Teacher Notes
Illustration: Sara Estrada-Arevalo, Australian Museum.
Part A – Teacher Notes
Part B – Biodiversity Trail Clue Cards in the Surviving Australia exhibition
Part C – Biodiversity Trail Clue Cards in the Birds and Insects exhibition
Part D – Biodiversity Trail Clue Cards in the Dinosaurs exhibition
Produced by Learning Services, Australian Museum, May 2010.
Teacher Notes
Excursion essentials
Before your visit
Booking
• You need to book your visit with the Education Bookings Officer who can be
contacted by phone on (02) 9320 6163 or by fax on (02) 9320 6072.
• A Booking Confirmation Form is posted to you after your booking. Please check
the details and advise our Bookings Officer if any details need to be changed.
• A Teacher’s Pass is posted to you with your Booking Confirmation Form and gives
you free entry to the Museum prior to your excursion to allow you to familiarise
yourself with the facilities and program with activities.
Familiarising students
Our research indicates that students gain maximum benefit from their excursion if they have
an overview of their program for the day and are familiar with the Museum’s floor plan.
Accompanying adults
We highly recommend additional adults accompany each group of 25–30 students. This allows
classes to be divided into smaller groups and enhances access to the exhibits. All adults should
be familiar with the day’s program, floorplans and any written materials for students.
• One adult is admitted free for every four primary school students.
Photocopying
Please photocopy the appropriate materials for students and all accompanying adults before
your visit.
Further questions
If you have any questions please phone our Education Bookings Officer on (02) 9320 6163.
At the Australian Museum
Briefing
On arrival at the Museum the students will be met and briefed about the Museum. It is
important that accompanying adults are present for this briefing.
Bag Storage
Museum staff will securely store the students’ bags.
Exhibitions
Please manage large groups to avoid crowding in any one exhibition or around individual
exhibits.
Lunch
We recommend that students bring their lunch and eat it in Hyde Park (just across the
road). Re-entry to the Museum is free. Alternative locations will be provided in wet
weather.
Photography
Students are welcome to bring cameras to record their excursion although some temporary
exhibitions that do not allow photography. You will be informed about this on arrival.
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Teacher notes for Alive
Alive is a special program of activities presented by the Australian Museum to celebrate the
International Year of Biodiversity. This program provides an opportunity for students to
learn about local and global biodiversity and how we interact with it in different ways. It
also provides an opportunity for students to learn about biodiversity conservation issues.
Alive focuses on six themes revealing that biodiversity is:
Everywhere – You don’t have to go to exotic locations to uncover amazing biodiversity.
Even in the concrete jungle, species are still being discovered and even your backyard
contains a great range of life, if you know how to find it!
Connected – Individual species do not exist in isolation – species are interdependent at a
myriad of levels. Even YOU are part of biodiversity and what you do makes a difference.
Vital – Much of our biodiversity is integral to our daily lives. It provides food, water, fibres
and fuel. Biodiversity also has an intrinsic value in itself.
Weird and Unexpected – Most of the biodiversity on our planet is not the things we
expect (the ‘obvious’ mammals and birds) – it’s the biggest, the smallest, the ugliest and the
bizarre, from rhino beetles to fungi, and elephants to amoeba.
Unknown – Many of the world’s species are undescribed, unnamed and unknown. Many
have already become extinct. Others will become extinct before they have even been
discovered. Which of these may be vital to us in the future?
Threatened – Human actions are fundamentally, and to a significant extent irreversibly,
changing the planet, and most of these changes represent a loss of biodiversity. Should we
care?
Syllabus links
The Alive program of activities and the Student Activities to complete at the Museum have
major links with the New South Wales Science and Technology Syllabus. The Pre-visit
activities and After-visit activities outlined later in these Teacher Notes also have links with
a range of other K-6 Syllabuses. These syllabus links are listed below.
Science and Technology
• Living things
LTS3.3 Identifies describes and evaluates the interactions between living things and
their effects on the environment.
