The Melbourne Enquiry: Self-directed

What: Self-directed
When: Terms 1 to 4, Monday to Friday
Duration: 60 minutes
Year level: Years 3 to 6
Maximum student numbers: Maximum 100 students
Cost: $7 per student + education service fee
Booking information: Bookings 13 11 02
School visit information

Students undertake an enquiry into the city of Melbourne, considering both its history and possibilities for the future.

The Melbourne Story exhibition depicts the history of Melbourne since the arrival of the British in 1835. The exhibition consists of historical stories, artefacts, images and interactive components that illustrate the unfolding Melbourne story as seen through the eyes of its new citizens and original inhabitants.

The exhibition invites students to pose significant questions about how the city of Melbourne was developed and what sort of city it could be in the future.

Students will be provided with a trail booklet to document their investigations, pose their questions, and make tentative recommendations for the future. Activities in the booklet are organised historically and thematically capturing the themes: environmental impact, housing, social life and entertainment, transport, technology and First Peoples.

Students can use their own devices to capture image and sound.

Teachers can access back at school resources for further investigation in the classroom both before and after the visit to the exhibition.

Victorian Curriculum links

History: level 3 to 4

Identify the origin and content features of primary sources when describing the significance of people, places and events (VCHHC067)
Identify and describe continuity and change over time in the local community, region or state and as a result of the effects of European exploration (VCHHC069)
The role that people of diverse backgrounds have played in the development and character of the local community and/or other societies (VCHHK074)

History: level 5 to 6

Sequence significant events and lifetimes of people in chronological order to create a narrative to explain the developments in Australia’s colonial past and the causes and effects of Federation on its people (VCHHC082)
Identify the origin, content features and the purpose of historical sources and describe the context of these sources when explaining daily life in colonial Australia, reasons for migration and causes and effects of Federation (VCHHC083)
The causes and the reasons why people migrated to Australia from Europe and Asia, and the perspectives, experiences and contributions of a particular migrant group within a colony (VCHHK091)