A working week at Museums of History NSW

In the last week of November 2025, three Year 10 students from across Sydney participated in a work experience program with the Learning team at Museums of History NSW. Grace, Amelia and Nuha enjoyed an in-depth, behind-the-scenes experience at several of our sites and gained useful insights into the inner workings of MHNSW. 

Visiting the diverse and inspirational sites that MHNSW cares for helped these emerging historians to engage with different perspectives on NSW history and the importance of these stories to the broader history of Australia, while also understanding how each of the MHNSW teams – from Learning to Curatorial and everything in between – contributes and works together to manage exhibitions, tours and conservation across a number of heritage sites.

Highlights of the week included participating in a learning program at Rouse Hill Estate, where they helped Stage 1 students to ‘step back into 1889’ through a captivating, costumed experience, including classroom instruction from the strict ‘Miss Fox’ and activities such as saluting the Queen of Britain, spelling and arithmetic practice, sewing, and twisting ribbons on a maypole. Nuha said:

Travelling to the physical sites, instead of researching on a laptop, has its own charm to it too – getting a feel of the environment, and being encompassed in the atmosphere, is a learning experience in itself. 

They also assisted the Learning team to deliver a Stage 3 program at the Hyde Park Barracks, including leading the ever-popular activity where students dress in convict ‘slops’ and ‘work’ as bricklayers. This allowed them to demonstrate the educational and engagement skills they had absorbed through their work experience.

The action-packed week gave these emerging historians an excellent understanding of the different functions and areas of expertise within MHNSW and how each of the sites and learning programs contributes to diverse narratives of NSW’s and Australia’s history. Grace said:

I love gaining knowledge of society and people’s ethics/ambition, as they are subjects of life that really appeal to me ... The work experience was a wonderful opportunity that I will be forever grateful for. 

Edited by Ruby Stathis, Learning Program Deliverer, Museums of History NSW