration into the unknown is matched by his commitment to teamwork and demonstrated through the rigorous preparation and testing that is the hallmark of creative science in action.  

This exhibition takes visitors into an underwater environment using cinema scale projections, artefacts and equipment used in Cameron’s expeditions. Discover the famous shipwrecks of RMS Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck in their deepwater resting places, and how the dramatic stories surrounding these wrecks have inspired subsequent generations. Your students will be able to explore artefacts from the design and construction of the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, a technical achievement that has secured James Cameron into the Subsea Hall of Fame. The exhibition also includes original film props and costumes from The Abyss and Titanic, including the iconic Heart of the Ocean diamond.

Take a journey with James Cameron through his unusual career as a technologist and storyteller, exploring how science fiction and STEAM thinking can inform each other through the shared imagination and commitment of inspired individuals working as a team.  

Exhibition content

• 95 objects
• 15 multimedia experiences
• Video microscope interactive
• DEEPSEA CHALLENGER sit-in pilot sphere replica
• Titanic, DEEPSEA CHALLENGER and Bismarck touchscreen interactives

With great storytelling through museum-grade replicas, real objects, and interactive experiences your students will have the opportunity to: 

• Encounter a single immersive environment of cinema presentations, rare artefacts and specimens from Cameron’s careers as an explorer and filmmaker.
• Learn about the design and technical challenges faced by James Cameron when working underwater and in deep sea conditions.
• Explore the deepwater shipwreck sites of Titanic and Bismarck and how their international significance has been shared through technical image gathering, dispelling myths through material evidence.
• Accompany young scientists on some of the 43 dives taken with Cameron on his Aliens of the Deep expedition to examine thriving deep ocean life, spectacular volcanic events and geological insights.
• Consider how dramatic science stories and popular fiction can inform the scientific and technical imagination and achievements of upcoming generations of technologists.  
• Learn about the problem-solving, research, design and testing processes that inform deep sea exploration and technology collaborations.
• Understand the grand story of deep water environments: from thriving animal life under deepwater pressure, to rusticles and marine growth on shipwrecks, and the mysterious world of the abyss found in deep-sea trenches.

Key curriculum concepts explored 

• STEM topics include design, technology, submersible and marine science, and material sciences.
• HASS topics include maritime archaeology and film.

Download the teaching resource supporting this exhibition from Australian National Maritime Museum.

Bookings

Click Book now above to book online, or send an email to education@museum.wa.gov.au with the following details and we will begin to process your booking.

1. Self-guided (or program name)
2. Preferred visit date (and alternate if not available)
3. Number of classes & student numbers in each class
4. Teacher name, email and contact mobile
5. School

We look forward to welcoming your students on an excursion soon.

Educator Preview

Join us for a free educator preview to showcase the exciting new exhibition featured at the WA Maritime Museum during Term 2. 

JAMES CAMERON – CHALLENGING THE DEEP features iconic explorer and filmmaker James Cameron’s achievements in the realm of deep-sea adventure.

Explore the potential for high-impact STEM learning through this highly interactive exhibition where incredible stories and technical problem-solving create a synergistic blend of science and fiction.   

Based on insights from a career innovator, and rich with wonder for students, this exhibition is not to be missed. 

Thursday 28 March | 5.30pm – 6.30pm 

Book now for JAMES CAMERON - CHALLENGING THE DEEP - Educator Preview