A Trek Through Time
Dates
Monday to Friday during term
10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm
Free self-guided activity
Bookings
Bookings essential. See booking information below.
Overview
This fun walking trail between the WA Shipwrecks Museum and WA Maritime Museum is filled with discovery, while providing historical and geographical knowledge and understanding.
Students participating in this program will:
- Walk in small groups between the WA Shipwrecks Museum and WA Maritime Museum
- Imagine what the locations would have been like 200 years ago
- Visit landmarks along the way such as Bathers Beach, The Round House, Whalers Tunnel, and the CY O’Connor statue
- Debrief as a group at the WA Maritime Museum or WA Shipwrecks Museum
Bookings
A Trek Through Time is a free self-guided Museum education program, however bookings are essential, as a visit inside WA Shipwrecks Museum and/or WA Maritime Museum is included.
How to book
Step 1: Decide on the trail direction and which Museum(s) to visit
- A Trek Through Time can start at either the WA Shipwrecks Museum or the WA Maritime Museum
- Decide on the starting Museum and which Museum(s) you want to go inside
- Each Museum can accommodate up to 5 self-guided sessions per day, with available time-slots of 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm during term time. Each session needs to be booked separately
Step 2: Book your Museum visit
Please note that you are booking the Museum visit component of your excursion. The A Trek Through Time trail can be completed before or after your Museum visit.
Please send an email to education@museum.wa.gov.au with the following details and we will begin to process your booking:
- Program choice: Self-Guided Excursion & A Trek Through Time
- Preferred Museum to visit
- Preferred visit dates and times
- Number of classes and student numbers in each class
- Number of attending adults per class
- Contact teacher name, email and mobile number
- School
Step 3: Planning your visit
Don’t forget to read the Planning your visit section so you are prepared for your visit to the Museum.
Please email education@museum.wa.gov.au or call us on 1300 134 081 to discuss other booking options if the above is not suitable.
Booking Conditions
- We may need refuse entry if we are already at capacity at your selected Museum and you haven't pre-booked
- A minimum supervisor ratio of 1 adult to 10 students is required to visit the Museums, however a ratio of 1 to 6 is preferred for this activity
- Bookings need to be made 14 days before the date of your visit
- Changes to dates and times are subject to availability and please contact us if you wish to cancel
Duration
A Trek Through Time takes 25-40 minutes to complete depending on how much time you spend at each stop along the way.
If you include a Museum visit we recommend allowing at least 2 hours for your visit.
Planning your visit
Before arriving at the Museum
- Please have students organised into groups of 4-7 students, each with an adult helper. Having your students already organised into groups will give them more time to enjoy exploring the precinct, rather than spending time splitting into groups. If you do not have enough adult helpers, larger groups will need to be arranged as all groups require supervision in the Museum. The minimum supervisor ratio is 1 adult to 10 students, however a ratio of 1 to 6 is preferred for this activity.
- A Trek Through Time takes place outside. Please ensure your students are dressed appropriately for the weather conditions on that day.
- Download your preferred version of the A Trek Through Time trail:
- Print copies of the trail to create a booklet. The trails are not available at the Museums and must be printed at school. Use the following print properties (a test run is recommended):
- A4 size, double sided, landscape format
- Check rotation/‘left bind’ of pages to ensure all pages are up the same way
- Print in colour if possible, to enable easy comparison between old and recent photos
- Bind with 2-3 staples down the left-hand side to enable viewing of page spreads
- Provide each adult helper with a copy of the trail, enabling them to familiarise themselves prior to guiding the students along the journey
- Ensure that both adults and students are aware of the need to remain safe, especially in locations where crossing the road is required
- Students will not require any pencils/paper or clipboards unless you specifically wish them to record their work for later use
- Please note that if you intend to visit inside the Round House, we suggest that you visit the Round House website to establish whether a booking is required
- Make sure you have told your bus driver to pick you up at your final destination
While on the trail
- Remind students of the need to walk in an orderly manner
- Avoid congestion by staggering the start time of groups by 2-3 minutes so that students are not all crowded in the one place
- Assist groups by reading the information with/to them and discussing relevant questions, highlighted in green
- If possible, spend some time at the destination Museum after the walk to consolidate what students have learned
General to WA Shipwrecks Museum
- On arrival at the Museum, please check in at the Front Desk to confirm your student numbers, booked session times and emergency contact details
- The Museum is open from 9.30am for access to toilets and storage of bags etc.
