Questacon > Teachers > Exhibition Educational Resources > Mini-Q

Mini Q

Mini Q TV ad

Exploring the world through play.

Mini Q—fun for 0 to 6 year olds is a permanent exhibition at Questacon in Canberra.

Space Lab

Mini Q now has a new, updated zone called Space Lab that allows children to role play as astronauts or space scientists and explore magnetism, magnification, mass, fluids and polarised light.

Exploring with play

Mini Q’s stimulating environment for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and school aged children was designed with advice from early childhood educators.

Exploring the world through play helps a child’s body and brain to become better adapted for learning later in life.

The Mini Q exhibition contains different areas such as:

Water Play—a place to make water flow and work as a team.
Baby Space—a place to crawl about and explore.
Role Play—a place to shop, work and play.
Sensory Space—a place to see, hear and feel amazing things.
Active Play—a place to balance, navigate and roll around.
Space Lab—a place to pretend, predict and explore.
Quiet Space—a place to rest peacefully after a hard day’s play.

Entry fees and bookings

There are no separate entry fees to Mini Q, but there is a general admission fee to Questacon. Children under 4 years are admitted free only when accompanied by a full-paying adult. Please see admission fees to check admission fees for children over 4 years, adults, concession and family groups.

Your admission fee allows access to the whole of Questacon. Some exhibitions designed for older age groups in Questacon’s galleries have individual tot spot exhibits suitable for 0-6 year olds.

Holiday sessions

During very busy periods, Mini Q is restricted to timed tickets, which allow entry into the Mini Q gallery for a period of 45 to 60 minutes. This is necessary for preventing overcrowding and ensuring adequate safety and access to exhibits. During busy times, we recommend that you look at other Questacon galleries, then return to Mini Q when the gallery is less crowded.

Adult supervision

Ideally, we recommend that one carer (adult or older sibling) supervise one young family member (aged 0-6 years) within the Mini Q gallery. This individual attention helps to maximise the Mini Q experience for young children. If you have three or more children aged 0-6 years, we recommend that a second carer attend and supervise.

Group bookings

One pre-school or playgroup supervisor is admitted free of charge for every 4 students (FOC = 1 supervisor : 4 students). For groups with more than 1 supervisor for every 4 students, additional supervisors are charged the same entry fee as the students.

For pre-school and early childhood group bookings, please contact us by e-mail or call or 6270 2893.

Facilities

Facilities within Mini Q have been developed for Carers and young children, such as:

a baby change room
toilets that can be used by adults and young children, and
breast/bottle feeding area.

Additionally there are adjacent secure storage lockers for change bags and a stroller parking area (there is not enough room in Mini Q to accommodate prams).

Information on early childhood development

Most of the developmental benchmarks listed in the following documents are suggested guidelines. Children develop at different rates, so if you have concerns about your child’s physical or psychological development, please consult your doctor or paediatrician.

Website resources

Professor Fiona Stanley (2003 Australian of the Year) is a strong advocate of early childhood programs. She is Patron of The Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth
Raising Children Network (The Australian Parenting Site)
Parenting and Child Health (Australian)
Zero to Three Brainwonders (US based)
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research – Put Children First
ABC Kids The Playground (Australian)
ABC Catalyst transcript – change in problem solving IQ with increased stimulation in early childhood (Australian)
The Incredible Years (UK based)
From Neurons to Neighbourhoods The Science of Early Childhood Development (US based)
Growth and Development Resources (US based Medical University of South Carolina)
Early Childhood Australia
Child Development Institute (US based)

UNESCO Publications

Things to do at Home or in the Early Childhood Classroom

There are also lots of try at home activities in the Questacon Science Play section of this website.

Download All (Zip Archive) 640 kB

Baby Activities 115 kB

Toddler Activities 202 kB

Pre-school Activities 203 kB

School Activities 203 kB

Mini Q Curriculum Information for Teachers

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National Curriculum Links 236 kB

ACT Curriculum Links 236 kB

NSW Curriculum Links 828 kB