Lessons from the Past
About the program
During this new curriculum-aligned program, students are immersed in history as they travel back in time to Rouse Hill Public School in the 1880s. Students will participate in a re-created school experience to explore how education, communication and daily life for schoolchildren have changed over time, using stories, objects and the historic schoolhouse site as tangible evidence of life in the past.
Your students will:
- dress up in period costume – cotton pinafores with straw hats for the girls, and sailor collars or coats and caps for the boys
- meet the teachers, who are also in 1880s character and costume
- march up the hill, salute the flag and hear the bell to begin the day
- have lessons in the historic schoolrooms, including writing on slate boards and handling quills and postmarked letters
- learn to sew a running stitch with the sewing mistress (students will take home their needlework sample)
- take part in outdoor semaphore drills, using flags to practise communication and coordination
- dance around the maypole (weather permitting).
For booking inquiries, call + 61 2 8239 2211 or email bookings@mhnsw.au
Rouse Hill Estate
356 Annangrove Road, Rouse Hill NSW 2155- Wheelchair accessible
Cost (GST Free)
From $30 per student for minimum of 20 students
See page for cost scale details
Duration of program
Full day
Sessions offered
Monday to Friday
10.30am–12pm
12.30pm–2pm
Full day 10am–2pm
Maximum students
60 per session, 120 per day
Supervision ratios
The supervision ratio is 1:10 for primary 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 adult costs
Each additional adult will be charged at the concession rate of $15