Design & Technologies Week 2024
Thanks to our sponsors for their generous support for Design & Technologies Week 2024
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Welcome to Victoria's Design & Technologies Week 2024. From the 23-31 May, we'll be celebrating this dynamic, challenging and and essential learning area, where school students learn to be the creative problem solvers of the future! And we have even more reason to celebrate this year, as our program is running alongside with Melbourne Design Week (MDW). This annual initiative offers a platform for designers, educators, enthusiasts, thinkers, and businesses to come together to share ideas and explore how design can be used as a force for good in an increasingly complex and precarious world. How you participate is up to you - you can browse resources and projects below for ideas - whether you do something special with your regular classes, deliver a lunchtime event or even run a design-themed school assembly. Maybe you can have a showcase of student work, or a special communication to parents sharing what students are doing in the workshop? You could also consider attending an MDW exhibition or event in person with your classes, or take part in a virtual session. We'll be sharing the best of the program with you all over the coming weeks, so keep an eye on your inbox! However you chose to participate, please do share your activities with Laura at pl@datta.vic.edu.au so we can continue to spread the word about the amazing work that happens in our member schools with the wider community. |
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Events and Activities for Design & Technologies Week 2024 Thanks to our fantastic partners for their contributions |
There is a wide range of events and activities happening for teachers and students throughout Design & Technologies Week. You can check out them all on our Professional Learning page, but we've highlighted a few of them below: |
In Person Activities |
| Led by Associate Profession Gene Bawden from Monash MADA, this hands-on workshop will explore ways teachers can engage students in creative design practice through interactive collaborative prototyping methods. Using simple, inexpensive and easily accessible materials, participants will try a playful 'make-break-repeat' approach to testing design ideas before committing to a final output. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Deconstruct and Reconstruct - Design for a Circular Economy from Sustainability Victoria RMIT, 10am - 12 noon Years 10-12 and Teachers Join Sustainability Victoria for an exciting event focusing on sustainable design! Learn how to rethink materials and products in a circular economy framework. Discover innovative ways to deconstruct and re-construct items to minimize waste and reduce environmental impact. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| First Nations Design and Culture from the NGV Ian Potter Centre, Monday 27th - Friday 31st May, 10am, 11.30am or 1pm, Years 9-12, $10.50 per Student Join an NGV educator in an exploration of the histories, cultures and knowledge that inform First Nations design and consider how cultural heritage can inform and inspire design. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| All About Design from the NGV NGV International and Ian Potter Centre, Monday 27th - Friday 31st May, 10am, 11.30am, 1pm or 2.30pm, All Levels, $10.50 per student What is design? What do designers do? Join an NGV educator to investigate how designers solve problems, address needs, present possibilities, tell stories, and imagine the future through their work. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Technologies Excursion with Puffing Billy Belgrave, Monday 27th - Friday 31st May All Levels - price dependent on excursion booked Did you know that Puffing Billy offer a fantastic range of programs for Design & Technologies education? Covering all levels, they include opportunities for students like Build a Bridge, Tools in Technology, Ideas and Innovation and Steaming STEM. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Top Designs Exhibition Visit with Melbourne Museum Monday 27th - Friday 31st May, various times Years 10-12 What better way to celebrate Design & Technologies Week than with a visit to Top Designs at Melbourne Museum? The Top Designs exhibition is a celebration of excellence, showcasing exceptional work created by VCE students. Your classes can see some of the best work from VCE PD&T and Systems Engineering, and VCE VET Engineering Studies, Furnishing and Integrated Technologies. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Design Sprint Pedagogy with Scienceworks Tuesday 28th May, 4.30pm - 6.30pm, $30 for Museum Teachers Teacher Professional Learning The Scienceworks team has been producing human-centred STEM Design Sprints for schools since 2018. Their design problems have ranged from building more inclusive communities to designing safe moon habitation, and many things between. Teachers are invited to this session delivered especially for Design Week and learn from their experience: their mistakes and successes, and what technology tools work well. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Long Table - Sharing Natural Dye Knowledges with RMIT School of Fashion and Textiles RMIT Brunswick Campus, Saturday 25 may, 12 noon - 1pm Senior Students & Teachers The Sharing Natural Dye Knowledges Long Table brings together students and community members to share and discuss dye plants, natural dyeing techniques, materials, sampling, and process journals. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Natural Dye Colour Sampling with RMIT School of Fashion and Textiles RMIT Brunswick Campus, Saturday 25 May, 3pm - 4.30pm Senior Students & Teachers Join a workshop at RMIT Brunswick Campus exploring natural dye and material techniques that respond to plants within the university’s dye garden and local area. