Humanities News

By Jayne Carrigg - Faculty Leader: Humanities

Year 7 Melbourne Museum Excursion

On Monday 10 August the entire Year 7 cohort set off on an adventure by bus to the Melbourne Museum. While the weather was inclement and the traffic was gridlocked the students and staff on board the four coaches were excited about what treasures awaited them. The focus of this excursion was the `Rome: Empire, Power and People’ Exhibition which was visiting the Melbourne Museum for this year only. Touring this exhibition would give students and staff the opportunity to see some of the treasures of Ancient Rome up close and to enhance their understanding of Ancient Rome which they had been studying in their Humanities classes.

Upon arrival at the Museum the students were divided into three groups with each group completing a different itinerary of Museum exhibits including the `Rome: Empire, Power and People’, `Our Wondrous Planet, the Forest Gallery, the Melbourne Story and others. Below are some accounts of the day. One is written by a student, and one is written by a member of staff. Overall, it was an engaging and stimulating day which no doubt has contributed to many rich conversations and much deeper learning in the classroom when we returned.

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By Emmi - Year 7

At the museum there were shields bigger than me! 

Swords as sharp as knives! When the Year 7s went to the Melbourne Museum we explored through Ancient Rome artefacts and learnt about the Ancient Roman times. There were loads of interesting, fact-filled things to explore at the museum but the most eye-catching thing my class loved was the Colosseum. There was a huge projection of spectators at a fight of the gladiators – cheering, clapping and barracking for certain gladiators. There were rows and rows filled with people squashed together to see the Gladiators. Another interesting artefact in the exhibition was the community bath. In Roman times, everyone would use these bathrooms and at the museum it was extremely realistic, with carefully placed sound speakers of people chatting, water running and even some people talking in Latin.