• Earth and its surroundings
ES S3.6 Recognises that the Earth is the source of most materials and resources, and
describes phenomena and processes, both natural and human, that form and change
the Earth over time.
• Investigating
INV S3.7 Conducts their own investigations and makes judgements based on the
results of observing, questioning, planning, predicting, testing, collecting, recording
and analysing data, and drawing conclusions.
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English
• Talk and Listening
Talking and Listening
TS3.1 Communicates effectively for a range of purposes and with a variety of
audiences to express well-developed, well-organized ideas dealing with more
challenging topics.
Skills and Strategies
TS3.2 Interacts productively and with autonomy in pairs and groups of various sizes
and composition, uses effective oral presentation skills and strategies and listens
attentively.
• Writing
Producing Skills
WS3.9 Produces a wide range of well-structured and well-presented literary and
factual texts for a wide variety of purposes and audiences using increasingly
challenging topics, ideas, issues and written language features.
Skills and Strategies
WS3.10 Uses knowledge of sentence structure, grammar and punctuation to edit own
writing.
WS3.12 Produces texts in a fluent and legible style and uses computer technology to
present these effectively in a variety of ways.
Context and Text
WS3.13 Critically analyses own texts in terms of how well they have been written, how
effectively they present the subject matter and how they influence the reader.
Human society and its environment
• Environments
Patterns of Place and Location
ENS3.5 Demonstrates an understanding of the interconnectedness between Australia
and global environments and how individuals and groups can act in an ecologically
responsible manner.
Skills and Strategies
TS3.2 Interacts productively and with autonomy in pairs and groups of various sizes
and composition, uses effective oral presentation skills and strategies and listens
attentively.
Personal development, health and physical education
Communicating
COS3.3 Communicates confidently in a variety of situations.
Decision Making
DMS3.2 Makes informed decisions and accepts responsibility for consequences.
Interacting
INS3.3 Acts in ways that enhance the contribution of self and others in a range of
cooperative situations.
Problem Resolving
PSS3.5 Suggests, considers and selects appropriate alternatives when resolving
problems.
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Recommended websites
For Teachers
The Australian Museum and Western Australian Museum’s website for the International
Year of Biodiversity:
www.biodiversity2010.org.au
The Australian Museum’s section on biodiversity:
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Biodiversity
The United Nations’ website for the International Year of Biodiversity:
http://www.cbd.int/2010/welcome/
The Australian Government’s website for the International Year of Biodiversity:
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/
The Natural History Museum (London)’s biodiversity website:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/biodiversity/index.html
ARKive Images of Life on Earth:
http://www.arkive.org/
American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation website:
http://cbc.amnh.org/
Conservation International (US) Biodiversity Hotspot website about endangered species:
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/Pages/default.aspx
Census of Marine Life, a global network of researchers:
http://www.coml.org/
For Students
Food Chain by Crickweb:
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=foodchains
Ology website presented by the American Museum of Natural History:
http://www.amnh.org/ology/index.php?channel=biodiversity
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Pre-visit Activities
To make the most of your visit to the Museum we recommend that you prepare your
students beforehand by:
• introducing concepts related to the main 5 topics of the program with activities
revising the topics suggested in the pre-visit classroom activities.
• providing a context for the excursion to the Museum including the reasons for
visiting the Museum, the tasks to be completed and the expected outcomes.
Pre-visit Classroom Activities
Introduce your students to the six biodiversity themes (listed below) that students will find
when they visit the Australian Museum and explore Alive. Aspects related to each theme
are listed below and may be used as stimulus material for introductory discussions.
Everywhere
• What is biodiversity?
• Australia’s unique biodiversity
• The different ecosystems on Earth
• Australia’s ecosystems
• Which are the most diverse ecosystems?
• Which are the most threatened ecosystems?
