Indigenous children's toy company unlocking 'ripple effect of education' sharing First Nations knowledge

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In a bid to open new doors for sharing the world's oldest living cultures, Wingaru Education is taking First Nations knowledge to classrooms and homes across the country.

The company, founded by Dharug woman Lesley Woodhouse, has grown its range of kid-focused resources to include boardgames to books and language cards in the years after the pandemic.

The company's name translates "to think" from Dharug language.

"We could see how stressed teachers were, so we just wanted to do something nice," Ms Woodhouse told National Indigenous Times.

Their first venture into games, a culture-inspired bingo, was well received, she said, with eight games within their line on the market through their online store and a handful of stockists around the country.

A number of the products put a new spin on old favourites.

After a career in government, seeing potentially powerful storytelling going unheard, she "teamed up" with her husband, who had the technological design side covered and launched Wingaru after the birth of their first child.

"I feel like sometimes people don't know where to start when it comes to learning about culture, and then people get a bit frightened, whereas we try and break it down as simple as we can and give people nice starting points so that they then have that thirst to explore more knowledge, learn more and then start looking at some of those more challenging topics," Ms Woodhouse said.

While toddlers are the core target age, even teens have gotten a first-time introduction to knowledge.

Ms Woodhouse said a "ripple effect of education" - conversations taken home and shared, can follow as a result.

A broad range of knowledge holders, Elders and artists collaborate in the development of resources.

Ahead of the Christmas season, she said Winaru was keen to continue and "spark the much-needed education and a deeper understanding of First Nations culture".

"We've worked hard to ensure these games offer families and classrooms a hands-on way to connect with Aboriginal stories, symbols, and traditions, and collaborating with talented Indigenous artists like Aunty Cynthia means each game holds a unique cultural significance for First Nations people," Ms Woodhouse said.

"We're proud to create resources that reflect Aboriginal culture authentically and beautifully

"It's no secret that Aboriginal perspectives remain underrepresented in schools and workplaces. Our mission is to help bridge that gap by creating resources that empower both teachers and families to confidently engage with Aboriginal culture. Education is a crucial pathway to reconciliation, and these games are one more way to bring meaningful learning into everyday life."

https://nit.com.au/18-11-2024/14906/ind ... -knowledge