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Free early learning program at South Australian Museum
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Freya Lucas
May 14, 2024
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The South Australian Museum has launched a playful new early learning program for children and families - the Crocodile Club.
A collaboration between the Museum, Raising Literacy Australia, and its publishing arm Little Book Press, this free program is inspired by Shoo, You Crocodile!, the popular 2020 picture book by author Katrina Germein.Shoo, You Crocodile! follows a group of young school students who encounter a giant crocodile in a museum bearing an uncanny resemblance to the South Australian Museum.
Inspired by the five floors and rich variety of natural history, fascinating science, and world cultures on display at the Museum, the children bravely shoo the croc through halls and stairways, past the animals of the South Australian Biodiversity Gallery, to the rainbow Minerals Gallery, and beyond.
Since being published the book has been sent to thousands of households as part of Raising Literacy Australia’s preschool book gifting program, which distributes free book packs to South Australian families to encourage everyone to read, sing, talk and play with their children.
Building on the book’s popularity and the Museum’s special position as a place of life-long learning across generations, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds, the Crocodile Club will provide young learners under five years of age with essential early experiences with nature, science, and literacy.
Access to the Crocodile Club is free, and includes self-guided tour resources and a limited release bag tag destined to become a must-have accessory across the state’s kindergartens and day-care centres.
Being part of the Crocodile Club also includes a subscription to bi-monthly e-newsletters to keep parents and carers in the loop with new content, special offers, and Museum updates.
The Crocodile Club, Museum CEO Dr David Gaimster said, is an important part of giving a new generation their first taste of the South Australian Museum and the many stories inside.
“Spend one minute in the South Australian Museum and you’ll see families from all around the world learn and discover together, from newborns to grandparents and everyone in between,” he said.
The Crocodile Club will encourage even more families to share this priceless South Australian experience, while also making a valuable contribution to accessible early childhood learning for families across the state.
“We are excited to partner with the South Australian Museum and support South Australian children to boost their early literacy skills, develop their love of books and also start forming their lifelong connection with South Australia’s cultural precinct,” Kate Ellis, Chief Executive of Raising Literacy Australia said.
Sign up to the Crocodile Club here.
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