A classroom at the Port of Melbourne?

The Port of Melbourne offers a real life teaching and learning resource.

The Port Community Education Centre, known as Port Ed, is part of the Port of Melbourne Corporation’s innovative Ports and Maritime Education program.

Port Ed was opened in October 2003. Since then it has been a centre for students to learn about maritime related topics, including the development of the Port of Melbourne, trade, ships, shipping and transport.

The classroom is just metres from the Yarra River right in the heart of the port, so students get a close-up view of the different berths and docks and see how different cargoes are loaded and unloaded. Some groups have had the experience of viewing some of the biggest ships up close as they enter or leave the port.

All the programs are tailor-made to the teachers’ requirements to fit in with the school curriculum and they are FREE.

Some classes have experimented with simple machines and then looked at how the same scientific principles have been adapted to the high-tech machinery they see operating on the docks. Buoyancy testing of different hull shapes has been done as well as recording the weather and the varied birdlife in the area. Students and teachers have also studied the development of the port.

Students have also examined bags of shopping in order to discover where ships bring goods from other parts of the world as imports, together with looking at Australia exports. It is often surprising to find out how much cargo is moved across oceans!

Different kinds of ship and their various purposes are explored. Due to its close proximity to the Port, classes at the Port Ed Centre can often watch real examples navigate the river just outside the classroom.

For more information...
Port of Melbourne Education Program