Congratulations on making a booking with the Auckland Museum Learning team. Below is now what you need to know.
Documents:
What to expect:
As soon as your booking is confirmed, you will receive a booking confirmation via email. Cc’d in to this email will be an Auckland Museum Learning Specialist.
The Learning Specialist will contact you at least two weeks prior to your booked session. Please share any inquiry topics that your class may be working on, as well as any other needs that your group may require.
Preparing for your booking:
For any on site bookings, if you would like to visit the museum prior to your session, please let the Learning Specialist, cc’d in your confirmation email, know. If available, they would be delighted to meet with you to discuss your requirements.
For online or offsite bookings, your Learning Specialist will go through all the details with you to ensure a seamless experience on the day.
If you have booked an onsite visit, please make sure that you have planned for adequate supervising adults to support your class. For health and safety reasons, Auckland Museum will refuse entry to classes that do not meet the minimum adult supervisor ratios. Please see the Health and Safety guidelines for additional information.
If your plans change, please let the Bookings Team know as soon as possible, as if you can’t make it we would like to make sure these sessions are available for others who are on our waiting list. Cancellations made within 2 weeks of a booking will be charged at the full rate.
Health and Safety guidelines:
We strongly recommend that you spend time with your class to go through the guidelines and expectation when visiting the museum.
Conduct:
We request students to walk only and speak in a quiet voice. Stairs, hard floor surfaces, and the corners of showcases and displays represent the most common hazards.
Supervision ratios:
The Museum requires that students be accompanied by supervising adults with the minimum ratio of:
1:3 for ECE
1:6 Years 1–4
1:7 Years 5-6
1:10 Years 7-8
1:30 Years 9-13
Students are always to remain in these groups with their accompanying adults. Supervising adults should be advised of their responsibilities and the behavior to expect from their students. Help these adults by advising them on how to make the visit an effective teaching and learning experience.
Accompanying adults are responsible for:
- Providing active supervision by staying near students and can provide immediate assistance or direction
- Ensuring students do not eat or drink in galleries
- Ensuring students behave in an appropriate manner
- Having their group in the correct location, on time
- Being considerate of other pre-booked groups in a gallery
- Providing supervision and care for children under the age of 14 while attending the Museum
While Auckland Museum complies with its obligations under Vulnerable Children’s Act(2014), including the designation of a Child Safety Officer, the Museum does not accept responsibility for any children left unattended. Students always remain the responsibility of their teachers and accompanying caregivers
Food and drink:
Our Kai Room is a place where you and your learners can bring and eat your own food. Located on the western side of Te Ao Mārama (next to Hokohoko, the Museum Store), there are plenty of tables and chairs and some kitchen facilities for school groups to use.
Lunches may be checked in when lunches for your whole party are contained within large plastic bins.
The consumption of food and drink (including chewing gum) is not allowed in gallery spaces at all and we ask that you strictly observe this rule as apart of our conditions of entry.
School bags:
Limited bag storage is available. We politely request that as many bags as possible be left at your school or on the bus.
Accessibility:
Auckland Museum is committed to providing educational opportunities for all learners.
Our education team welcome the opportunity to work with teachers and teacher aides to best cater to student needs.
In order to support your students, we can offer:
- Pre-visit one-to-one session with individual students. This can help remove the unknowns for students and provides an opportunity for them to share their personal interests.
- Pre-visit joint planning with teachers of special needs classes. Under the guidance of the teacher in charge, our education offerings can be adapted for vision impaired, hearing impaired and specialist learning centers.
- Please ensure that you highlight any access needs during the enquiry or booking process. For further information, please speak directly with an Auckland Museum Learning Specialist.
- A ramp is located on both side of the north entrance. Disabled parking is available. Wheelchairs are available free of charge.
Other notes:
- Auckland Museum is open 10am–5pm, every day except Christmas Day
- The way visitors navigate around the Museum has changed due to building works, so to ensure you can easily make your way into and around the Museum, please see our getting around page.
- Most school groups are onsite between 10am and 2pm.