Calthorpes'+House

Calthorpes' House By Rachel Kors and Jordanna Bradshaw

//"Built in 1927, this genuine survivor is a treasure house for domestic history. Original furnishings, household appliances and photos reflect the fashionable ideal of style and taste in the middle class Australian home of the late 1920's." //

24 Mugga Way Red Hill, ACT 2603   Telephone: 6235 5677    Opening Hours: Saturday and Sunday - 1pm to 4pm Group Bookings by arrangement at other times Please contact the Booking Officer: (02) 6207 9943 or fax a completed School Booking Enquiry Form to: (02) 6207 2177 Cost: $5.50 per student $8 per student for a double program Teachers and supervisors are free of charge Visit the Calthorpes' House Website

**How would we use Calthorpes' House for teaching SOSE? ** Calthorpes' House offers three educational programs that are available to school groups, ranging from years K to 6. Each program aims to educate students on different aspects of life in the 1920's. Through these programs, students are given a window into the past, allowing them to walk in the shoes of children from this period.

1. Rhymes and Games Learn about Canberra’s olden days the fun way. Sing your way around the house with nursery rhymes and play old-fashioned games as you learn about life in the past. One of our most popular programs. Age: Years K - 1

2. Dawn’s Surprise Join seven year old Dawn Calthorpe as she searches for a place to hide her sister’s birthday present. Will it fit under the radio? Or in Dawn’s bedroom? Journey around the house to discover the present and play the kind of games that Dawn and Del played so long ago. Age: K - 2

3. Electric Servants It is 1927 and the Calthorpe family have just moved into their brand new home. The house includes all the modern appliances and labour-saving devices of the time. Explore changes in technology and find out whether toast really does taste better cooked the old-fashioned way. Age: Years 3 - 6 When participating in the above programs, children are split into groups of three, with approximately 10 children in each. Groups explore the garden, tour the house and play old-fashioned games. These groups are rotated so all students experience every aspect of life at Calthorpes' House.

Before entering the house for their elected program, school groups are shown images of the Calthorpe family and the property and discuss elements of the photo that denote age and changing times. This includes a photo of Dawn and Dell Calthorpe as young children on the property and again in the same position 65 years later.

One of the main purposes to visiting this historic house is to show children how much the world, technology, fashion and the way families operate has changed over the past 90 years. This experience provides students with links between old and new, demonstrating that what they consider new is usually just a modern version of something very old.

We saw some amazing and eye opening artifacts as well, including a piano that plays itself and a hair curler that is actually metal rod that is heated using gasoline. Thank God for technology, ay girls?

The education staff at Calthorpes' House are extremely knowledgeable, lovely and still in contact with one of the Calthorpe children, who lives just down the road. Extra teaching resources can also be found through the website, including program and curriculum information (including outcomes and indicators), excursion information, reference lists and pre-visit plus post-visit activities.