[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Take a journey into the future with Road to Zero. A future where everyone is safe on our streets; a future where road deaths equal zero.
Road to Zero is a free road safety education gallery within Melbourne Museum, developed in conjunction with the Transport Accident Commission. It educates visitors on how we can prevent crashes and protect drivers, passengers, pedestrians, motorbike riders and cyclists.
There are two parts to the Road to Zero Education Complex – a free to the public Road to Zero Experience Space (you don’t have to pay for Melbourne Museum entry to visit) and the Learning Studio that’s usually only open to high school groups and sometimes for school holiday activities. Both areas draw on decades of TAC research and were co-created with road safety and education experts.
Each visitor receives a swipe card to activate each part of the exhibition so your results can be emailed to you. There are thirteen different areas to explore.
The kids particularly love the three-minute virtual reality car journey where you travel in a car from 1970 to 2055….
….an elevator simulation where you can experience a dramatic ‘drop’ from the 11th floor of the Royal Exhibition Building….
…and the opportunity to redesign intersections to be safer.
We also meet the TAC’s well-known Graham sculpture which shows how the human body would need to be built to survive a major car crash.
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For me, the greatest impact comes from seeing the ways a human body reacts to crashes at 30km, 50km and 100km. There are good reasons to advocate for lower speed limits on local suburban streets to protect our most vulnerable road users – children, the elderly, pedestrians and cyclists.
The video storytelling and interactive displays are very engaging; we spend around 1.5 hours inside the gallery as the kids are keen to repeat many of the experiences.
While the Road to Zero Experience Space is open during Melbourne Museum hours, the Road to Zero Learning Studio is only sometimes open to the public.
During the school holidays, we try out the equipment to create own TV ad about the importance of wearing protective gear while riding bikes, scooters or skateboards.
We spend around thirty minutes using Road to Zero’s high-tech touch screens to collate pieces of footage, then apply music, special effects and a catchy road safety slogan. The finished masterpieces are emailed to us.
The workshops are a fun way of getting young road-users to understand Victoria’s bike and scooter laws and how to keep safe while doing what they love.
The Road to Zero Education Complex is a great free activity for children and adults to learn about road safety. I think it’s best for kids 6+ years who can read and engage with some of the content. Note that there discussions of bodily injuries and death which may need to be sensitively discussed with younger children.
Best of all, we are still talking about the things we learnt while visiting the Road to Zero Education Complex.
As a family we consider whether cars are going at the appropriate speed, tut-tut at distracted drivers checking their mobile phones and think about ways we could fix our local streets to be safer for our daily bike rides to and from school.
We travel around the streets with new eyes…and new awareness.
For more things to do at Melbourne Museum go to Mini Mega Model Museum, Gut Feelings and the Melbourne Museum Children’s Gallery
A Museums Victoria membership is a great investment! Click here for the best memberships for Melbourne families
Click here for more things to do in Melbourne with kids
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- Road to Zero is free to enter and you don’t have to pay for Melbourne Museum entry. Just head down the escalators at the entrance.
- Road to Zero Learning Experience is appropriate for kids 6+ years;
- Note there is the discussion of bodily injuries and death which may not be appropriate for young children;
- School holiday workshops are also free. Bookings are recommended.
- School holiday sessions run for 30 minutes from 11am-3pm.
- Adults must stay with children though there are facilitators on hand.
- The activities and equipment inside the Road to Zero Learning Studio are suitable for eight to 13-year-olds accompanied by an adult, though younger kids can still be engaged;
- Melbourne Museum is part of Museum’s Victoria which offers an annual family pass that is one of our favourite memberships for families with children in MelbourneMelbourne Museum
- Melbourne Museum car park rates start at $13 for 0-1 hours, then $23 for 1-2 hours during the week or an $18 flat rate on the weekend;
- There are a number of ways to visit Melbourne Museum, click here to see how all the ways to get there including how to book a car park online and save up to 40%;
- Pram parking is available at the cloakroom free of charge, along with storage for large bags.
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