Education at the heart of Orange Regional Museum

Orange City Council’s Services Policy Committee Chair Ron Gander said one of the main reasons Council chose to build a museum was to ensure local children had a place close by where they could go and learn about the region’s history.

“Not every resident will be standing in line to go to the museum but their children will,” Cr Gander said.

“Their children will be going through the door during school excursions and if their children have a great experience then they’ll encourage their parents to take them back again,” Cr Gander said.

“This will be a great opportunity for lifelong learning.”

He said unlike many traditional museums, the Orange Regional Museum will have ever changing elements of its exhibition.

“This gives people a reason to keep coming back,” he said.

Cr Gander said the Council decided to employ a public engagement and education officer for the museum to take on the work of encouraging and facilitating school visits.

Public Engagement and Education Officer Jess Dowdell said she wanted to work closely with the region’s school teachers to ensure the educational programs offered by the museum were closely related to what was being taught in classrooms.

She said she was excited to have the opportunity to begin working with a museum right from the beginning.

“While starting from scratch has its challenges it also has benefits when it comes to tailoring education programs and matching the programs to what teachers want and what students need,” Ms Dowdell said.

Ms Dowdell has worked in similar roles and said she was passionate about engaging kids with history.

“I can give them an appreciation of history and culture then as they grow and learn, they gain an appreciation for their community,” she said.

“They gain pride in where they came from.”

Ms Dowdell is asking the region’s teachers to help her shape the museum’s program by asking them to participate in an online survey.