The WA Museum – Albany is launching a new exhibition on 8 August, featuring themes and objects selected and created entirely by young people.

xHIBIT aLBANY is the culmination of a joint project between the Commissioner for Children and Young People, the Western Australian Museum and Millennium Kids aimed at giving young people the opportunity to have a say about how they think museums should present exhibitions.

More than a hundred children and young people from the Great Southern region were asked to create a museum exhibition around an idea, issue, story or object that inspired them.

The resulting exhibition, xHIBIT aLBANY, is a colourful and inspirational display featuring themes and objects selected by young people and created with the help of Museum exhibition designers.

Commissioner for Children and Young People Michelle Scott said the project was an innovative way of involving young people with their local community and helping them to have their views heard.

“I am pleased to see the success of this project which shows to the whole community the importance of listening to young people and involving them in decisions that affect them.

“Young people have a lot of good ideas about what would help their local community and by involving them in projects such as this we are recognising their value as citizens,” she said.

Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Western Australian Museum Diana Jones said consulting with young people and gathering their views on how exhibitions should be presented was greatly beneficial to the Museum’s planning for the future.

“We initiated this project as a way of engaging with young people and to really listen to their ideas about exhibitions.

“The Museum has gained immense value through this project and is very excited to now be able to offer the local community the opportunity to be able to view the children’s ideas and inspirations themselves.

“We are thrilled to see how much the children have taken to the project and how excited they are about exhibiting their displays in the Museum.“

Millennium Kids Inc Program Director Catrina-Luz Aniere said working with the children in the Great Southern has been an enriching experience.

“The children had such fabulous ideas and have been so excited about working with the Museum and creating their own exhibition. Millennium Kids is pleased to have been a part of this project and to have assisted in creating the forums to allow the children to have their say.”

The exhibition opens on 8 August and runs until 27 September.

On 8 August, the Museum will also launch another exhibition for children called Toys: Science at Play

Toys: Science at Play, a travelling exhibition developed by Scitech, features a huge range of colourful toy displays and hands-on activities. Come and discover engaging exhibits including dolls, pinball, kaleidoscopes and more.

To celebrate the launch of xHIBIT aLBANY and Toys: Science at Play, the Museum is providing a family fun challenge for the whole community from 1.00pm – 4.00pm. The family fun afternoon will feature

• Demonstrations of popular computer games
• Private collectors’ toy’s displays, brought out especially for the day
• Toys made from recycled materials from all around the world and you can try the recycled toys challenge with great prizes
• The chance to make your own old-fashioned toys such as a jack-in-the-box
• Family challenges, see if you can walk on stilts and try your hand at hoops and sticks or old fashioned games like egg and spoon
• Puppet shows
• Mini-animation workshops with Great Southern Factor Inc.

WHERE: Western Australian Museum – Albany Residency Road, Albany
WHEN: August 8, 2009
TIME: Open Day 1.00 – 4.00pm, Launch of xHBIT aLBANY 1.30pm
AGES: All ages
COST: Free
BOOKINGS: No bookings necessary

Western Australian Museum
Renee Dodds
0417 970 239

Commissioner for Children and Young People
Darren Gillespie
0434 327 804

Millennium Kids Inc
Maureen McDanniel
0408 941 481