Connected
• Different ecological relationships
• Food chains
• Species concept
• Ecological hierarchies (for example, species, populations)
• Human impact on ecosystems
• Humans as part of the Earth’s biodiversity
Vital
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Why is biodiversity important?
What are natural resources?
Where does the oxygen in the atmosphere come from?
The water cycle
Symbiosis
Where does our food come from?
Food processing (for example, cheese, wine, vinegar)
Weird and Unexpected
• Which is the most diverse group of organisms?
• Who studies the different groups of organisms? (for example, botanists, mycologists)
• Extreme habitats on Earth (for example, the arctic, oceanic trenches)
• Organisms within the human body (for example, gut bacteria)
• Evolution: how does biodiversity come about?
• Different body plans of organisms
• How do genes contribute to biodiversity?
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Unknown
• Classification of living organisms
• How scientists look for and find new species
• How many species exist on Earth?
• How many species do we still not know?
Threatened
• Loss of Biodiversity
• Natural extinctions versus extinctions caused by human activities
• Habitat change (human impact)
• Human activities that harm the environment
• How to help the environment
• How can I help endangered species?
• Endangered species – global and local
Photocopying
Before visiting the Museum, the following materials should be photocopied for each
supervising adult:
• Australian Museum floorplan
• Alive program with activities floorplan
• Your excursion timetable including your booked session time(s).
At the Australian Museum
Payment
Your Booking Confirmation form indicates the cost of your Museum entry and any
additional components. Payment by cheque can be made on the day. Alternatively, if you
would like your school to be invoiced, please bring your Booking Confirmation form with
you on the day of your excursion and present it at the Admissions Desk on entry to the
Museum.
On-site activities
Alive arena
Students can explore the Alive arena (located on Level G) and undertake self-guided tasks
such as identifying animals in the Biodiversity display; investigating how we might
contribute toward maintaining our planet’s biodiversity; and creative arts activities.
Students can also use the displays in Alive to focus on the six main themes revealing that
biodiversity is:
• Everywhere – from jungle to city and beyond.
• Connected – species are interdependent.
• Vital – biodiversity is important in our daily lives, providing food, water, fibres and fuel.
• Weird and unexpected – living things come in an amazing variety of forms.
• Unknown – many species (past and present) are unknown.
• Threatened – humans are reducing biodiversity.
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In addition to these six themes, a display from the Museum’s vast specimen collections is
included in Alive to illustrate the diversity of life on Earth. A floorplan of Alive is included
with these Teachers Notes.
Biodiversity Trail Clue Cards
The Biodiversity Trail Clue Cards are student activities based in three different exhibitions
on Level 2 of the Museum: Surviving Australia, Dinosaurs and Birds and Insects. A set of
Clue Cards is available for each of these exhibitions and teachers should choose any
combination that best suits your students and your visit schedule. The Clue Cards contain
information that students use to find specific animals or other living things in the exhibition
displays. Each Clue Card is also categorised according to the six main themes highlighted in
the Alive arena, which reinforces the concept that biodiversity is:
• everywhere,
• connected,
• vital,
• weird and unexpected,
• unknown,
• threatened.
Organisational tips
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Use the supplied Museum floorplan to guide the students to the Alive arena on the
ground floor of the Museum for a self-guided exploration.
Also use the Museum floorplan to guide students to the exhibitions on Level 2 for
the self-guided Biodiversity Trails where students can find answers to the Clue Cards.
Multi-class groups should divide and rotate between the various biodiversity
experiences on Levels G and 2.
We suggest that you also divide your students into groups of up to 5 to rotate
through the various displays in the exhibitions spaces while looking for the Clue Card
answers. This will help to avoid overcrowding of the displays.
After-visit activities
After your visit to the Australian Museum, we suggest you choose one or more of the
following activities for students to further investigate the six biodiversity themes.
1. Everywhere
a) Biodiversity in my backyard.
