This guide has been created for teachers to help plan their visit to the museum and provide some ideas for classroom activities before and after a school visit.

You will find lots of great resources and activities that can be explored in the classroom, even if you can’t make it to the museum in person. You will also find information about each exhibition with suggested questions for discussion, which can be used to support a self-guided museum visit.

Download the pdf booklet here:

Visiting the South Australian Maritime Museum: A Guide for Teachers

The museum often houses temporary exhibitions.  Take a look at the Teachers Guide booklet and activity sheet for our current temporary exhibition, Dark Things in Dark Places here:

Teachers Guide: Dark Things in Dark Places

Art Activity: Dark Things in Dark Places

A facilitated 60-minute workshop in which students explore early maritime encounters and how various groups including Aboriginal people, European navigators, and Macassan fishermen engaged and interacted. It unpacks the story of the first European settlers to NSW in 1788 and the famous meeting between British navigator Matthew Flinders and French explorer Nicolas Baudin off our southern shores in 1802.

This is a new program that incorporates key elements from two of our past popular programs – Explorers and First Fleet—with a particular focus on the experiences and perspectives of First Nations people.

Suitability: Can be adapted for Years 3 – 5

Cost: $10 per student (teachers and adults are free within a 1:5 ratio)

Availability: Monday – Friday (subject to availability)

Program provides students with an opportunity to explore:

• Why ships sailed across the seas to faraway places;
• How they navigated their way;
• Who they encountered on their way;
• Who and what was on board;
• What the conditions were like on the ships; and
• What impact they had on the people that have lived on this continent forever.

Australian Curriculum: History

Historical skills, knowledge, understanding, discovery, exploration, maritime history, colonisation, cause and effect, perspectives, significance and life at sea

Year 3:

Who lived here first and how do we know?

Year 4:

What was life like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?

Why did the Europeans settle in Australia? Who travelled to Australia? What were their experiences following arrival?

What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?

Year 5:

What were the reasons people migrated to Australia from Europe and what were the experiences and contribution of a particular migrant group within a colony?

Play the Encounters Kahoot! quiz here

For further information and bookings please visit the History Trust of South Australia Education website, email maritime@history.sa.gov.au or phone 8151 3260.

This program asks students to consider the experience of life on board for migrants voyaging by ship from England to South Australia in 1836; Where did they sleep, what did they eat and drink, how did they cope with illness on board, and how did they while away the long days on deck? We also explore the changing motivations for migrating over time and the evolution of sea travel from sailing ships through to steam and modern cruise liners.

Suitability: Can be adapted for Years 4 – 6

Cost: $10 per student (teachers and adults are free within a 1:5 ratio)

Availability: Monday – Friday (subject to availability)

Program includes:

• Participation in a workshop to learn about the living conditions faced by migrants voyaging by ship from England.
• Understanding and identifying the reason people migrate.
• Investigate and understand the evolution of sea travel from sailing ships through to steam and modern cruise liners.
• Take part a range of deck games that passengers may have played to pass the time onboard.

Teacher Resources:

• Life Onboard program teacher resource
• Southward Bound information book
• Bound for South Australia website

Australian Curriculum: History

Historical skills, knowledge, and understanding

Year 4:

Locate relevant information from sources provided.

Identify different points of view.

Year 5:

The reasons people migrated to Australia from Europe and the experiences and contributions of a particular migrant group within a colony.

Year 6:

Stories of groups of people who migrated to Australia and the reasons they migrated.

Play the Life on Board Kahoot! quiz here

For further information and bookings please visit the History Trust of South Australia Education website, email maritime@history.sa.gov.au or phone 8151 3260.