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Curator's Corner - In Conversation with Cindi Strauss with NGV NGV International, Monday 27 May, 6pm - 7pm Senior Students & Teachers Join Cindi Strauss, the Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston to explore the significance of contemporary design in reflecting the values and complexities of our time. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Creative Careers with the NGV NGV Ian Potter Centre, Thursday 30 May, 4pm - 5pm Years 10-12 What’s next after study? What can you do with a degree in art or design? Join NGV for a special conversation and Q&A featuring professionals from diverse design fields as they share insights into their careers and the career pathways that led to them working in the creative industries. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Student-Built Chairs - Created from Waste with Zachary Frankel Tait Melbourne Showroom, Fitzroy, Thursday 23 - 30 May, 9am - 5pm Years 7-10 In this exhibition students from the Hester Hornbrook Academy, under the mentorship of Melbourne-based creatives, present their innovative chairs crafted entirely from waste materials and limited tools. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Futurestride - AI and VR Footwear with RMIT RMIT Media Portal, Monday 27 May, 1pm - 4.30pm Teachers This workshop gives emerging designers, educators, and the public an experience with several emerging digital design tools: AI image creation and VR sketching/3D modelling. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Fashion Re:Generation with Poppy Sommers Brunswick Street Gallery, Thursday 23 - Saturday 26 May, 11am - 5pm Year 7-12 & Teachers Fashion Re:Generation exhibits the work of RMIT Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) graduates who are at the forefront of innovation and circular fashion design. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Zuster's 30 Year Celebration - Manufacturing Tour & Showroom Exhibition Zuster, Hawthorn, Thursday 23 May - Saturday 1 June, 9am - 5pm Years 7-12 & Teachers Zuster, meaning “sister” in Dutch, is an Australian luxury furniture brand run by five generations of the Dutch family. Alongside an exhibition, the Zuster sisters will host a tour of the Zuster showroom in Melbourne as well as the manufacturing factory in Thomastown. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Make a Lumagram with Monash MADA Monash University Caulfield Campus, Wednesday 29 May, 3.30pm - 5.30pm Years 10-12 In this hands-on session, participants will create a Lumogram: a touch-sensitive pendant that illuminates a miniature scene made from illustrated cutouts. The workshop lets students blend design, making, and basic electronics skills. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Net Zero Possible Futures with Monash MADA Victorian Pride Centre, Wednesday 29 May, 2pm - 5pm Years 10-12 & Teachers What might net-zero futures feel like? What kinds of new relationships to energy, mobility, and buildings will people need for this future to become a reality? Net Zero Possible Futures invites participants to explore these questions through experimental terrarium building. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Shaping the Future of Sustainable Surfboards with the Australian National Surfing Museum, Torquay, Friday 24 May, 12 noon - 2pm & Saturday 25 May, 6pm - 8pm, Years 7-10 & Teachers For MDW, the Australian National Surfing Museum hosts two events: a panel discussion and a surfboard shaping demonstration. Will Solly and Corey Graham bring together their passion for surfboard design, innovation and sustainability, to discuss contemporary shaping, challenges posed by working with new and alternative materials and the future of their craft. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Responsible Living Edge Showroom, Richmond, Thursday 23 May - Sunday 2 June Years 7-12 & Teachers Living Edge presents Responsible, where design meets environmental consciousness in a breathtaking display of furniture crafted entirely from recycled materials. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Jewellery Showcase with Seb Brown Seb Brown Showroom, Swanston Street, Thursday 23 May - Saturday 1 June, 9am - 5pm Senior Students & Teachers Showcase is a scrap book of ideas resulting in the production of a fine jewellery collection exhibited in the Seb Brown showroom. It shows the associated drawings, objects, etchings, maquettes and research materials behind the designs. The laboratory-like showroom, design by Sean Godsell, displays the messy works, with a view to the workshop where the pieces are being made. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Multifunctional Pet Furniture for Small Space Living Never Too Small Studio, Collingwood, Friday 24 May - Friday 31 May, 10am - 6pm Years 7-10 & Teachers This exhibition explores the world of multifunctional pet furniture tailored for compact living spaces. Furniture that not only serves as a pet house or bed but that also doubles as versatile pieces like storage units, extra seating, shelves, or planters. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Adventures in Designing with Country The Launchpad, Melbourne Connect, Swanston Street, Thursday 30 May, 5pm - 6.30pm Years 10-12 & Teachers How are design practices and their clients embedding ‘Designing with Country’ into their processes and cultures? This panel discussion will explore the ethical, ecological and energy challenge and opportunity of our lifetimes. