What

Self-directed

When

Terms 1 to 4, Monday to Friday

Duration

30 minutes

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Curriculum links & Accessibility & Access Fund

Year level

Years K to 10

Minmum student numbers

Minimum 10 students

Maximum student numbers

Maximum 60 students

Cost

education service fee

Booking information

Bookings 13 11 02

School visit information

Explore Victoria’s ancient landscapes and see creatures that once walked this land, from dinosaurs to megafauna to the ancestors of today’s iconic Australian species. Touch replicas of their bones, teeth and claws. Experience First Peoples' knowledge passed through thousands of generations and discover the traces of Gondwana’s ecosystems that are still with us today.

Students will experience

• Victoria’s ancient landscapes and see animals that once walked this land, from dinosaurs to megafauna to the ancestors of today’s iconic Australian species.
• Moving pollinators to their flower, to understand about the evolution of flowers and pollination.
• Climbing into a Thylacoleo cave and exploring how these marsupial carnivores lived.
• Standing beside ancient giant kangaroos and examining the size of these herbivorous giants.
• First Peoples' knowledge passed through thousands of generations.
• Traces of Gondwana’s ecosystems, through particular plants that are still with us today.
• Please note: Gandel Gondwana Garden is a living gallery, so it will change with the seasons.

Students will learn

• The interconnections between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Country and Place, through exploring that First Peoples of Australia have many different uses for grindstones; and learning that First Peoples use plants as a source of food and drink, as well as for making implements and weapons.
• That fossils tell us about animals that were once living.
• How the fossil record shows the way animals and plants have evolved over time.
• Structural features, such as the Thylcoleo’s claw and behaviours of living organisms enable them to thrive in their environments.
• That landscapes and environments change over time as the continents shift.

Victorian Curriculum links

Biological sciences: Foundation to Level 2

• plants and animals have observable features that can be used to group them in different ways
  VC2S2U01

Geography: Foundation to Level 2

• the interconnections between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Country and Place, and the importance of Country and Place
  VC2HG2K03

Biological sciences: Level 3 and 4

• living things have characteristics that distinguish them from non-living things and things that were once living, including fossils
  VC2S4U01

Geography: Levels 3 and 4

• the relationships between people and their place and its environment
  VC2HG4K01

Biological sciences: Level 5 and 6

• organisms have evolved over time, as seen in fossils and scientific records; the structural features and behaviours of living organisms enable them to thrive in their environments
  VC2S6U02

Geography: Levels 5 and 6

• the importance of sustainability to places and environments, including the custodial responsibility Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have for Country and Place and how it influences their sustainability practices
  VC2HG6K04