On 24 November 2009, the National History Challenge Awards ceremony was held at Australian Parliament House. An activity of the History Teachers’ Association of Australia, the competition is research-based, inviting entries from primary and secondary students from all over Australia and giving them the chance to be historians. Each year, students submit entries exploring the theme chosen for that year, using primary and secondary sources to produce an essay, performance, multi-media piece or three-dimensional model.
The theme of this year’s Challenge was Triumph over Adversity and a varied list of topics saw essays from students on Australia’s…
One of the key aims of the Museum of Australian Democracy is to inspire Australians to celebrate, debate and experience the past, present and future of Australia’s democracy. With this aim in mind, we’ve developed an extensive resource package for schools in conjunction with Curriculum Corporation based around the passage of Australia’s colonies to Federation. Now available for free download, Getting It Together, is a middle years schools resource.
Students will use Getting It Together to actively discover and explore the story of Federation: the social and political journey that led the people of six separate colonies to agree on a Constitu…
Getting it Together: Colonies to Federation is an online classroom resource being developed for students from years 5 to 8. A series of 7 packages, Getting it Together explores each state’s unique journey to federation. A national package brings each of the colonial stories together.
Each package is divided into three themes:
People and places explores the way of life in each colony prior to federation;
Road to federation examines the political issues debated by colonial parliaments in deciding whether or not to join in Federation; and
Celebrations and Futures looks at the way Federation was celebrated in 1901 and its continuing importance…
Old Parliament House is undergoing a major redevelopment due to open in May 2009. With a range of dynamic interactive tools, the exhibition experience at Old Parliament House will utilise cutting edge technology to engage and challenge visitors.
The redevelopment will provide new experiential learning opportunities for students. General Manager, Kate Cowie, “New education programs will encourage students to question what democracy is, where it came from and what it means to them. We are particularly excited about the interactive decision-making technology. Students will be able to engage with the process of political decision-making and see how…
