Working together with students as co-creators of exhibitions and content in the Museum can produce a rich source of creativity, critical thinking and ultimately an ‘other’ voice for the public to hear about issues facing them and wider society. In today’s increasingly participatory Museum environment there is the need to be more inclusive of audience voices. In particular, is the importance of championing the student voice and the opportunities that exist for greater collaboration. Students need to feel that they have a voice in order to participate and engage in the complex world around them. Museums, through their exhibitions and programs have the opportunity to more effectively collaborate with students and education stakeholders and provide them with a platform to express their feelings and aspirations in a critical and creative way. The Powerhouse Museum has enjoyed a long history of student-based exhibition which have gone on to become permanent fixtures, such as the annual DesignTECH exhibition, showcasing the best of the state’s Major Design Projects. The Museum is working more extensively to provide the public with an ‘other’ voice not always heard in public forums, such as evidenced with the recent 2012 Koori Art Expressions exhibition, in which students from years K-12 have produced artworks in response to this year’s NAIDOC theme – The Tent Embassy. The reason why this initiative is significant is that the education audience are key Museum stakeholders, which in many instances are an untapped resource of creativity and critical thinking which can be harnessed through working together more effectively. The motivation to further champion this student voice is recognising the transformative role of students as future agents of change, through fostering these critical and creative skills. Many people say not to work with animals or children however this presenter disagrees altogether with the latter. This presentation will provide delegates with an insight into what has worked at the Museum in collaborating with students and education stakeholders to produce exhibitions and content as well as highlight some of the challenges which exist.

1. The importance
of the student voice
within Museums
Janson Hews,
@janson_h
Mgr Education Programs,
Powerhouse Museum
Museums Australia Conference
20 May 2013
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizbernunz/269911586/
1Saturday, 25 May 13

2. 2
2Saturday, 25 May 13
I want to start with the story of Aunty Red. The words you are about to hear were written by 10 year old student Tegan Weldon.
My Mum’s name is Larraine but everyone calls her Red because when she was a little girl she would always eat red strawberries. She lived in Gulargambone.
She used to ride motorbikes and go emu nesting with my Pop.
She lived with my Dad, but he’s no longer with us. He passed away in 2003.
She is important because I love her and she loves me. Mum is special because she taught me to speak, stand and write.
She is like the women in the exhibition because she goes to TAFE every day. The women in the exhibition all look after people. My Mum looks after her family. She is the best Mum in the world.
Tegan wrote this story because we asked her to tell us about a woman who was important in her life. It was a story that only she could tell and one that impacted her, her mum and the visitors in the Museum who read it.
Our role at the Museum was pretty simple, it was to ‘stop, collaborate and listen’.

3. The student voice within Museums
Why should I care?
3
3Saturday, 25 May 13
1. WHY SHOULD I CARE ?
People’s expectations around the way they engage with Museums have changed significantly. We need to respond to these expectations if we are to stay meaningful in peoples’ lives. The following are four reasons you
as a Museum professional should collaborate with students at every opportunity you can to ensure their voice is heard.

4. #1
People today are ‘produsers’ (Bruns 2008)
contentcontent produser
(as producer)
(as consumer)
The future is user-led
4
4Saturday, 25 May 13
Pt. 1 > People today are producers not consumers of content
A social revolution has occurred in the way people interact with the world around them, brought about by new media and web 2.0.
Today the production of ideas today takes place in a far more collaborative and participatory mode. People are as much producers as they are users of information and knowledge. They are ‘Prod-users’.

5. Wikipedia Recent Changes Map
Real-time map showing changes to Wikipedia entries worldwide
5
5Saturday, 25 May 13
Wikipedia shows us that anybody can create information. This interactive map shows us the vast number of changes to Wikipedia entries worldwide in real time, involving vast amounts of collaboration.

