Lifting the Lid on our Library of Life – welcoming our first visitors back to the UNE Natural History Museum.

It is with eager anticipation that we are now welcoming our first visitors for Natural History Museum Education Programs into the real space. The easing of COVID-related restrictions by government and UNE has meant groups of curious visitors can now book a tour or educational activity to gain access to the museum, but the space is not yet open entirely to the public.

Last month, our lonely taxidermied exhibits enjoyed the smiles of the 2^nd Armidale Scouts group greeting them through glass for a Night at the Museum. The scouts honed their coding skills in the Voyager activity Busybots, and then created some fizzing, flaming and colourful concoctions in the undergraduate teaching labs next to the museum.

This week, Darling Downs Christian School Year 12 students spent a day at UNE that included a museum tour and getting up close to some of our articulated and pinned specimens in the teaching labs. We loved seeing the way the students and teachers interacted with the exhibits, from setting up photos of heads being trapped in crocodile jaws, to peering out at the world through fish skulls – curiosity and creativity combined!  In the following two months UNE Discovery will host students from Tamworth and Armidale schools who have booked in for guided museum tours.

Shh! Secret access as the specimens come to life!

While the museum isn’t yet open the public on a daily basis, as lucky subscribers to the UNE Discovery newsletter, YOU get access to our very special preview of a NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM virtual tour! If you are far away, or as we wait for in person access to all our wonderful spaces at UNE, this virtual tour will allow you to explore the collections, both in the museum proper in the front, but also in the secret back room with the curators and managers! This virtual tour will be launched by the University in the coming months.

Make your Booking!

Because the museum is open for BOOKINGS ONLY, you can book a visit for your class or group now. Our bookings coordinator, Dr Jean Holley, would love to hear from you. Email une-discovery@une.edu.au to discuss a tour and/or hands on Voyager or Museum activity to suit your needs.  We are currently operating as a COVID-safe program.

Museum tours are free, and our activities have a small fee of $5 per students.