Your Pre-visit Briefing

Learning Team 5 Apr 2024

MoPA is founded on the belief that more play and creativity will paint a brighter future. Our Museums cater to children aged 1 to 7 and they champion unstructured, imaginative play that’s driven by the child. This approach is centred on open-ended inquiry and collaborative meaning-making. MoPA’s educational philosophy aligns seamlessly with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Victorian Curriculum, ensuring the strongest and most relevant learning foundations. We take immense pride in our recognition as global leaders and innovators in the fields we play.

When your little learners arrive at MoPA, they will generally require no encouragement to dive in. Everything you’ll find in the space is thoughtfully designed to allow children to safely discover and explore independently, without the need for instructions or cues. What might come as a surprise is that MoPA is not just a realm for little ones; it’s a place designed for families to explore and learn together. Every exhibit you encounter will allow for collaboration, and actually offers opportunities for both you and your child to engage in play and learning together.

Research indicates that children’s earliest development occurs through their connection to communities, especially their families, who serve as their initial and most influential educators; and so you will play a pivotal role in your child’s learning and growth during each MoPA visit.

Play may not come as naturally to some adults as it does to children, and parents often seek guidance on how to facilitate their little ones’ interaction with various exhibits. While you may spot me wandering the museum floor in my ‘expert in early learning’ t-shirt (please say hello, if you do!), ALL of our wonderful educators are capable of pointing you in the right direction in this regard. At any time during your visit, please don’t hesitate to ask us questions.

Our Museum’s are jam-packed full of exhibits and activities, but here are some of my personal favourites that will help you get your play-based experience started:

The Blue Block Room

This STEM-inspired exhibit encourages critical thinking while experimenting with engineering concepts. Collaborative building offers richer opportunities for your child to articulate observations and derive new meanings from their creation, and as a caregiver, you can prompt your child to identify shapes, angles, and patterns that provide stability to the structure. Or how about a family building challenge? Using 15 pieces, can you build a contraption that transports us across time? You’ve got 10 minutes.. GO!

Star Studio

Lights, camera, action! The Star Studio offers numerous learning opportunities, including increased confidence, creative expression, voice animation, and character development. By actively participating in this performing arts exhibit, you can help your child develop the capacity to present ideas to an audience through embodied expression and role-play. Why not encourage your child to dress up the adults in costumes, assign character names, teach dance moves, and stage a family performance? Participation from adults will deeply enrich your child’s experience here in the Star Studio – plus, it’s FUN!

Art Wall

Resembling a more traditional museum display, The Art Wall offers a range of learning moments, and is the chance to introduce your child to the world of art. Interact with the unique exhibits, mimic the displays, and discuss what you notice in each artwork. Whether identifying aesthetics like colours, textures, and shapes or forming opinions about preferences and why, these group discussions greatly benefit your child’s cognitive development and overall understanding of how broad our interpretation of the arts can and should be.

Zoom Room

Set up a family Zoom Room race! Time how long each car takes to get from start to finish. Who won? What shape was the track or car that they used? Did that help them win? How about the size and shape of the car – did that help? Try a few rounds using different tracks and sized cars to test out the differences. By actively using questions in this exhibit, you can prompt your little one to make new connections about the basics of physics. And as they compare the different race results, they consolidate new understandings about the effects of push and pull and an object’s shape and size.

Cinema Room

Need a break? Head to the Cinema Room, grab a beanbag, and read a book together. There’s nothing like finding a moment of stillness to savour the magic of MoPA. Taking time as a group to regulate energy and emotions in a low-sensory space underscores the importance of reflection, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence for your child. And if it’s ultimate peace you seek, be sure to find your way to our cocoon-like privacy rooms for time-out, silent feeding, prayer, or just some good quality quiet time together.

Remember, it’s okay for your visit to be entirely child-led. Depending on what captures the interest of your little one, you may explore some of these areas during one visit, and other areas next time. Embrace your child’s natural inclinations to unfold and enjoy the journey with them.

The learning potential in these spaces is boundless. Whether it’s socially developing through role play with new or old friends, dialogue and group games with fellow guests, cognitively developing with problem solving and critical thinking, or physically developing by increasing fine motor skills, coordination, balance and stamina – the learning opportunities at MoPA really are limitless.

If you’re interested in more ideas, don’t hesitate to reach out to any of our amazing MoPA Educators on the floor during your visit. We relish discussing all things related to play-based learning and creative exploration.

We cannot wait for you to dive in and experience all the ways your family can play together.

No matter what age, we’re always learning!

Billie Georgieff
Director | MoPA

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

Socials

As of right… NOW, we have opened up bookings for Birthday Parties @ MoPA Thomastown. This means you can book a party for ANY date on or after Monday, the 2nd of December, 2024!! 

Sooo… If you’re hoping to secure a party booking at MoPA Thomastown, all you need to do is head over to mopa.com.au to lock it in. Please don’t worry if you don’t know EXACTLY how many guests you’re expecting to invite to the party; to secure the date, all you need to do is place a booking for the minimum number of guests (10) and we will confirm all the details later.

Annnd… We’re expecting all party time slots for DEC 2024 and early 2025 will sell out pretty quickly, so if you have a specific date in mind, we recommend that you secure that date early, before it gets snapped 🐊 up!

