EDUCATIONAL TOUR (approx 1.25 hours)

Our standard guided educational tour at the Golden Dragon Museum highlights a variety of educational topics where you can learn about – ‘Chinese and the Goldfields’, ‘Chinese Symbolism’, ‘Chinese Traditions and Culture’, ‘Arts and Crafts of China’, ‘Dragons and the Easter Fair Procession’, ‘Immigration and Integration’. This guided tour includes the Golden Dragon Museum, The Chinese Classical Gardens and the Kuan Yum Temple.

SCHOOLS [ratio: 1 staff/ adult free of charge to10 students, additional adults $11, (except for preschool, accompanying adult $2)]

 

                                        Preschool      Primary      Secondary      Tertiary

Golden Dragon Museum   $2                  $5                $5.50               $6
White Hill Cemetery          $2                   $2                $3                   $3

 

DISABLED GROUPS [ratio: 1 carer to 1 disabled person ]

                                        Adults       Children     Carers      Add. Adults                
Golden Dragon Museum  $8              $5                Free           $8
                                                 

EDUCATIONAL VELS PROGRAMS (approx 2.5 hours)

Our ‘Chinese Footsteps’ VELS program is a comprehensive program outlining the history of the Chinese Immigrants during the Goldrush. The kit contains material for teachers and an activity work sheets for students. This Program also comes with post-visit extension activities prompting reflection and consolidation in the class room.

• The Chinese Footsteps Education Program Kit includes: Teachers background notes, on-site activity worksheets, on-site re-enactment materials and post-visit extension activities.
• The Golden Dragon Museum Educational Tour includes: Guided Museum tour and Chinese Footsteps activity.

COST: Chinese Footsteps Education Program (kit) $18.00 per kit, plus the Golden Dragon Museum Educational Tour at $8.00 per student

 

REVOLUTIONS VCE PROGRAM (approx 1.5 hours)

The main purpose of this tour is to provide VCE History Revolutions students with a more grounded understanding of their course material. The tour gives the students items to look at while learning about the way these artefacts relate to their course.

Summary

The museum was built to display and teach the history of the Bendigo Chinese, all history is linked together and even this localised Australian history has strong links to the great events of the Chinese Revolutions.

We start with the longest imperial dragon in the world, Sun Loong. The dragon was the symbol of imperial China and it was the symbol of the emperor. This makes up the first topic of the tour. The power of symbols and the way in which the Emperors used myth, ritual and quasi-religious ideas to control the Chinese population.

Next is an overview of the three philosophers and the ideology that shaped Chinese history and culture up until the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Also touched on is the way in which these religions and philosophies helped further the power of the emperors.

More background history follows with a look at the museum’s stunning currency collection. Of particular interest to the students are notes from the early republic and the warlord period.

Linking the histories of the Chinese Revolution and the Bendigo Goldfields is an interesting and enlightening process. Many of the historical links and points that are made including; the presence of a local Hung Men society (tongmenhui), Nanjing Rebellion, Opium Wars, the growth of political awareness in Southern China and more.

We take a look at Sun Yat-sen’s funding and support some of which came from Bendigo Chinese. We also have a life-size wax Dr Sun Yat-sen.

Next is a look at some of our imperial furniture. These decadent artefacts serve as a great example of some of the late Qing dynasty’s problems. They’re also great examples of just how much was lost during the Cultural Revolution.

And finally, Loong, the oldest dragon in the world touches on many of these points.