Museum of the Riverina program wins two national awards

A Museum of the Riverina program has shared top honours at the Museum & Gallery National Awards (MAGNA) in Alice Springs on 15 May.

STEAM the Museum was the joint overall national winner and also took out the Interpretation, Learning and Audience Engagement category.

The program saw Regional Museum Officer Sam Leah work with Sturt Public School students to interpret the Museum of the Riverina’s social history collections using tools and techniques drawn from the STEAM field (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths).

The aims of the project were:

• Curate a professional exhibition in partnership with schoolchildren, placing their ideas and interpretations at the forefront of the curation process.
• Provide extended learning opportunities to the students to provide them with the skills they needed to complete their exhibits, including 3D printing, virtual reality animation, tour design, robotics and video game design and coding.
• Provide introductory experiences for the local community in technologies that are not readily accessible in a regional location, particularly 3D printing, robotics and coding.

“STEAM the Museum was a participatory project that saw the students plan and curate the exhibition,” Mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga Councillor Greg Conkey OAM said.

“Regional Museum Officer Sam Leah has been the driving force behind this program, working closely with the Opportunity Class at Sturt Public to use new technology to tell old stories.

“To win two awards, including being named the joint national winner, is an outstanding achievement for everyone involved in this project.”

Museum of the Riverina is a cultural facility of Wagga Wagga City Council. STEAM the Museum is supported by Makers Stream B Funding from Inspiring Australia.