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Animal Crossings - Design for Wildlife Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, Friday 31 May, 10.30am - 12 noon Years 7-12 & Teachers How can we design, with wildlife as our client? Hear from conservation experts Tricia Stewart and Eilish Roberts as they take us through the creative thinking that is designing roads for wildlife. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Intelligent Force Printing RMIT Design Hub, Carlton, Thursday 23 May - Saturday 1 June, 11am - 5pm Senior Students & Teachers This exhibition, by RMIT Architecture and RMIT Engineering, presents robotically fabricated prototypes that push the boundaries of architectural form and structure through innovative design. It explores material lifecycles, waste management, and industrial supply chains, aiming to showcase a disruptive approach to construction and architectural design. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Circular with Daniel Boddam Daniel Boddam Gallery Collingwood, Thursday 23 May - Sunday 2 June, 9.30am - 5.30pm Senior Students & Teachers In Circular, Daniel Boddam’s furniture pieces explore the potential of waste materials from construction sites and the fashion industry. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Designing Novel Interactions Melbourne Connect, Friday 31 May, 10am - 3pm Senior Students & Teachers The School of Computing and Information Systems of The University of Melbourne invites you to join them at the 2024 Cybernetics Futures Showcase. This exhibition shows students display a range of techniques from embedded systems, wearable electronics and digital fabrication to extend their practice and build technologies for the future we want to see. |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Koorie Heritage Trust Visit Federation Square, 10am - 5pm All Levels Design & Technologies Week is the perfect time to celebrate the incredible contributions that the traditional owners of these lands have made to design and engineering. You could visit the 3rd floor exhibition space which displays artefacts and photographs which represent the continuing journey of the Aboriginal peoples of south eastern Australia. You could also book a school walking tour of Birrarung Wilam. |
| Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre Visit Melbourne Museum, Monday 27th - Friday 31st May, 9am - 5pm All Levels If your classes are visiting Top Designs, or if you want to explore the culture and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, don't miss Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, which tells the story of survival against the odds and celebrates our vibrant cultures through artefacts, storytelling and artwork. And don't miss the Milarri Garden Train - a must for teaching Food & Fibre Production. |
| Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Lake Condah, Monday 27th - Friday 31st May - Tours operate on demand All levels A visit to the UNESCO World Heritage-Listed Budj Bim should be a must for all students of Design & Technologies. A tour will let you explore one of the oldest human-engineered landscapes in the world, and discover how the Gunditjmara people have lived on and managed the land sustainably for millennia. |
| National Trust Costume Collection Education Programs Incursion/Como House/Labassa House - times and dates on request Levels 7-12 The National Trust runs a fantastic suite of education programs based on their historic costume collection. Why not book a Fashion Trunk Show incursion for Design & Technologies Week, or take your class to Labassa House to be a Fashion Sleuth and Dress Detective? Your students will discover a variety of garments that demonstrate changing styles, manufacturing methods and societal changes. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| National Wool Museum School Programs Geelong - Times and dates on request All levels The National Wool Museum has a great range of school programs, designed for preps right through to Year 12. From Woolen Wonder, where students explore the properties of wool and get hands-on crafting with wool, fibre and textiles, to Industrial Innovations, which spotlights the innerworkings of the revolutionary innovation - the Jacquard punch card programming system - through a ‘hands on’ coding activity. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Victoria's Big Build School Excursions Metro Tunnel HQ, Swanston Street, times and dates on request All levels Victoria's Big Build has developed a fantastic range of education programs based on the Metro Tunnel Project, from Signaling Secrets for primary to Career Explorer for Years 7-10. What a great way to celebrate D&T Week! |
| Renewable Energy Demonstration with the Gippsland Climate Change Network Contact GCCN to arrange All Levels If you're a school in Gippsland, why not arrange for a visit from the Renewable Energy Demonstration Trailer (RED)? This program - a partnership between GCCN and TAFE Gippsland - promotes renewable energy options and raises energy awareness at schools. The RED Trailer has up-to-date technology that uses solar and wind and storage options to power a computer modelling system, to display real time data of energy produced and used. |
| Waste Education Sessions with Hume City Council Incursion, times and dates on request Primary Schools in Strathbogie, Mitchell, Murrindindi and Greater Shepparton are all eligible for Waste Education sessions through your local council. You can choose between Food Waste or Recycling Right, and students will get the chance to learn about the impacts of landfills, get to grips with the five materials accepted in the recycling bin with our hands-on game, and see how the food and garden bin is helping save food scraps from being wasted! |
Online Activities |