6. COMMUNICATION
TRADITIONAL
MEDIA
books
journals
newspapers
television
magazines
PHYSICAL LOCATIONS
musuems
galleries
university
work
schools
cafe
home
library
NETWORKS
personal/
behavioural/
publicly articulated
friends/ family
social/ professional/
colleagues/ lecturers/
university peers/
facebook, twitter
note: these all overlap!
GAMES
words with
friends
angry birds
WORDS
exchangegmailtxt messages
skype google chat
AUDIO/VIDEO
ONLINE AUDIO
soundclouditunes
podcasts
audiobooks
PRODUCTIVITY/ NOTES
calendar
remember the milk
google calendar
evernote notes calendar
delicious diigo
BOOKMARKS
pinterest instapaper
ONLINE VIDEO
youtube
vimeo
ted talks
rsa vision
BLOGS/ NEWS FEEDS
wordpress
australian
curriculum
blogger
tumblr rss feeds
lost at e minor
ONLINE SEARCHING
qr reader quora
scholar
google + twitter photosynth
WEB 2.0/ SOCIAL MEDIA/ SHARE
instagram cyclemeter
facebook flickr slideshare
linkedin tweetdeck
runkeeper
Personal Learning Environment
PLE
Janson Hews
TECHNOLOGY
macbook pro
iMac
iphone
adobe suite
ipad
browsers
kindle
wordpress
COLLABORATE
google docs wikis
blackboard learnning
office
6
6Saturday, 25 May 13
Where you learn and how is no longer fixed due to the prevalence of mobile devices. This is what my PLE or Personal Learning Environment currently looks like. Of interest is the extent of peer-to-peer collaboration and
student centred learning.

7. People want to collaborate and be heard
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pnca/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooklyn_museum/
#2
7
7Saturday, 25 May 13
Pt. 2
People want to collaborate and be heard?
Museums as a result have become more participatory than ever. One need only look at the volume of blogs, levels of public programming, artist in residencies and exhibitions with user generated content
People are no longer content with Museums as places where they go to simply listen, they go because they want to have dialogue and be recognised as co-collaborators. If you don’t provide visitors with this dialogue they
will take their discussions elsewhere.

8. Students are a core museum audience#3
8
Neglect them at your peril!
8Saturday, 25 May 13
Pt. 3
Students are a core Museum audience
Students are a core Museum audience throughout most institutions. At the Powerhouse they currently represent almost 15% of total visitation at almost 50,000 students. Neglect them at your peril!

9. Students are our future change agents#3
Museum provide the raw assets
for inspiring our next generation of
designers, makers, thinkers & scientists
9
9Saturday, 25 May 13
Students are future change agents
Students are also future agents of change within our society. They are a rich source of creativity and critical thinking. We need to utilise our collections as raw assets to inspire our next generation of designers, makers,
thinkers and scientists.

10. Showcase an ‘other’ voice to the public to hear about
issues facing them and wider society
Museums have a responsibility to
champion the student voice
#4
10
museum
voice
‘other’
voice
10Saturday, 25 May 13
Pt. 4
Museums also have a responsibility to champion the student voice
Museums as public institutions hold a unique position. They can utilise students as an ‘other’ voice for the public to hear about issues facing them and wider society. They allow us new ways of seeing. Often more
optimistic yet critical, creative and solutions-oriented, than say some of our more adult audiences and learned colleagues.

11. Museums serve as a valuable ‘third space’ for learning
(Waters, 2009)
Museums have a responsibility to
champion the student voice
#4
Home
Museum
School
11
1
3
2
11Saturday, 25 May 13
Museums occupy a unique ‘third space’ for students. They bridge the gap between school and home, a space where students learn and experience in different ways finding new forms of creativity, self-expression and
confidence. Importantly this involves giving space for children to be producers as well as consumers of knowledge

12. The student voice within Museums
How will this improve my
professional practice?
Examples of co-creation and platforms for
student expression
12
Exhibitions Programs
12Saturday, 25 May 13
2. HOW WILL THIS IMPROVE MY PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE?
I want to highlight a number of co-creation projects with students as well as various platforms which have amplified the student voice within the museum. These involve a mix of exhibitions and programs, the idea being
that you may be able to take some of these elements back to your workplace.

13. Exhibitions
13
The Odditoreum
Koori Art Expressions
An Important Woman
DesignTECH
13Saturday, 25 May 13
Exh
ibiti
ons

14. An Important Woman
14
#1
14Saturday, 25 May 13
1. ‘An Important Woman’
Features: Temporary display, high co-creation, small budget and relatively small staffing resource, topical, quick turnaround, easy. High level of collaboration between students, teacher and museum, strategic
This was a partnership program between the Museum and Glebe Public School, a school within the local community. It was a response to the annual Indigenous Literacy Day event, which seeks to raise awareness of the
literacy crisis in remote Indigenous Communities.