WE CAN’T WAIT TO PARTY WITH YOU, NORTHSIDERS! 🥳🕺🌈♥️
The MoPA inspired party cake game has been EPIC lately!! LURVE these incr-edible creations 🎂❤️🌈
GIVEAWAY TIME!! Just 10-minutes of family play each day is oh sOoOoO healthy for our lil' ones (and for us carers too, mind you)! Our gorgeous Museum shop is JAM PACKED with creative inspiration for all kinds of family holiday play. And today we assembled a bunch of our favourite gems from the shop for one MASSIVE once-in-a-holiday giveaway worth more than $500 smackos!!

HOW TO ENTER:

Tag a friend (someone that you'd love to visit MoPA with, perhaps!) and you'll BOTH receive one entry into the draw to win. Enter as many times as you like by tagging all your besties. On Wednesday 2nd OCT 2024 we'll pull ONE lucky winner out of the hat, and that winner will go home with ONE OF EVERY SINGLE ITEM in this post, plus a handful of free tickets to MoPA for every member of BOTH of your families to visit either of our Museums. 

OUR FAVOURITE THINGS (AND EVERYTHING YOU WILL WIN) INCLUDES...
- Temporary Tattoo Pack
- MoPA Sticker Sheet
- @fabercastellaustralia Tr Colour Pencil Pack
- @Resene x MoPA Limited Edition Tote Bag
- Faber-Castell Modelling Dough 
- Oh So Colourful Windmill
- Dress Up Day Book
- Rainbow Dreams Activity Pack
- I ❤️ MoPA Keyring
- Faber Castell Mini Unicorn Garden 
- Wheelie Cars
- Rainbow Cloud Chalksters
- Makedo Cardboard Tools
- Sushi In Tray Play Set
- Construction Zone Sensory Bin
- Sausage Dog Number Junior Puzzle
-  Wooden Icecream Stacking Toy
- Colour Change NeeDoh
- Tubbies Bath Paint Set
- Ingenious Symbols Wooden Piece Set
- Faber-Castell Connector Paint Box
- I love rainbows Book
- Rainbow Bluetooth Karaoke Mic

HAPPY HOLIDAYS - GOOD LUCK!!!!
Comfy capacity limits are in place! We typically recommend that guests plan and book their visit 1-2 days in advance to ensure you don’t miss out on tickets for the session time that suits you best. x MoPA
School Holiday Sessions @ MoPA!! Limited tickets available (to ensure the Museum is never overcrowded). Every session this hol’s is jam packed with new activities, and it’s all included in ticket pricing!! x MoPA
ATTN: CASUAL & PART-TIME JOB SEEKERS!

Melbourne’s brand new Children’s Museum, MoPA Thomastown, will open soon - and we’re excited to start the recruitment process!! Over the coming 6 weeks we will assemble a high performance team brimming with Engaged Early Learning Educators, Excellent Experience Team Members, Joyful Party Hosts, A+ Baristas, Astute Chefs and a big cup full of Tasty Cooks!

Jump over to our JOBS page for information on all the roles available!! x MoPA
Building a Children’s Museum is a BIG but enormously rewarding journey! 

A team of more than 100 incredible designers, architects, engineers, agents, consultants, technicians, carpenters, tilers, plumbers, glaziers, electricians, metalworkers, surveyors, woodworkers, prop makers, artists, craftspeople and painters have all worked in loosely organised chaos for over a year to bring this amazing new Museum to life. 

Whilst we’ve still got a LOT of work to do, we expect the new Museum will be ready for a grand opening in November. And the very thought of all your smiling faces running through the door on day one is keeping us massively energised!

If you’re keen to be among the very first birthday parties, excursions, members or casual guests through the doors at MoPA Thomastown, be sure to pop your name on the “GET MOPA THOMASTOWN UPDATES” mailing list (you’ll find the sign up form at the bottom of the Thomastown page on our website). 

...Annnnnd if you might be interested in joining the amazing team here at MoPA Thomastown, we’ve now up for opened applications for all the casual and part-time roles. Head over the the “JOBS” section of the website to learn more.

See you soon!! x
Today we’re launching our new theme “Happy Hearts, Happy Places” (Showing Sep 2 until Oct 12) and this gorgeous new ART HOUSE activity is a part of this theme. 

But why “Happy Hearts, Happy Places”? Because developing an understanding of COMMUNITY is one of THE most important early learnings. It helps children feel connected and valued. It helps them form a sense of identity and appreciate others’ perspectives. And, in effect, it empowers children to grow into compassionate, engaged adults who care for one another and the world around us. 

The ART HOUSE activity featured in this post is a key part of this new exhibition. Children can make a home, school, coffee shop, library, or any other building or feature of their community that feels important to them.

Seeing this paper bag community come to life is going to be very special…
🥰 WIN 1 of 3 TONIEBOX PRIZE PACKS 🥰

We’re still riding high after the amazing @tonies_anz launch featuring @emmamemmamemma at MoPA last week 🎉 

To keep the celebrations going, the tonies team is giving away 3 x Toniebox prize packs, each with one Emma Memma Creative-Tonie Unicorn, featuring her latest tunes plus Emma Memma’s new song – Coconut Tree 🥥🌴🎶 – exclusive to the Toniebox!

How to enter:
♥️ Follow @tonies_anz
♥️ Like this post
♥️ Tag 3 friends below

Entries close Friday 6th SEP 2024. GOOD LUCK 🤞🏼

Terms & Conditions:
3 winners chosen at random. Each winner receives 1 Red Toniebox and 1 x Emma Memma Creative-Tonie Unicorn. Aus residents only. Winner announced on Monday 9th SEP 2024. One entry per person. Winners will only ever be contacted directly via DMs from THIS account (@museum_of_play_and_art ).