Another massive weekend for the Wilson gang! Definitely a cracker though!!

On Sunday we headed into town to have a peek at what ACMI had in store for this month’s ‘Free Family Sunday’. The Wallace & Gromit and Friends Exhibition has just opened so we knew we were in for some fun Aardman attractions.

My two nippers love all things Aardman so it was best behaviour all morning in anticipation. (That’s unheard of BTW).

Free Family Sundays at ACMI (first Sunday of every month) let everyone and anyone dive into the museum free of charge. How awesome is that!! Due to the take-over by Aardman at the moment there was plenty of Stop! Motion Animation fun to be had.

First stop was Studio 1 where the children were able to immerse themselves in a world of ‘Claymation’, and have a heap of fun playing about with the green screen. The staff were really hands on and Tania made sure Poppy was in exactly the right position for the perfect shot. Monty was a little mystified by the whole thing and stood to one side, allowing his sister to go solo. She loved it!!!

Next we headed into ACMI’s cinema to watch Chicken Run. I’m ashamed to admit I had no idea there was a cinema here, and was pleasantly surprised at how brilliant it was. It felt really special to be in the Australian Centre for the Moving Image actually watching a film. I will be taking the children back for sure… in fact….. I may even go alone!! Shhhhh.

There was no holding the kids back once the movie was over; they had spotted the Stop! Motion Animation station and were desperate to have a go. Thank goodness Ryan was on hand to explain what they had to do. The children were carefully placing the jungle animals, taking a picture, moving them a little, taking another picture. Who knew they possessed such patience?!??! I’m not sure who got more out of this, the children or Mr.W. He was frantically downloading an app onto his phone so as they could do more of this over the holidays. The next big movie is currently being made…

There were craft activities, lots of Aardman classics to see, and in the museum (which is free entry all the time), a whole host of movie memorabilia and so much to learn about the history of moving image.   The children absolutely loved the old school video games, and Minecraft of course!!! They were flabbergasted at what the movies used to be like in the “olden days” and we even managed to spot “The Bg Dish” from our trip to The Parkes Observatory!!

Sadly time whizzed by and we missed out on a trip to the cafe! Shame as the food looked yum!!!

Safe to say we had a ball. ACMI is full to bursting with everything ‘motion picture’ you could possibly want. It’s wonderful for all ages, and a great chance to show the children just how far technology has come, and what really goes in to making the movies that we all enjoy!! A return visit is absolutely on the cards.

Oh, I know I say it all the time but…Melbourne, you never, ever let us down!! Another huge tick in the book for the “most liveable city in the world“.

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Free Family Sunday

Location: ACMI, Federation Square, Flinders St, Melbourne
Date: First Sunday of every month
Cost: FREE Age: 5-12
Web: acmi.net.au 

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School holiday workshops 3-15 Jul

A range of animation, film making and coding workshops for your little darlings!

Next free Family Sunday- 6th August: Winter Fantasy & Fables

Shake off the winter chill at the next fun filled family Sunday, exploring fantasy and fables through games, performance and song!

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What ACMI says:

“From wielding a lightsaber to perfecting YouTube videos, our Family Sundays program is a unique interactive experience you can’t get anywhere else.

Perfect for kids of all ages, we’ll take families on a journey through the moving image with themed days exploring everything from superheroes and Star Wars to fantasy, fables and gaming.

Get the frames focused, buttons mashing and clay animated as we get hands-on with filmmaking and animation, live video game competitions, crafty projects and more.”