15. An Important Woman
15
Women in Yinalung yenu: women’s journey exhibition
15Saturday, 25 May 13
We invited students to visit the exhibition Yinalung yenu: women’s journey, to learn about the important role of women in Indigenous Australian society.

16. An Important Woman
16
at the museum at school at the museum
Collaboration Collaboration
16Saturday, 25 May 13
Students worked with James Wilson Miller exhibition curator. We then did some scaffolded templates on personal narratives using the women in the exhibitions.
Students returned to school to then write and illustrate a personal narrative about a woman important in their own lives and what she shares in common with the women in the exhibition.
They then returned to school to see their display at the Museum. These two women at the bottom right were the group’s teachers.

17. An Important Woman
17
David Malouf Indigenous Literacy Day talk
17Saturday, 25 May 13
This project started as a writing program and evolved into a display as well as a talk by students presenting alongside David Malouf and Bronwyn Bancroft for Indigenous Literacy Day event at the Museum

18. An Important Woman
18
Storytelling as a vehicle for personal expression
“The Aunties were very encouraged by the
exhibition and feel that it is the type of experience
that will ensure that their culture lives on”
Greater stakeholders in the museum through
participation as authors of material on public display
18Saturday, 25 May 13
How did this amplify the student voice?
•! They learnt about the transformative power of reading and storytelling as a vehicle for personal expression and communication
•! It captured the students’ creative literacy achievements
•! A large percentage of the school’s student population are Indigenous, where having their voice heard in such a public forum was empowering. The teacher involved commented: “The Aunties were very
encouraged by the exhibition and feel that it is the type of experience that will ensure that their culture lives on”
•! The collaboration allowed students to become greater stakeholders in the Museum through their participation as authors of material on public display.

19. DesignTECH Exhibition
19
#2
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/destek_2012.php
19Saturday, 25 May 13
2. DesignTECH Exhibition
Features: annual student exhibition, integrated into the museum exhibition calendar
This is an annual student exhibition showcasing the state’s top Major Design Projects as part of the HSC Design & Technology course. It has been held at the Museum since 1989, with this year being its twenty-fourth
year. Sitting alongside other key exhibitions it is attended by over 7,000 visitors. It is the only student-based exhibition of its kind in the state showcasing student design innovation. Similar student-centred exhibitions
include the successful ARTEXPRESS exhibition at the AGNSW.

20. DesignTECH Exhibition
20
Students addressing real problems they identify
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/destek_2012.php
20Saturday, 25 May 13
How it amplified the student voice
Platform for showcasing innovative student design solutions
What is compelling about this exhibition is the insight it provides the public into the level of innovation and problem solving demonstrated by students and how they have responded creatively to issues facing wider society.
It educates the public about the determination and passion students have to act as agents of change to address real problems through their designs

21. DesignTECH Exhibition
21
Problem = an ageing population
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/previous/destek11.php
21Saturday, 25 May 13
an ageing population. Motivated by seeing how her grandmother was being affected by arthritis this student designed an ergonomic peg without springs that allows elderly arthritis sufferers reducing the strain on the hand

22. DesignTECH Exhibition
22
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/previous/destek11.php
22Saturday, 25 May 13
An issue close to stuent’s hearts - an iPhone app designed to help learner drivers records their driving hours

23. DesignTECH Exhibition
23http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/destek_2012.php
23Saturday, 25 May 13
Another way we have put the student voice forward here is to create video interviews of students talking about the design process they undertook and the problem that they sought to address which are made available
online and in the exhibition.

24. DesignTECH Exhibition
24
Education pathways into the creative industries
http://www.tasmanmunrodesign.com/albums/album_image/7643439/6486630.htm
http://www.dhub.org/2010-design-nsw-travelling-scholarship-winner/
24Saturday, 25 May 13
Education pathways into the creative industries (image: all 3 students)
It serves as a springboard for education and career pathways.
Many students featured in the exhibition go on to achieve success within the Creative Industries and continue their pursuit of innovation such as:
Tasman Munro (DesignTECH 2004), who went on to study Industrial Design at UTS, establish his own design practice and was awarded in 2010 the Design NSW Travelling Scholarship. As part of that he was able to do
design work with the ROayl College of ARt where he contributed to the redesign of UK ambulances, a project which last year won the Transport category for London Design Museum Design of the year 2012.

