Social story | GDFL2 workshops

ACMI is a museum - a museum all about movies, TV shows, and videogames.

ACMI is in Melbourne, in Federation Square. ACMI has two entrances, with big ACMI signs at both.

This is the Flinders Street entrance.

This is the Federation Square entrance

If I come to ACMI by bus, I'll be dropped off around the corner from ACMI with my classmates and teachers.

If I am coming by train I will get off at Flinders Street Station with my classmates and teachers. It is across the road from Federation Square and ACMI.

If I'm coming by tram with my classmates and teachers, there are a number of tram stops really close to ACMI as well.

My teachers will know the plan and which entrance to go to to start our day at ACMI.

A staff member from ACMI will meet us outside, and then bring me and my classmates into the building.

If I require wheelchair access, the best entrance is the Flinders Street entrance as it has a ramp. The Flinders Street entrance will bring me into the Ground level of ACMI.

Inside ACMI, there are two lifts to get from Ground Level to Level 1, as well as a lift that goes to Ground Level, to Level 1 and Level 2.

ACMI's exhibition, galleries and workshop spaces are wheelchair friendly.

There are also large stairs connecting Ground Level and Level 1.

There are also stairs connecting Level 1 with Level 2.

There are toilets on the Ground Level and Level 1, including accessible toilets.

There will be times when me and my classmates may need to stop and wait as we move around ACMI.

Often there will be places to sit whilst I wait, but visitors can't sit on the floor, and I should not block hallways and pathways.

At ACMI, I'll be doing a workshop, which means I am going to make something - it could be a movie, it could be an animation, it could be something else entirely!

ACMI Educators will meet us outside the Federation Square entrance and bring me and my class inside past the ticket desk.

Once inside, we will stop at some comfy couches where I can leave my bag whilst I use the bathroom if I need to.

The bathrooms are very close, and there is an accessible bathroom nearby.

Whilst I wait for everyone to come back from the bathroom, I can look at all the cool, funny, and silly things in these cabinets called 'Curios'.

Our workshop will be in a space called Gandel Digital Future Lab 2. If I am doing the Junior Coders, Light and Shadow, Stop Motion Startup or Animated Portraits, there will be two classes from my school. My class will either be doing the workshop first or visiting the exhibition at ACMI first.

I will find out from my teacher or the ACMI teacher which is first for me and my class.

My class will have lunch after the first part of my visit and before the second part of my visit.

If I'm doing a different workshop like Videogame Character Creator, Film It, or Film Crew, it will just be me and my class, and we will work in the space most of the day and leave the space for lunchtime.

The ACMI teachers and my teachers will tell me more about this space once our workshop has started

In this space I might work in a pair, or a small group. In this space I might be doing some coding, animation, or something else just as fun.

The ACMI Teachers will invite us to sit on the floor at the start of the workshop.

There are chairs in this space that have wheels, but I will try not to move around too much on these chairs so me, my teachers, and others are safe.

In the photo below, I can see students are making puppets and using lights and coloured cellophane to make a cool light show.

These students are using Lego to make animations

These students are looking at the work they made as a class; looks like they are enjoying their creations!

Before my workshop finishes, the ACMI Teachers will invite me and my classmates to sit on the floor to talk about our workshop, and maybe even watch what I and my classmates have created on the big screen.

After my workshop, it will either be time for lunch or time to go back to school.

As part of my workshop, I might be visiting the ACMI exhibition as well. But if my workshop is called Videogame Character Creation, Film It, or Film Crew then there won't be time because I will be very busy creating whilst at ACMI.

The ACMI exhibition is free, and I can come back with family or friends another time.

My teacher will brings us down the stairs from Level 1 to Ground Level, and introduce me and my class to another ACMI staff member at the bottom of the stairs inside the foyer.

The ACMI staff member will show us the lockers where I and my classmates will put our bags. The ACMI staff member will give my teacher a key for this locker.

This is what the foyer looks like.

Then, we will stop here, and the ACMI staff member will tell us more about the exhibition which is called The Story of the Moving Image.

The ACMI staff member will talk to us about how to be safe in the exhibition, and remind me to enjoy myself!

ACMI staff will also give me a special object called The Lens. I can use this inside the museum, and take it home or back to school with me.

It's mine to keep!

Here is an ACMI staff member holding a Lens.

We will go into the exhibition in smaller groups with my teachers and any other adults that might be helping.

Someone from ACMI will show me how to use my Lens as I go inside through the entrance.

Some sections of the museum have lower light levels to help me see the things that are lit up.

Other areas are brightly lit so I can see everything clearly.

Some displays have headphones I can use to listen to audio content, while others have their sound playing in the space.

I can't climb or step on any platforms inside the exhibition.

I will see a 'No Touching' sign on artworks and precious objects as well.

Once inside, in the first part, there are lots of things to play with, and lots of things to watch as well.

I can try an interactive experience that lets me animate shadows.

I can play with optical illusion toys.

There is something called the Zoetrope.

It is fun to look at, but it also has fast strobing/flashing lights.

There is a warning sign outside the room.

One of people's favourite things is to make a digital flipbook, which I can save on my Lens.

In the next part, I will see lots of old movie cameras and miniature living rooms that have been built inside old televisions.

There is a Games Lab which has lots of old and new video games, there’s even arcade machine games to play! These can be noisy.

The Games Lab is in the middle of the gallery and is very popular. If it is busy, I may have to wait to play a game.

Near the end, there’s a room with comfy seats and touch screens.

This is the Constellation area where I can use my Lens to explore what I have collected in the exhibition.

There’s one last space I can visit before we exit, but it often changes - so I can see what's in there when I visit.

When we exit, we will come out near the big stairs where the ACMI staff member spoke to us about the museum when we started.

From there, my teachers will take us back upstairs to either collect our bags from the cupboard and go to lunch, or wait outside the workshop space for an ACMI Teacher to collect us so we can go back into the workshop.

If the weather is nice, me and my classmates will eat outside in Federation Square, just outside of ACMI.

I will be mindful of seagulls - they won't hurt me, but they will be very interested in my food.

I won't feed them.

If the weather is not nice, the ACMI Teacher will talk to my teacher about a good place that's undercover and close by where we can eat instead.

After lunch, I and my classmates will go back inside ACMI to either visit the exhibition or do our workshop.