Canberra

Year 6 have had an AMAZING time in Canberra and are commended on their behaviour. We have had a great time sharing experiences with our friends and most importantly learnt so much.

Thursday

We loved the park in Goulburn where we first stopped! A great chance to stretch our legs and have a snack.

War memorial

Sitting in a real helicopter

Exploring the exhibits

Viewing the roll of honour

Hearing about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

New Parliament House

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to have our cameras inside Parliament House. We visited the House of Representatives and the Senate. 6SL were THRILLED that they got to see Tony Abbott from the gallery. We met our local member Russel Matheson who took the time to answer our questions. 

Then it was time to head for the much anticipated Questacon! 

We engaged in many hands on learning experiences.

In the photo above we are experimenting with refracting light.

Here we are watching the lady create drawings from a hanging pen! Here is the result.

The giant drop was definitely the crowd favourite though! 

Students experience the sensation of free falling, or being without gravity, briefly at the top of the slide.

After dinner we went to the National Archive of Music and Sound.

Placing technology in order of age - from records to phones (above) and creating a stop animation (below).

Friday

After a good nights sleep (for most!) we were up bright and early and ready for another big day!

First stop was the National Museum of Australia.

One of our favourite galleries was the Circa theatre, where we viewed thousands of years of Australian history whilst rotating (to much excitement) around a circular cinema.

There were many exhibits that we were able to explore.

Here we are experiencing what the shackles would have been like for convict workers!

Olivia "They were really heavy!!"

We were intrigued by the size of Phar Laps heart! Here Teagan is sliding images across the glass of a human heart and an average horses heart to compare size! 

Old Parliament House

Using swipe cards we were directed to move to different locations around the room to answer questions and learn more about either Democracy or Australia's past Prime Ministers!

 

Then we had a chance to participate in a role play in the House of Representatives. 

Jake took on the role of our first Speaker.

Jess became our first female Speaker.

Australian Electoral Commision

We were introduced to the voting process and the many steps along the way to everyone recieving the right to vote through an impressive AV presentation complete with talking 3D figures! 

Then we moved through a range of interactive activities to find out more information about our right to vote.

Finally, we got to participate in an actual election! We saw first hand the difference between a "First past the post" system like America and Britain and our Preferential voting system - this was reinforced even further when the candidate that got the most votes initially (Peach) was beaten in the 3rd round by Orange! 

We are now headed back home tired, full of knowledge, and excited to see mums and dads and share our learning!

Thank you to year 6 for their exemplary behaviour! After a busy two days, rest up on the weekend, we're looking forward to seeing you on Monday refreshed and excited to dive into your Government PBL. 

- What was your favourite thing about visiting Canberra?

- What was the most important thing you think you learned?

- Which place would you like to go back to? 

- How are you going to present your learning (board game, book, quiz etc)?