Immersive school excursions explore Newcastle's heritage
2022 saw the launch of Newcastle Afoot's Educational Excursions Program providing immersive school walking tours based on the themes of Newcastle’s History (respecting landscape, culture and heritage), Geography (sustainable urban renewal) and Art (creative placemaking).
Sponsored by Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation (HCCDC), the dynamic excursions provide an engaging outdoor classroom for students from years K-12, with tours that share and celebrate the city, including exploration of HCCDC's revitalised spaces at The Station, Museum Park and Honeysuckle.
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Newcastle Afoot Director, Becky Kiil said:
“We believe Newcastle is an incredibly unique place for immersive learning, and we're proud to create fun and informative school excursions that cover student learning outcomes in an engaging and meaningful way. We think Newcastle is just as unique as The Rocks in Sydney in its value to learning about Australia, our history, and how we are changing. We envision this city becoming the preferred excursion location for schools from our region and beyond.”
The curriculum-linked learning experiences are developed in consultation with academic educators and classroom teachers - and designed to ensure students meet important syllabus outcomes. In it's first year over 1000 students participated in the program, and bookings are now underway for 2023.
HCCDC Chief Executive, Valentina Misevska said:
"This is a great city to explore on foot with its unique history, colourful street art, heritage spaces and stunning waterfront - and with the city’s transformation continuing, it’s only getting better. We’re thrilled to support this fantastic education initiative, and congratulate Newcastle Afoot on developing this innovative program.”
HCCDC's sponsorship has enabled Newcastle Afoot to establish the program, recruit an Excursions Program Coordinator, and also deliver a new meeting place mural for Newcastle Afoot's city walking tour experiences.
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A new meeting place:
Created by artist Inari and her artist helpers, the colourful meeting place mural on The Station's former railway platform explores the unique heritage, culture and character of Newcastle and Muloobinba ('Place of sea ferns' / Newcastle Foreshore) through contemporary storytelling, and is a vibrant addition to the city's much-loved and growing street art trail.
To learn about the mural stories, and for information about other Newcastle Afoot tours including architecture, art, history and flavour-focused experiences, visit the Newcastle Afoot website.
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