- If you are running late please contact the WA Shipwrecks Museum front desk on 9431 8469, or the Customer Relations Team on 1300 134 081
- There is no onsite cafe at the WA Shipwrecks Museum. We recommend students bring a packed lunch. Cicerello's offers school lunch catering options.
- Further information can be found in the WA Shipwrecks Museum Excursion Management Guide
- Getting to the WA Shipwrecks Museum
General to WA Maritime Museum
- On arrival at the Museum, please check in at the Front Desk to confirm your student numbers, booked session times and emergency contact details
- The Museum is open from 9.30am for access to toilets and storage of bags etc.
- If you are running late please contact the WA Maritime Museum front desk on 9431 8334, or the Customer Relations Team on 1300 134 081
- Further information can be found in the WA Maritime Museum Excursion Management Guide
- Getting to the WA Maritime Museum
Curriculum links
Programs and exhibitions at the WA Museum support teachers in their delivery of the WA Curriculum to their students. A Trek Through Time has been developed with reference to the following links to the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) syllabus of the Western Australian Curriculum.
Year 5 Knowledge and understanding
History: The Australian Colonies
- The economic, political and social reasons for establishing British colonies in Australia after 1800 (e.g. the establishment of penal colonies) (ACHASSK106)
- The patterns of colonial development and settlement (e.g. geographical features, climate, water resources, transport, discovery of gold) and how this impacted upon the environment (e.g. introduced species) and the daily lives of the different inhabitants (e.g. convicts, free settlers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples) (ACHASSK107)
- The contribution or significance of one individual or group in shaping the Swan River Colony, including their motivations and actions (e.g. groups such as explorers, farmers, pastoralists, convicts or individuals such as James Stirling, John Septimus Roe, Thomas Peel) (ACHASSK110)
Geography: Factors that shape the environmental characteristics of places
- The way people alter the environmental characteristics of Australian places (e.g. vegetation clearance, fencing, urban development, drainage, irrigation, farming, forest plantations, mining). (ACHASSK112)
- Features of environments (e.g. climate, landforms, vegetation) influence human activities and the built features of places. (ACHASSK113)
Year 6 Knowledge and understanding
History: Australia as a nation
- Stories of groups of people who migrated to Australia (including from one Asian country), the reasons they migrated (e.g. push–pull factors) and their contributions to society (ACHASSK136)
Year 5-6 HASS Skills
Questioning and Researching
- Locate and collect information and/or data from a range of appropriate primary sources and secondary sources (e.g. museums, media, library catalogues, interviews, internet)
The content in A Trek Through Time is particularly relevant for students in Years 5 and 6. However, with a high level of adult support it can also be used with students from Year 3 and extended through to high school students (adequately supervised by an adult).
At the Museum: Self-guided activities
Visit Shipwrecks Self-Guided Excursions and WA Maritime Museum Self-Guided Excursions for downloadable self-guided activities which encourage students to engage with the whole museum.
Excursion extensions in Fremantle
While in Fremantle you might like to extend your excursion with the following suggestions:
- Make it a whole day visiting the WA Shipwrecks Museum and WA Maritime Museum by including a facilitated program:
- Already booked a guided tour of Fremantle Prison? A Trek Through Time and a visit to one of our Museums makes a great package
- Visit the Round House, the oldest public building in WA, and the first prison in the colony (1831). Time your visit for 1pm to hear the canon fire and watch the ball drop down. This is how settlers used to synchronise their clocks and chronometers. Then walk through the tunnel underneath to see the site of the first whaling tryworks (1837), where valuable whale oil was extracted and exported. It is free to walk around the outside, but to go inside it is best to book
- Contact the Walyalup Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Fremantle and find out about their excursion options. It is located next to the Round House
- Cicerello's, located in Fishing Boat Harbour, offer Aquarium tours. They can also provide school lunches and catering for your school group