Story Detectives: Creative Writing Workshops

Love inventing stories, diving into history, and imagining real-life shipwrecks, survival and science? 

Story Detectives will be your perfect escape to explore, write and create during these School Holidays!

Take a creative writing challenge and produce your own story, exploring themes of the journey, shipwreck, and survival inspired by Brickwrecks: Sunken Ship in LEGO® Bricks. Your full-day workshop will include:

• Meet award-winning author Cristy Burne and learn some of her favourite story-writing tricks.
• Enjoy a VIP tour of the Brickwrecks exhibition, where you will see extraordinary LEGO® models up close, and discover real and replica objects connected to each shipwreck discovery.
• Take a snapshot walk through the Maritime Museum, where you will write story ideas in a noisy spice market, on a boat and beyond.
• Get some fresh air along the historic walk to the WA Shipwrecks Museum, where you will dive into maritime history and get up close with real artefacts, real history, and real skeletons!
• Don a lab coat and safety glasses to remove some crusty ‘concretion’ from ‘shipwreck coins’, which you can keep as a special memento.
• Explore some creative tips and techniques for writing great stories to help you to put pen to paper and create your own shipwreck-inspired story. Share your terrific tales with your fellow writers in the atmospheric Captain’s Cabin.

Don't forget, every clue from our sunken past can inspire an extraordinary story!

You will be required to fill out the workshop enrolment form when booking this program.

This is a drop-off holiday program and children will be strictly supervised when walking between sites. Wear shoes suitable for walking and bring a hat, drink bottle and packed morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. Please pack wet weather gear as required.

This is an exciting and intensive program designed for a small groups of children who love to write, learn new things and happily spend a whole day engaged in immersive Museum experiences.

It is ideal for two siblings or friends in the same age bracket. Our presenters are funny, warm, and engaging and will do their utmost to ensure participants safety and comfort at all times.

MEET OUR PRESENTERS

Cristy Burne

Children’s author and science writer Cristy Burne is passionate about empowering our next generation of creative, science-savvy citizens. Cristy has worked as a science communicator for 20 years across seven countries. She has performed in a science circus, worked as a garbage analyst, and was a reporter at CERN when they turned on the Large Hadron Collider. 

Cristy works at the intersection of science, technology and creativity. Her latest books include Beneath the Trees, Aussie STEM Stars: Fiona Wood and Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows, co-written with Denis Knight.

Cristy has degrees in biotechnology and science communication. She loves to inspire daring, resilience and innovative thinking in her readers. She also loves chocolate. 

Sandy Barber

Sandy has worked in Learning and Engagement at the various WA Museum sites since 2006. Through developing programs for school excursions, school holiday trails and activities, it is her personal mission to create life-long memories for kids who visit the Museum.

Sandy’s motto at work is ‘every object tells a story’. She loves bringing history to life by providing kids the with the opportunity to handle real objects, as they immerse themselves in various settings to get a multisensory experience of the past. She also loves to dress up in historical costumes, her latest ‘character’ being one of the Titanic survivors!