Memorial Box Banter
Memorial Boxes are a wonderful learning resource for any age. Whilst some of the activities are tailored for a classroom environment, Memorial Boxes are also borrowed by organisations like aged care facilities to assist with reminiscence therapy and community museums to support particular displays.
There are six titles in the Memorial Box series:
Box 1 – Australia in the First World War
Box 2 – Vietnam: the Australian experience
Box 3 – Too dark for the Light Horse: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the defence forces
Box 4 – Australia under attack!
Box 5 – We want to do more: the experience of women and children during the Second World War
Box 6 – Our war in the Pacific, 1942
The program is supported by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, which enables each state and territory to have their own complete set of Memorial Boxes as well as duplicates of the most popular. Each box contains authentic and replica artefacts as well as uniforms, photographs, case studies, equipment, models, multimedia items and much more.
In this blog, we will feature some of the fantastic ways in which schools and community groups have used this resource to support activities in the classroom and beyond. We hope these ideas will be an inspiration to show you how to explore and adapt the items contained within each Memorial Box to suit the learning needs of your audience.
If you would like to share how you have used a Memorial Box or alternatively, if you would like to make a booking, please email: memorial.box@awm.gov.au.
Griffith War Memorial Museum
The Griffith War Memorial Museum borrowed Box 3 – Too dark for the Light Horse over ANZAC Day this year to assist with their special display on Indigenous servicemen and women. The exhibition was a success with over 300 visitors dropping by the museum to view the items from the Memorial Box.
The museum is currently working in close partnership with the local Indigenous community to develop a nominal roll that lists all Indigenous servicemen and women from the Griffith area. At present, 16 Indigenous servicemen and women have been identified and the museum has decided to extend their research beyond the immediate region.
We wish the Griffith War Memorial Museum all the best with their endeavours. If you would like more information on the museum and its valuable project, please visit their website: http://www.gwmm.org.au/.