 | Designing the Future with Louise O'Brien from the NGV Online, Friday 31st May, 9.30am - 10.30am Years 5-6 - FREE Join architect and founder of Architecture for Kids School Louise O’Brien to imagine, design and refine an architectural concept. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| A Melbourne Design Week Program |
| Victoria's Big Build Online School Programs Dates and times available on request All levels There are some fantastic virtual programs based on the Metro Tunnel Project for rural and regional schools, including Staying Safe Around Construction, Ground-breaking Women and Sustainability in Rail Infrastructure. Book one now for your D&T week program. |
| Top Designs Web Hub Can't make it to visit Top Designs in person this year? Why not visit the Web hub, where your classes can take a virtual tour of the exhibition, watch recorded interviews with the student exhibitors and view all the works. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Future without Waste Online Incursion from the Port Phillip Eco Centre Dates & times available on request, Years F-8 Celebrate all things sustainability this D&T Week with the Port Philip Eco Centre's Future without Waste online incursion. In this session they explore all the different options and look at everything that you can do as an individual to help your home and school work towards Zero Waste. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Ceres School of Nature & Climate Virtual Excursions Dates & Times available on request, Years F-10 There are a great range of online programs delivered by Ceres School of Nature and Climate to suit your D&T classes - from Caring for Climate, Towards Zero Waste and Farming for our Future. |
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Resources for Design & Technologies Week 2024 |
| An Activity a Day for Design & Technologies Week This set of resources are designed to get your students (Or colleagues!) excited about design! They include An Introduction to Design; The Elements & Principles of Design - Focus on Indigenous Design; Invention Trivia Challenge; The Design of the Boomerang and Design Factor Speed Dating. |
| A DATTA Vic Resource |
| Minecraft City Challenges Our Minecraft-based design challenges get your students involved in tackling some of the biggest issues of our time: food and energy security, sustainability and health & wellbeing. These all link to the current United Nations: Sustainable Development Goals and also introduce the concept of Solarpunk, which can help to facilitate their approaches to designing and building preferred futures for the city of Melbourne. |
| A DATTA Vic Resource |
| Careers in Design & Engineering DATTA Vic created these short films in partnership with RMIT and Monash to spotlight pathways into further study and careers in the design and engineering sectors. They feature a fantastic range of fantastic young role models who are already pushing the boundaries in their chosen fields. |
| A DATTA Vic Resource |
| Speculative Design Challenges Want to encourage your students to be the creative problem solvers of the future? Then get them to take one of our Speculative Design Challenges! They include activities on Wearable Technologies; Drone Transportation; Future Communities; Home Healthcare and Lunar Living. Each activity includes a video, slides and a printable design thinking map. |
| A DATTA Vic Resource |
| Fantastic Fungi - The Sustainable Solution to Plastic Waste Want to celebrate emerging materials and sustainability with your students this Design & Technologies Week? Watch Amanda Morgan, founder and Head of Research and Development at the multi-award-winning Fungi Solutions, share how their work with mycelium diverts resources from landfill to sequester carbon, creates new, sustainable materials to design new products and generates economic opportunities. |
| A DATTA Vic Resource |
| STELR Resources STELR (Science and Technology Education Leveraging Relevance) is a national initiative of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. They have a fantastic range of resources designed to engage a more diverse cohort of students in STEM, from careers webinars to a Future Health module. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Inspiring Design Podcasts Inspired Education founder Rashan Senanayake has created this amazing series of podcasts where he interviews some of the key leaders in the Design sector, who share their knowledge in global technologies, design thinking, industry standards and most importantly, how they connect back to education. They include people like Marvel's Ben Donnelly who designs for Hollywood movies to Jacky Yang, inventor of the Pegasus flying car! |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Positive Role Models in Design & Engineering Want to engage a more diverse cohort of students into Design & Technologies? What better way than to highlight a variety of positive role models working in the fields of design and engineering. Discover some amazing creatives from Victoria and beyond whose work and stories will inspire young people. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| The Science of Solar This video by Professor Kylie Catchpole was created as part of the STELR Shape your Future project and is a great resource for your Systems Engineering students. Kylie is part of a world-class research team looking at all aspects of how solar energy can become a major part of the world’s energy supply. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Accessory Design Inspired by Comme Des Garçons In this NGV activity, students will learn about the conceptual processes of designer Rei Kawakubo, from Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons. Following a design process, students will design an accessory to accompany one of Kawakubo’s runway looks and create a sculptural prototype using simple materials. