Childrens University - Motor Museum of Western Australia

Inspire young minds with unique learning experiences

Motor Museum of Western Australia is proud to be a participating Learning Destination for the Children’s University program—an initiative that nurtures curiosity and lifelong learning in children aged 7 to 14 years across Western Australia. Through engaging, hands-on experiences beyond the classroom, we help young minds experience the fascinating world of motoring history while contributing to their educational journey.

What is Children’s University?

Children’s University, delivered in Western Australia by Edith Cowan University (ECU) and The University of Western Australia (UWA), provides children with a Passport to Learning. By visiting accredited Learning Destinations like Motor Museum of Western Australia, students collect stamps towards their Passport, accumulating hours of learning which are recognised through graduation certificates and ceremonies—including the chance to don cap and gown at university venues.

How Your Visit to Motor Museum of Western Australia Counts

When Children’s University members visit Motor Museum of Western Australia, they can:

Explore over 200 vehicles from the late 19th century to the present day—including rare and historic cars, motorcycles, and world-famous vehicles like Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 Red Bull RB10.
Engage in fun, educational activities and exhibitions that link to science, engineering, and history.
Earn validated hours in their Children’s University Passport by participating in our museum experience.

Simply present your Passport to Learning at the museum to have your visit stamped and counted toward your accredited learning hours.

Get Involved

To participate, children must be enrolled in the Children’s University program through their school, which then provides a Passport to Learning. Upon visiting accredited destinations like Motor Museum of Western Australia, children can log their learning hours and progress toward an official Children’s University graduation.

For further information about enrolment and opportunities, visit Children’s University WA or contact the programs at ECU or UWA.

Frequently Asked Questions

Firstly, your school must sign up as an official Children’s University Australasia (CUA) partner school. Your school will then need to appoint a Children’s University School Coordinator before inviting interested students to become members.

Yes. There is an annual membership fee charged to each participating student. Students pay this fee to their school.

After memberships have been finalised, the School Coordinator notifies the Children’s University team at ECU. The school will then receive an invoice for the total amount. Annual membership fees contribute towards the costs of activity participation including a Passport to Learning, assistance from the Children’s University team with initial school set up, graduation ceremony, the CUA website and online activity portal.

Schools may choose how to pass on this fee to CU families. For example, it can be passed on directly to families or subsidised from the school budget or from fundraising initiatives in order to support the participation of students that wish to be involved.

Students gain Passport to Learning hours through regular extracurricular activities (e.g., sport, music, clubs), plus Children’s University-exclusive opportunities:

Free ECU school holiday workshops (Perth and South West campuses)
Visits to over 105 WA Learning Destinations, including Motor Museum of Western Australia
1000+ activities on the Children’s University Online Portal (life skills, diversity, sustainability, and more)
Student achievements are then celebrated annually in an official CU Graduation ceremony held with regalia.

Children’s University learning activities must take place outside of the normal school curriculum time.

These times may include before school, during school breaks, after school including the weekend and school holiday periods. Only activities at Learning Destinations which have been validated by the Children’s University can be included, of which Motor Museum of Western Australia is one.

For activities at a Public Learning Destination, such as Motor Museum of Western Australia, the provider will stamp the passport.

The program encourages children to try a range of new activities and aims to promote independence in learners. Within each award level members must aim to complete a mix of activities; ideally no more than a third of the hours should be spent on any one activity. For example, to achieve a Bronze Award (30 hours of CUA learning) a passport may include:

10 hours of swimming club activities (practice, competitions, coaching)
10 hours of music lessons (tuition, practice, performance)
10 hours made up of school club activities and activities at validated Public Learning Destinations

Currently Children’s University membership is based around the school as many extra-curricular activities are already taking place in schools, and this is a great starting point for Children’s University learning. Once children are used to participating in validated learning based at school, they can start to explore further opportunities in the wider community. This is why in-school Children’s University coordinators are essential for the day to day running of the program and their role in preparing for graduation is invaluable. Other organisations that provide a similar support structure (such as local libraries) can also be involved in Children’s University membership.

You will need to have a Children’s University coordinator in the school to oversee the program. This role could be filled by a teacher or a member of the support staff and could be carried out in a few hours per week after the initial set up stage. The coordinator will oversee the running and validation of Children’s University clubs or Restricted Learning Destinations in school, manage the issue and maintenance of Children’s University Passports to Learning, distribute Portal login information, approve Portal online activities, liaise with Children’s University around the validation and provision of activities by Public Learning Destinations and assist in preparation for graduations. Training in all of these areas will be provided by Children’s University.

The Passport to Learning is where Children’s University members ‘collect’ their learning. Each activity is recorded, along with the time spent, and validated with a stamp from the Learning Destination. As learning hours accrue, they build towards Children’s University certificates awarded at graduations.

Learning Destinations are places and organisations that children can ‘travel’ with their Passport to Learning. They provide high quality learning activities and experiences that have been ‘validated’ by Children’s University’s own quality assurance process (Planning for Learning). A Learning Destination can range from a museum to a farm or from an airport to a corporate business as long as the learning activity connects with Children’s University learning and is linked to actual higher education course provision.

Reach out to your school’s Children’s University coordinator or visit our contact page.