MUSEUM OF CHINESE AUSTRALIAN HISTORY 

 

Welcome to our Term 3 2025 Education Newsletter  

 

The Chinese Museum plays an important role in preserving the heritage of Australians with Chinese ancestry for future generations and to acknowledge the contribution they have made to the evolution of Australian society over the past 200 years to the current day. 

 

We preserve and present Chinese culture and Australian history to recognise and celebrate the identity of Chinese Australian people. 

 

Dear Education Community, 

 

A very warm welcome to term three. We hope that the winter break allowed for some rest and relaxation for you and your students.   

 

In this edition of Ed-News, we are thrilled to share the launch of our online Education Resource: The Legend of the White Snake which is now available on our website. 

 

This free online education resource provides teachers and learners with a suite of activities that can be used flexibly. Students can discover The Legend of the White Snake through beautiful hand-coloured woodblock prints illustrating this beloved ancient Chinese folk tale. Students can also explore the traditional art and techniques of woodblock printing and participate in our Spiral Snake Art Activity to continue to celebrate the Year of the Snake!   

 

We are excited to announce that we will be offering a special Education Program at the start of term 4 to observe the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a 3000-year-old tradition that occurs when the full moon appears largest in the sky. This festival program explores moon legends and traditional cultural practices such as lantern making, riddle guessing, moon cake making and the Chinese tea ceremony. Offered for a very limited time, see full details below to find out how your school can participate. 

 

Discover our new Travelling Museum Program: Interactive Fan Dancing Workshop with Ruby. Introduce your students to traditional Chinese dance where they will be mesmerised by Ruby’s performance before taking part in their own movement piece.  

 

Join us for one of our Victorian Curriculum aligned Education Programs to enrich and support your students in their learning of Australian History, Ancient Societies, Chinese Language and the Intercultural Capability. 

 

Head to our website, where you can view our full range of programs and access our online Booking Form to secure your booking. We recommend planning ahead to ensure that your preferred dates are available, so book in early to avoid disappointment. Term 3 & 4 are filling up, so book in NOW! 

 

We look forward to welcoming you to the Chinese Museum soon. 

 

 

The Chinese Museum offers education programs all year round for students of all year levels and all abilities.  

 

 

For all education enquiries and bookings, please use our online booking form as it includes all the relevant information required to complete your booking. Our friendly Bookings Administrator, Esther will reply after your form has been received and she will be able to process your booking and assist you with any questions. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation. 

 

 

As we continue to celebrate the Year of the Snake, step into the world of The Legend of the White Snake, a story about love, immortality, and the battle between good and evil.

 

Our free online Education Resource highlights the enduring power of this ancient myth across cultures and generations and is a great way to extend and enhance your Museum experience with lots of pre- and post-visit activities including discussion notes, storytelling and a slide show presentation.

 

Students can also explore the traditional art and techniques of woodblock printing and participate in our Spiral Snake Art Activity which includes three different snake designs, provided as FREE printable PDFs with instructions.

 

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a 3000-year-old tradition that occurs when the full moon appears largest in the sky. For a limited time, during the first two weeks of term 4, we will be offering a special Mid-Autumn Festival program for students where they can explore cultural traditions, make lanterns, see how moon cakes are made, witness a Chinese tea ceremony and learn the story of the Moon Goddess.  

 

Two-Hour Program includes Tea ceremony demonstration, storytelling, riddles, mooncake making demonstration (1 hour) AND a lantern making workshop (1 hour) for $23pp 

Optional Extra: Add on a Guided Museum Tour to make a 3-hour program for $33pp

Maximum capacity per session: x50 students  

Recommended Year Level: Year 4 & up 

 

Can’t make it to the Museum? The Chinese Museum can come to your school with the Travelling Museum Program. 

 

Our instructor, Ruby will entertain and mesmerise students with a short performance demonstrating three different styles of fan dancing.

 

Students will then participate in an interactive workshop, where they will learn simple Kung Fu and Tai Chi style movements and steps using short folding fans as pictured here. Students will be guided to create a short dynamic dance and movement piece. 

Last term we farewelled Jacob, who has been a VSO with us for over 10 years! On behalf of the team, I would like to sincerely thank Jacob for his extensive contribution to our Museum Education Programs. Countless groups and students of all ages will fondly remember his Museum and Chinatown Tours. We sincerely appreciate his dedication, passion and hard work over his many years of service. We wish Jacob all the best for his next chapter. 

Welcome Aboard!   

New VSOs have recently joined the Education Team.  

A very warm welcome to Jenny and Manfred. 

Our team of Visitor Services Officers (VSOs) deliver guided tours and facilitate workshops for our Education Programs.   

Did you know that students and teachers can purchase a souvenir as a memento of their visit? 

Our gift shop is located in the foyer of the Museum. We have a range of products such as Chinese tea, toys, bookmarks, fans, keyrings, and lucky coins with prices starting at only $1.  

We accept cash and all major credit cards including Apple Pay (please note that we don’t accept AMEX).

We recommend allowing some time before or after your program for students to purchase their gift shop items. 

We warmly wish to thank teachers and schools for continuing to support our Museum and we look forward to welcoming you and your students either onsite or online at The Chinese Museum soon. 

We gratefully and warmly thank the Department of Education of Victoria for their continued support through the Strategic Partnerships Program.  

Best wishes,  

From the Education Team 

The Museum of Chinese Australian History gratefully acknowledges the Victorian State Government Department of Education as an Education Program partner.