Child's Play
About the program
Students will learn what life was like for the Wentworth family and their servants at Vaucluse House in the 1860s.
Working as ‘history detectives’, students will explore the bedrooms, kitchen, drawing room, scullery, and kitchen garden, uncovering clues as to how a grand estate operated.
Students will engage in a range of hands-on activities and object-based learning. They will:
- do the washing by hand in the service courtyard
- complete tasks in the kitchen, such as polishing cutlery, grinding spices and churning butter
- investigate the kitchen garden and plant a bean seed (which they can take home)
- see and discover children’s clothes from the 1860s in the family nursery.
By the end of the program, students will be able to describe the daily life of the Wentworth family and contrast it with the experiences of the servants who worked for them.
They will also observe tasks done without electricity or running water and compare life in the past with their own lives today.
To accommodate larger groups, the program also features a teacher-led component, including:
- a walk to the estate’s waterfall
- a visit to the horse stables
- the chance to play 19th-century games such as croquet, skittles, cup and ball, quoits, and hoop and stick.
Prepare your group with an ‘Excursion introduction’, found under Resources. This introduction supports teachers, including those working with ASD students in integrated classrooms.
Vaucluse House
Wentworth Road, Vaucluse NSW 2030- Restaurant
Cost (GST free)
From $165 for up to 15 students
See page details for the full cost scale
Duration
1 hour 30 minutes presenter led program followed by 1 hour 30 minutes teacher supervised game playing
Session offered
Monday to Friday 10.30am–2pm
Maximum students
45 per session
Supervision ratios
The supervision ratio is 1:10 for primary groups and 1:15 for secondary groups. Teachers and parents attend free of charge at these ratios. One carer per student with special needs will be admitted free of charge
Additional visitor costs
Each additional visitor will be charged at the concession rate of $12.
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Onsite
Now and Then
As students are guided through the property, they discover that the household lived without the benefits of running water, bathrooms, electricity, appliances or paved roads