25. DesignTECH Exhibition
25
25Saturday, 25 May 13
Encouraging collaboration between students is a key part of the DesignTECH seminar program that complements this exhibition. One recent initiative was having students interact with one another by either posing a
design problem which another student would respond to with a design solution. They did this using simple templates which we made up and left out for the duration of the seminars

26. Koori Art Expressions Exhibition
26
#3
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/koori_art_expressions_education.php
26Saturday, 25 May 13
3. Koori Art Expressions
Features: temp student exhibition, resource devel, intern. Easy
This temporary exhibition was new in 2013 and featured 70 visual art works by students across NSW from K-12. Presented in association with Sydney Region Aboriginal Education and NSW Department of Education and
Communities. A strong example of championing the student voice within the Museum, students responded to this year’s NAIDOC Week theme which was the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

27. Koori Art Expressions Exhibition
27
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/koori_art_expressions_education.php
27Saturday, 25 May 13
Cleo, grade 5 from Coogee
Sth PS

28. Koori Art Expressions Exhibition
28
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/koori_art_expressions_education.php
28Saturday, 25 May 13
How it amplified the student voice
‘The wheel of equality’ by Banksmeadow Public School (Years 3-6), is a colourful, woven work inspired by Aboriginal basket weaving. Made using old t-shirts, it features the colours of the Australian and Aboriginal flags,
creatively bound together to represent the many links that join both cultures and makes them equal in today’s society

29. Koori Art Expressions Exhibition
29
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/koori_art_expressions_education.php
29Saturday, 25 May 13
The following is a short video of indigenous artist Adam Hill who spoke about the transformative power that exists with students considering critical topics such as the Tent Embassy and creating artworks in response to
this, much as he would as a practicing artist

30. The Odditoreum Exhibition
30
#4
30Saturday, 25 May 13
4. The Odditoreum
Features: temp exhibition, resource heavy, highly collaborative, involved but highly rewarding
This exhibition which has co-collaboration and participation at its centre started off as a public program for the school holidays, transformed into an exhibition, book, limited edition print, interactive website and ultimately
an interstate travelling exhibition. It was the creation of Helen Whitty who was the Manager of the Families program at the Museum.
The Odditoreum was exciting because of the level of participation it engendered without any technology based interactive experiences. Plus the fact that it provided the Museum with a fun and exciting way to re-imagine
the collection particularly from the perspective of the public.

31. The Odditoreum Exhibition
31
18x ‘odd objects’
+
Shaun Tan - children’s author
Wrote 11x ‘fictional’ labels
31Saturday, 25 May 13
The Odditoreum brought together 18 ‘odd’ objects not in storage and a well known children’s author - Shaun Tan. He was invited to write 11 fictional labels in under 100 words.
The remaining seven labels were written by inviting year 4 students from Stanmore Public Schools to write some fanciful stories that blur fact and fiction much in the way Shaun Tan does in his work When things are
strange the brain sends out feelers for meaning and who knows what will come back!

32. The Odditoreum Exhibition
32
What is this ‘odd’ object?
32Saturday, 25 May 13
What is this odd object?

33. The Odditoreum Exhibition
33
Student label
33Saturday, 25 May 13
What Augustine (aged 9) from Stanmore PS said it was
Elephant’s wee
This lovely little ball is a great treat for all to eat. Made out of pure elephant wee, it is a luxury and only served at the finest of places. It was discovered in Africa in an elephant cafe when an elephant peed in a glass and
another elephant drank it and said it was good! So the elephant chef figured out how to make it into a great treat! It then made its way to humankind and I guess someone drank it and liked it and sold it to the museum
where it is now. If you want to try it, eat it now at your closest elephant restaurant shop.

34. The Odditoreum Exhibition
34
puree -
a ball of yellow pigment
used to die fabrics, made in
India about 1887
Collection information
What it actually is:
34Saturday, 25 May 13
What it actually is
puree -
a ball of yellow pigment used to die fabrics, made in India about 1887. Old Museum papers said the puree was made from the wee of an elephant fed on mango leaves.
The idea being that we wanted visitors to be curious enough about the objects to want to find out what they were and demand to know. Actual labels were displayed for those demanding to know.

