Written by ACMI.
The excursion that keeps teaching long after the bus ride home
Think back to your own first school excursion. The long bus ride. The buzz of being out of the classroom. That one moment that stuck with you for years afterwards. You probably don’t remember the planning that made it happen, but as a teacher you know exactly how much sits behind a single day out, and you know the difference between a trip that simply fills a day and one that genuinely impacts your students.
That difference is what we care about most at ACMI.
Why this is for you, not just your students
We work alongside teachers every week, so we know the real question isn’t “will the students enjoy it?” They will. The real questions are the ones you’re weighing up:
- Does it link to my curriculum?
- Is the planning manageable?
- Will it meet the needs of my class?
These are fair questions, because plenty of excursions don’t hold up to them. A great excursion isn’t guaranteed to change a life, and we’d never promise that. What teacher feedback does tell us, clearly and consistently, is that the learning is strongest when a visit is built into a learning sequence rather than treated as a one-off. When students understand why they’re coming and what it connects to, engagement climbs, and the experience feeds straight back into your classroom.
There’s something in it for you, too. A good excursion is quiet professional learning. While your students are absorbed, you get to watch experienced facilitators at work, pick up fresh strategies, and step back to see your students learning in a completely new setting.
What you get
ACMI is Australia’s museum of screen culture, and our education programs turn that into hands-on learning your students can’t get anywhere else. From animation and videogames to film, television and the work of real screen-makers, students step into the world of the moving image rather than just watching it.
Here’s the practical picture:
- What: Curriculum-linked excursions and on-demand resources across Media Arts, English, Drama andVisual Arts for primary through to senior secondary.
- Where: ACMI at Fed Square, Melbourne, with sessions in our cinemas, exhibitions and learning studios.
- When: Across all four terms each year, with sessions timed to fit a standard school day and the bus run home.
- Who it’s for: Whole classes and year levels, with programs scaled for different ages, abilities and prior experience.
- How: Browse our program and book your visit at www.acmi.net.au/education/, then build it into your unit with the planning support below.
How we make your planning easier
We design our programs the way we’d want them designed if we were back in the classroom ourselves. Clear curriculum links. Every program is linked with the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, so you can show your school leader the value before you’ve even booked. Most principals expect demonstrable curriculum outcomes, and we make that easy to show.
- Before and after, not just on the day. Standalone visits rarely reach their full potential. We have free learning resources on our website, so the excursion sits inside your unit, builds on what
students already know, and keeps working once you’re back at school. - Built for diverse classrooms. Our resources are designed to be differentiated, and we provide social stories www.acmi.net.au/education/education-visit-planning/ to support students who’ve never visited ACMI on an excursion, or who might feel experience sensory overload , know what to expect before they arrive.
- Room to be curious. We design for first-hand experiences, with enough structure to focus the learning and enough freedom to let it surprise them.
Planning your first visit: a starting point for new teachers
If this is your first excursion, take a breath. The logistics feel like the hard part, but the planning that makes a day land is mostly clear thinking, not paperwork. Here’s how we’d go about it.
Start with the learning, then choose the program. Begin with the outcome you’re working towards in class, then choose the experience that strengthens it. A visit booked to fit your unit will always teach more than a unit reshaped to fit a visit, so lead with the curriculum link and let the day serve it.
Map the before, during and after. The strongest visits sit inside a sequence, not on their own. Plan all three parts up front:
- Before: introduce the key ideas and vocabulary students will meet, so the day builds on something already familiar.
- During: give students a clear focus but leave room for the unexpected. Resist the urge to hand out pages of questions, because too much structure can flatten the very thing that makes the day memorable.
- After: line up one or two classroom activities that pull the experience back into your unit while it’s still fresh.
Sort the logistics early. A safe, smooth day is the foundation everything else sits on. Work through your school’s process for:
- permission forms and parent or carer consent
- risk assessment and supervision ratios
- transport and timing, including the trip home
- access and medical needs
- a plan for students who need a quiet moment.
Prepare your students, without spoiling the surprise. This is where new teachers often ask how much is too much, and even experienced teachers disagree. Both instincts hold some truth: enough preparation helps students feel comfortable with new ideas and settings, while too much can have them making up their minds before they’ve arrived.
Aim to orient, not over-rehearse. For students who’ve never been on an excursion or who might feel overwhelmed, a social story (a simple, illustrated walk-through of what to expect) can make all the difference.
On the day, model it then step back. Show your own curiosity early, then give students room to engage with the program and our educators in their own way. Some of the most useful moments come from watching how indivdual students respond.
Bring it home. Back in class, connect what students saw to what they’re learing about in class. A short reflection, a creative task, or a discussion that bridges the visit to the next part of your unit is where a good day out becomes real learning, and it’s often where you’ll notice impact in students that you didn’t expect.
Why trust us with your class
We’re not a one-off attraction; we’re an organisation with learning at its heart.. ACMI is Australia’s national home for film, television, videogames and digital culture, and our learning programs are made by educators, for educators, with the same care you put into a unit plan. Teachers tell us the same thing again and again: a day at ACMI is fabulous, however the value isn’t just the excursion , it’s how much easier the day at ACMI makes the weeks around it.
Book your 2026 visit
Our programs fill quickly, so it pays to lock in your spot early. Look at the full 2026 offer, find the experience that fits your unit, and bring your class to the place where screen culture comes to life.
See what’s on and book now at www.acmi.net.au/education/
Planning ahead? Share this with a colleague who could use a hand bringing screen culture into their classroom programs. This year, we’ll be at the National Education Summit presenting a workshop at the Classroom of the Future and will have an interactive animation stand. See you there.