Learning for Life
Visual Arts at Explorers
Where big ideas become works of art.
Visual Arts gives children space to explore ideas, express themselves, experiment with materials and make sense of the world through creative expression.
Art is part of how children learn.
At Explorers, Visual Arts is more than just paint and paper. It is a way for children to explore ideas, test theories, communicate their thinking and express what they notice about the world around them.
Through rich, open experiences, children can get their hands into clay, explore colour and texture, work with paper and natural materials, and discover digital and photographic experiences.
Visual Arts sits within our Learning for Life curriculum, where educators intentionally create opportunities for children to experience, assemble, make and reimagine.
The phases of learning and creativity
Four phases. Endless possibilities.
Children can move backwards and forwards through these phases as their curiosities, confidence and creative capacity develop.
01 · Experiencing
Feel it. Test it. Discover it.
Children explore materials through sensory investigation, becoming familiar with their properties and possibilities.
02 · Assembling
Connect it. Combine it.
Children begin combining materials in new ways, experimenting with layering, joining, comparing and patterning.
03 · Making
Give the idea a form.
Children use materials to represent their ideas, stories and discoveries, making their thinking visible.
04 · Reimagining
What else could it be?
Children revisit previous ideas and processes, transforming and reimagining what might be possible.
A world of possibilities
It’s not just paint and paper.
Children encounter a beautifully curated range of two and three dimensional materials and experiences, with educators creating opportunities to experiment, investigate and develop ideas.
01
Clay
Shape, sculpt, press, poke and transform.
02
Paint
Explore colour, movement, marks and expression.
03
Paper
Cut, fold, layer, draw, construct and create.
04
Technological and digital invitations
Explore light, shadow, projection, photography and other digital experiences.
05
Nature
Discover creative possibilities in natural materials and the world around us.
See the artwork in person
Explorers Annual Art Exhibitions
The event our families look forward to every year.
For one special day, Explorers centres transform into galleries, celebrating children as the artists, thinkers and creators they are every day. Families are invited into their world of ideas, where months of exploration, curiosity and creative expression come together, giving children’s work, and their unique ways of seeing the world, the audience it deserves.
Children as artists with big ideas
When children see their work proudly displayed, they can experience a wonderful sense of pride, belonging and connection.
For families, it’s a chance to pause, see the world through their child’s eyes and discover the thinking, experimentation and imagination behind a creation.
Every centre’s exhibition looks different, shaped by that year’s children and the stories they’ve been telling all year through their art.
Spotlight: Tarneit
A gallery, for a day
Our Tarneit centre turned its space into a gallery, hanging children’s paintings, clay work and collages for families to walk through together. Scroll through a few moments from the day below, or follow along on Instagram for more.
One Fine Baby
We’re bringing a selection of original children’s artwork to the Explorers stand at the One Fine Baby Expo.
19 and 20 September 2026One Fine Baby Expo · Melbourne
Curious about Explorers?
Come and see it for yourself.
Visual Arts is one of the many ways children explore, create, communicate and make meaning at Explorers. Come and meet our team, explore our learning environments and discover what makes Explorers different.