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Designers & Builders - Inspired by the Memphis Design Group This NGV art and design activity is great for the primary years. It explores geometric forms, shapes and colours in the work of Ettore Sottsass, and asks students to redesign an everyday piece of furniture from their home. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier This VCE PD&T resource from the NGV is based on The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier - From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. It includes a Fashion Design Task, focus questions and activities. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Fernando Laposse - The Avocado Legacy Want to get your students immersed in ethical design this D&T Week? Fernando Laposse is a Mexican designer whose work was part of the NGV Triennial 2024. He uses his design to highlight the negative impact avocado farming has had on his local community. Fernando's work is a great reflection on cultural influence on design, the ethical considerations of a designer's practice and the technology of materials. The NGV have produced this video on his work. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Creative Practice: Globe International by NGV The NGV has produced this fantastic resource for VCE PD&T which investigates the product design process used to develop Globe International’s G3 Bar Skateboard Deck and Dimension Shoe. It includes interviews with Global Head of Product Design, Matthew Wong, who discusses their initial product design through to sustainable product redevelopment. and examines the role of research, materials, technologies, evaluation and sustainability in their user-centred design process. The resource also includes questions for classroom discussion. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Creative Practice: Great Wrap by NGV This NGV resource for PD&T encourages students to investigate the product design process used to develop Great Wrap’s Nudie Roll, a home-compostable stretch wrap, and the Great Mate dispenser that accompanies it. In 6 videos, the designers describe the steps involved in creating the potato waste-based material used to produce the wrap and discuss key steps in the design process that informed the development and refinement of this ground-breaking product. They explain the importance of the end user in the design process and highlight the significance of their collaboration with Bayly Group designers. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Possum Skin Cloaks with Maree Clarke by NGV This is another fantastic resource from the NGV for Levels 3-6. Students learn about how Maree made her possum-skin cloak and the personal meaning of the design, then create a design representing significant places or journeys from their own lives. It includes a video, worksheet, resources list, tips on using the design process and evaluating their work. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| We the Makers by The National Wool Museum We the Makers is the National Wool Museum's biennial program dedicated to supporting authentic design, material consciousness and sustainable, ethical practice. Their Sustainable Fashion Prize challenges the next generation of fashion designers to create an outfit that “represents their personal design aesthetic and showcases their commitment to sustainable fashion.” The NWM has created this great series of interviews with the participating designers - Watch them with your students for some D&T Week inspiration! |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Ethical Clothing Australia Resources Do you want to explore local sustainable fashion with your students during Design & Technologies Week? Check out Ethical Clothing Australia's website for some great information. They prompt you to consider a range of issues, from, Are your school uniforms ethical? to The costs of manufacturing onshore vs offshore? You'll definitely find some great talking points to get your students engaged in this global issue. |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Workers' Stories by Ethical Clothing Australia Want to explore who is actually making the ethical fashions we are lucky to have in Victoria? Ethical Clothing Australia has interviewed three people involved in the fashion industry - Kin, Anh and George - and find out more about the process of manufacturing sustainable textiles and garments |
| A Design & Technologies Week Partner |
| Engineering Solutions: Air Pollution for Primary The UK's James Dyson Foundation has produced this unit of work for Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5-6 in Victoria) which focuses on how engineering can solve the global problem of air pollution. The digital pack includes lesson plans, work sheets, videos and posters. |
| Engineering Solutions: Air Pollution for Secondary The James Dyson Foundation has also created a unit of work on tackling air pollution for Key Stage 3 & 4 (Years 7-10 in Vic), which as well as the worksheets, videos and posters also includes an activity on using Arduino to build an air quality monitoring device. |
| Engineering Challenge Cards Here's another fantastic free resource from the James Dyson Foundation - you can download a range of engineering challenge cards, including a balloon car race, spaghetti bridges, marble run, cardboard chair, Chinese New Year, Ramadan, Deepvali, Christmas, and much more! |
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If you need some more ideas for activities, the Design & Technologies Week website is filled with resources to help you engage your students - including design challenges, engineering activities, virtual tours, STEM projects industry podcasts and much, much more! This site is live all year round, and is a great resource for teachers!
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