Simply contact Alison Shields on 08 8203 8333 to book or for more information.

We are currently accepting bookings for school class (years 3 to 7) visits from July 20, 2010.

You will receive an email confirmation of your booking. Teacher Resource Kits and other relevant Information are in the final stages of development and will be forwarded to you as soon as possible.

Community groups can make bookings to the Discovery Centre on Mondays and during school holidays.

Expressions of interest for tours can be lodged by contacting Alison Shields through the online contact form or on 08 8203 8349.

Just click to find out more:

• Adelaide Central Market
• South Australian Museum
• Art Gallery of South Australia
• Migration Museum
• Tandanya – National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
• Botanical Gardens

The Discovery Centre is located within a couple minutes walk from the Central Markets and associated restaurants.

No food is to be taken into the Discovery Centre.

We are happy to help students and classes with fundraising for the Discovery Centre and Guide Dogs.

Please click on the links to find out more about:

• Sponsoring a puppy from just $12.50 a month
• Conducting a fundraising event at your school.

The learning outcomes the students will gain from the centre include:

• Empathy gained from participating in activities whilst experiencing hearing loss or vision loss. Students will attempt to communicate with hearing loss and negotiate a simulated street scene with a white cane with the use of simulated vision loss glasses.
• Awareness of how people with a vision and/or hearing loss remain independent and mobile.
• Information about how guide dogs are trained and matched with a vision impaired person.
• Knowledge of how people become vision or hearing impaired with prevention messages with the aim of reducing the incidence of preventable vision and hearing loss.

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Please feel free to take photos of your students using the centre. We would love to share your memories, so please feel free to email them to us at dc@guidedogs.org.au

We will have available on our website:

• Follow-up activities specific to exhibits
• Teacher and student evaluation forms

The following items will be available on our website:

• General centre information for schools
• Map
• Booking procedures
• Other excursion opportunities in the area
• Teacher Resource Kit
• Information about the centre
• Location map and centre layout map
• Exhibit description and detail
• Classroom activities
• PDF of student activity booklet
• General information about Guide Dogs SA.NT
• Information about vision, hearing and guide dogs 
• Other activities available in the centre

The centre may sometimes have puppies in the Puppy Viewing Room for visitors to see. However, due to training schedules and other factors, we cannot guarantee this.

• The five senses
• Our bodies
• Diseases
• Vision - eyes, vision loss types etc
• Hearing – how the ear works, hearing loss etc
• Community involvement
• Fundraising
• Working animals
• Working dogs

The learning outcomes gained from the exhibits and activities within the Discovery Centre will be based on the South Australian Curriculum, Standards and Accountability Framework (SACSA).

The learning outcomes will be predominantly founded on the Health and PE strand. However, where appropriate, they will also meet other curriculum areas such as Mathematics, Society and Environment and English.

The objective of the Discovery Centre is to reduce the incidence of preventable vision and hearing loss.

1. Students arrive and enter holding room
2. Students receive Activity Booklet, simulated glasses and Discovery Ticket
3. Volunteer Discovery Centre Tour Guide conducts brief introduction
4. Students (in pre-determined groups of four) move to starting exhibits
5. Each exhibit is designed to be six minutes in length with four students
6. As students complete one activity they move onto the next one, ensuring they get their Discovery Ticket stamped
7. Near the end of the session time students are gathered into the holding room for a final talk by one of the guides.
8. Students are farewelled.

Students will not need spending money.

The exhibit design, content and learning outcomes have been developed for middle to upper primary school students – year levels 3 to 7.

At this stage, we do not accept bookings for students outside these year levels.

It would be appreciated if teachers could:

• Before arriving students are to be put into groups of 4           (5 maximum)
• Assist  with movement from one exhbit to another
• Watch for students who might need assistance
• Support the Volunter Discovery Centre Tour Guides as requested.

Students receive:

• Activity booklet
• Set of simulated vision loss glasses
• Discovery Ticket 

Student information:

• Must be paired with their Discovery Buddy and be allocated to group of four.
• School bags are welcome