Grade 6 | Sassafras

Excursion to Parliament House

As part of our HaSS Unit on Democracy and the Three Levels of Government, we visited State Parliament House. Students had a tour of the building and participated in a role play in the House of Assembly where they debated a bill on support animals in schools. They also had the opportunity to sit in on a Parliamentary Session in the House of Legislative Council (Upper House).

Here are some thoughts from some of the students.

Describe what you saw/heard/felt when inside Parliament House.

Something I heard was the loud and screeching bell. It was used to remind people that their work day was about to start. It was so loud, and it usually rings nonstop for approximately 4 minutes. It rings at 11:00 every morning on a work day. It was both interesting and noisy! - Ella 

It felt really old because the floor was creaking a lot. The floor had a weird pattern with weird blue circles. The floor was red in the Upper House and green in the Lower House. The floor is older than most people live! - Hamish 

What was the most interesting thing you saw?

The most interesting thing I saw was the big painting of Sir Richard Dry. I was surprised at how much it cost as it was $8,000 - Lucie 

The most interesting thing I saw was a large painting of Sir Richard Dry. Sir Richard was the first Tasmanian to be knighted by Queen Victoria in 1858. His role in parliament was a Speaker and Premier - Paloma

The most interesting thing I saw was the mace. The cost of the mace was $250,000. The mace is used by the Sergeant at Arms - Jennisa

The expensive and old chair from 1855 which belonged to the Speaker - Eliza

The golden, expensive and shiny mace. The mace cost $250,000. It looked like a large wand that you could wave around - Janelle

I got to see a debate in session. I got to see all of the politicians argue and they talked about the stadium and the cost - Edison

What was something that surprised you about Parliament House?

That the debates can go for a long time like even 5 hours. Also how expensive the chairs were in the House of Assembly - Nayte

One of the picture frames surprised me because it was made from gold. - Melisa

Some of the readings and debates in the Legislative Council go for more than 5 hours and the one I saw went from 11:00AM until about 10:00PM and that's 11 hours. That’s a really long time - Kobin

In the House of Assembly, there were gum leaves curved on the side of the desks - Alexis

Why do you think this experience was important to Grade 6 students?

So Grade 6 students could learn about the three levels of government and the history of Parliament. They could learn while having fun - Girisha

So we can learn about the history of Parliament House and how bills are passed and made into laws. We got to have a tour and experience the politicians have a debate about the stadium being built - Logan

Why is Parliament important to the people of Tasmania?

To make laws or the world would be a chaotic place. To vote for people who represent Tasmania and we can vote how we want to - Saira

It's important because people in Parliament can make decisions to help Tasmanians by building new buildings, making new laws and reducing plastic in items to keep animals safe - Liam

Parliament is important because it helps us to make laws and there are people who represent us. Parliament is important because without it we would have a lot of trouble in Tasmania - Jiyaan