The Peter Underwood Centre’s Limitless Learning program launched new activities last month at the Deloraine & District Folk Museum in collaboration with the Great Western Tiers Visitor Centre.
Children from Deloraine Primary School and local volunteers worked with the Limitless Learning team to co-create activities for future visitors that are child-friendly and spark the curiosity of families.
The Limitless Learning project is all about children and young people sharing ideas of what they love about a learning destination, co-designing and co-creating exciting new learning activities and sharing these with the community to enjoy.
As part of the program, a young participant was involved in creating a guide on how to set a formal dining table – in her words, ‘from olden times.’
“I love the dining room in the Folk Museum, but you aren’t allowed to touch all of the plates. My inspiration was to create an activity where visitors can come and set their own table,” she said.
“Anyone can come in and use the guide to set up a table for dining using plates, spoons, knives and forks donated by the volunteers.”
Her mum said the family had a deep history with the Deloraine community and felt the program has had a lasting impact on her daughter and her pride for the work she had done.
A volunteer from the Great Western Tiers Visitor Centre, John, said Limitless Learning created a sense of fun that was empowering to young participants.
"In my opinion, this exercise has been a win-win situation. The older folk, being grandparents, have enjoyed the prospect of nurturing the children and we were happy to pass on our experience and knowledge to the youngsters. The youngsters also had some major ‘wins,’” said John in a speech at the launch event.
“Claire and Jesse set up an atmosphere of fun and adventure that empowered and gave the youngsters every opportunity to express their thought and opinions, and actively sought their feedback. As a result of this atmosphere, the youngsters displayed a high level of self-confidence and spontaneously and unconsciously acted as a team," he added.
The project works in conjunction with Children’s University Tasmania and is funded by the Tasmanian Community Fund, Tasmanian Freemasons Benevolent Fund, Jetty Foundation and Cuthill Family Foundation.
Find out more about the Peter Underwood Centre.