First Contacts
About the program
In this virtual excursion, your Stage 2 class will connect live with a museum educator and learn about first contacts between Aboriginal peoples and colonists that arrived as part of the First Fleet and aboard other ships in the early years of the colony of New South Wales.
Students will examine a range of historical sources including artworks and Aboriginal cultural objects and explore the impact of these new arrivals on the Aboriginal peoples of Sydney and the local environment.
Extend your excursion with this in–class activity:
Local Language Games [PDF]
Stage 2 Human Society and its Environment
Outcomes
- HS2-ACH-01 describes Aboriginal Peoples’ obligations to Country, Culture and Community
- HS2-HIS-01 explains how people lived in the past, how navigation connected the world, and what life was like in the Sydney Cove penal settlement, using sources as evidence
Content
Aboriginal Peoples use and care for the environment sustainably
- Identify and use appropriate terminology when sharing Knowledges about Country.
Aboriginal Peoples have the oldest living continuous Cultures in the world
- Explain how the arrival of the First Fleet affected the Gadigal Peoples
Sources provide evidence of how people lived in the first penal settlement at Sydney Cove
- Represent life in the penal settlement at Sydney Cove using images, maps, personal accounts and sites
- Explain how stories, images, objects and sites are used as sources of evidence for the first penal settlement in New South Wales
School bookings
To book a Virtual Excursion program for your school class, please contact:
Bookings
Phone +61 2 8239 2211
Email bookings@mhnsw.au
Cost: $10 per student per session.
Minimum of six students required for each session.
To enquire or book a Homeschool Virtual Excursion program for your group, please contact:
Bookings
Phone +61 2 8239 2211
Email bookings@mhnsw.au
Location
Online
Cost (GST free)
$100 per class
Up to 30 students per class
Homeschools welcome
Duration
Up to 45 minutes presenter-led program including virtual presentation and time for questions
Session offered
Monday to Friday
Bookings close strictly at 4pm on Wednesday for all sessions in the following week
Maximum students
One class (30) per session (when students are learning from home); Three classes (90) per session (when students learning from school)
Supervision ratios
At least one supervising teacher must be online with the students at all times
Additional visitor costs
No charge
See more
Onsite programs
Our museums, historic houses and gardens are at the heart of every school interaction. We offer immersive, curriculum-linked excursions for Stages 1 to 6
Virtual excursions
Our interactive virtual excursions connect your class live with a museum educator and focus on specific curriculum content, concepts and skills. We currently offer virtual excursions for Stages 1 to 4