Day 4

Mt. Ainslie

On day 4 of Canberra Camp the grade 6 students went to the top of Mt. Ainsley. It was a long drive up there but we all thought it was worth it. It was a great view from up the tall Mountain. From the wonderful view, we all saw Lake Burley Griffin, The Canberra Museum, Telstra Tower, the Old Parliament House and the New Parliament House. The best view from Mt. Ainsley was the very point of it where steps led up to. After checking out all the good views we had to say goodbye to the beautiful mountain. Than down the hill we had to go again.

Daniel S 6W

High Court of Australia - Click to view Website

On day four of Canberra camp we visited the magnificent building of the high court of Australia. Here we learnt all about the legal system we, Australia use. There are three courts.

Hence the name court one is the highest court in Australia. If no-one can make a decision or you are not happy with the outcome take it to the high court where the final decision will be made.

In each court there was a version of the royal Australian emblem. In court one there was a tapestry, in court two it was made of wood and in court three the emblem was made of copper.

It was great to learn all about how some of the biggest decisions in Australia are made and who makes them.

Emily K 6W

National Gallery of Australia - Click to view Website

On day four of our Canberra camp, we visited the National Art Gallery. First all of the grade 6’s broke up into two groups. Each group had a tour guide to show them some interesting paintings. They had chairs for us to sit on while they talked about the paintings. But one group missed out because there wasn’t enough for everyone. Some of the famous paintings we saw were the Blue Poles, and someone called Gough Whitlam bought it for $1 million dollars and it is now worth $60 million. It was made of canvas, and was a sort of collage. We also saw lots of Ned Kelly paintings. They were all by Sidney Nolan. Each painting told a different story. The aboriginal grave poles were right near the front entrance. They were also a very new exhibition. When an ancestor dies they crush the bones up and put them in a special wooden pole. It was all designed to be like a river and you walk through and see all the different animal poles. We also saw a sculpture of a sorcerer and it was designed so her shadow looks different. We were not allowed to touch anything. The paintings were really creative and a lot of work was put into them. I had lots of fun and I think everyone else did too.  Lauren 6W

National Museum of Australia - Click to view Website

On day four of our Canberra camp 2004 we went to the National Museum of Australia.

We saw the Australian Garden of Dreams, which was interesting, and circa, a moving exhibition which showed Australian people, places, and things. There was a computer program, and you could make an Australian backyard with it, and a place where you could learn an Aboriginal dance. You could build a house or a flying car and see it in a 3D movie.

 My favourite things were the dance studio and the Aussie backyard thing. But I also liked sitting on one of the seats and talking to my friends Emily, Alexandra, Chloe, Jasmine, and Claire.

 It was lots of fun and I would like to go there again. Emily H 6W

Electoral Education Centre - Click to view Website

On day 4 of our Canberra camp, we went to the Electoral Office. When we first got there we watched a short movie about when Australia Federated and what happens when you vote and also about voting. In some parts of the video some animated heads talked and there were little animated people who talked too. After we watched the movie we went into room and it had lots of activities to do about voting. It was an easy way to learn because you are doing activities at the same time. There was 5 or 6 things to do and I did 4 of them. Then we went into another room and we learnt about referendums. We did one. We had to vote YES if we wanted the Federal Government to control our water or NO if you wanted the State Government to control it. We had to get a double majority and YES won. Then we outside to have lunch and we saw the Aboriginal Embassy. It was a very interesting embassy made of tents!  Zoë 6W