35. The Odditoreum Exhibition
35
http://www.freshandnew.org/2009/07/fictitious-narratives-visitor-made-labels-the-odditoreum/
35Saturday, 25 May 13
The audience were then invited to write their own labels for each of the 18 objects which would added to this board and also uploaded to the Museum’s Flickr pool

36. The Odditoreum Exhibition
36
Botanical model of sweet
pea pod with peas, paper
mache, metal, plaster 1883
Cast of horses’ teeth,
papier mache, 1902
Botanical plant
specimen.
‘Dragon’s Blood -
3rd quality’, 1885
36Saturday, 25 May 13
What they actually are:
1. Cast of horses teeth, made from papier mache, 1902
2. Botanical model of sweet pea pod with peas, paper mache, metal, plaster 1883
3. Botanical plant specimen. The original museum label said it is ‘Dragon’s Blood - 3rd quality’

37. 37
Programs
Masterclass in reverse
Student evaluation
37Saturday, 25 May 13

38. 38
Student drawing evaluation#1
38Saturday, 25 May 13
1. Evaluation (1 min)
Features: easy to implement, slightly involved to collate
For our student evaluation of educator-led programs for example the Transport or Space Tour we have been experimenting using a combination of drawing and questionnaires to gauge what students take away from their
experience. Students complete these templates and hang them up on display in the gallery where the public and other students are able to look at them
These examples of capturing the student voice serves two purposes
1. To gain insights into what they learn and ensure this is meeting our intended learning outcomes for students
2. To create a sense of active learning within the museum and allowing visitors to see and understand what big concepts and insights (or not) that students are drawing from their experience within the Museum

39. Student drawing evaluation
39
39Saturday, 25 May 13

40. Masterclass in reverse
40
Flipping the masterclass concept on its head
Paradigm change in the way knowledge about technology is disseminated
today
Inviting sharp young experts to teach adults how to use leading
technologies including Raspberry Pi and Arduino
http:// www.raspberrypi.org http:// www.raspberrypi.org
#2
40Saturday, 25 May 13
Flipping the masterclass concept on its head
Inviting sharp young experts to teach adults about how to use leading technologies including Raspberry Pi and Arduino
Thinkspace - Part of Vivid Sydney in June 2013

41. Masterclass in reverse: Raspberry Pi
41
Create your own credit-card size
computer that plugs into your TV
& keyboard
How to program it also
Inventor of the mindcuber -
a machine that solves the rubic
cube using a camera to scan the
cube before unscrambling it
Master:
Julian Peen
9 y/o
http://mynxtprojects.jimdo.com/videos/
http://www.dhub.org/learn-raspberry-pi-from-a-nine-year-old/
41Saturday, 25 May 13
Master: 9 y/o Julian Peen
Create your own credit-card size computer that plugs into your TV & keyboard
How to program it also
Inventor of the mindcuber - machine that solves the rubic rube

42. Masterclass in reverse:Arduino
42
Learn about Arduino an open-
source electronics prototyping
platform
He’s a gamer, blogger, heavy coder
and video editor/ producer
Presented at TEDxYouth at PHM
on how more technology should
be taught in schools
http:// www.ewb.org.au
Master:
Aidan Temple
14 y/o
http:// tedxyouthsydney.com
http://www.dhub.org/arduino-open-source-and-curiosity-a-14-year-olds-journey/
42Saturday, 25 May 13
Master: 14 y/o Aidan Temple
Learn about Arduino an open-electronics prototyping platform
He’s a gmaer, blogger, heavy coder and video editor/ producer
Aidan presented 3 years ago for TEDxYouth@Sydney in 2010 at PHM on how more technology should be taught in schools

43. The student voice within Museums
What must I do?
43
co-create wherever possible
take risks and let go of control
act as an ambassador for the student voice
empower student authorship in the museum
provide platforms for participation and collaboration
43Saturday, 25 May 13
3. WHAT MUST I DO?
•! co-create wherever possible
•! take risks and let go of control
•! act as an ambassador for the student voice
•! empower student authorship in the museum
•! provide platforms for participation and collaboration