Working individually or in small groups, every student lists / draws / photographs the
insects and plants found in their backyard and bring it to the class to compare. In
small groups, group the insects and plants found in common. Which insects and
plants are native to Australia?
b) What makes up biodiversity?
Individually write down factors you think may influence the living things found in a
specific area. Compare your answer with the class and then list the factors that you
think influence Australia’s biodiversity.
c) Life is everywhere.
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Habitats are the homes of living things. In small groups, think about what a habitat
provides for living things (for example, food). Share ideas with the group and write a
list of things a habitat can provide.
d) Individually think about an animal you like. Do you know its habitat? Write five
features of the animal that help it to live in that habitat.
e) Think about an ecosystem (for example, rainforest, desert, coral reef) and an animal
you know that lives in that ecosystem. Imagine you had to tell a scientist the main
characteristics of that animal, so they could identify it. What characteristics would
you give? Would your list include information on the animal’s size, diet and colour or
would other characteristics be important?
2. Connected
a) How close?
A great way to figure out the connections between living things is by classifying
them and working out their similarities and differences. Make a list of some
organisms you remember from the Museum visit. Classify them in different groups by
putting together those living things that have similar characteristics. Arrange the
different groups by drawing your own idea of a tree of life.
b) Animals, plants and fungi are three of the major groupings (kingdoms) of living
things. Work in small groups and using a separate sheet of paper for each kingdom,
write down five characteristics you think best represent each kingdom. Think of at
least five examples of living things that belong to each kingdom. Write your
examples on their corresponding sheet and illustrate each kingdom with pictures.
c) Living things are connected in many ways. For example, some living things provide
others with what they need to survive while they in turn have their own needs
provided for by other living things. Think of about seven things we get from other
living things.
d) Flowering plants can be visited and pollinated by insects or birds. Draw a short comic
(about four frames long) or make a poster to tell a story of this process. Choose a
flower and either a bird or an insect, to pollinate the flower in your comic.
3. Vital
a) Think about animals that provide things you need to stay alive. Choose three animals
and make a card (1/4 of a A4 sheet in size) for each one that includes the drawing of
the animal, the product that we get from it and a short explanation about the
product and its use(s).
b) Make a list of at least five products that we get:
• directly from living things in nature (for example, apples and meat),
• after changing or processing substances produced by living things (for
example, penicillin, bread and yogurt).
c) Think about an organism or group of living things that could threaten human
survival if it became extinct. Discuss in class (for example, plants).
d) Write down a cooking recipe. Try to figure out where all the ingredients come from.
(for example, chocolate comes from the seeds of a plant and flour comes from the
seeds of wheat plants).
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e) Explore some home remedies to treat common aches (for example, a stomach ache or
headache) that you or your family use at home. How many of those involve plants
(for example, the coca plant is used in some headache remedies)? Choose one
remedy and design a poster to advertise it and promote the remedy and the
importance of the plant used in the remedy. Present it to the class.
f) What products from living things could you use to:
• play music (for example, wood, and skin and hide for drums);
• make clothing (for example, cotton, wool and leather, shell);
• build a house (for example, timber);
• make furniture (for example, cane and wood).
e) Every day your body produces new skin cells and disposes of old ones. Did you know
that microscopic living things help your body to dispose of old skin flakes by eating
them? Find about mites and write a short ‘Mite Fact Sheet’. Don’t forget to mention
their size compared to a human and include an illustration.
4. Weird and unexpected
a) Some living things can live in extreme conditions. Find an example of a living thing
that survives in a weird habitat, in conditions no human could survive. Explain it to
the class.
b) Insects are one of the most diverse groups of living things. Find out about:
• some insects found only in Australia,
• poisonous insects (for example, bees, wasps and ants) and learn why they are
poisonous,
• the oldest insects on Earth.
c) Bacteria are the most diverse group of organisms on Earth. Find out more about
bacteria, especially the ones useful to us.
d) One of the most ancient life forms still living on Earth are stromatolites. Find out
their location in Australia and what kind of habitat they need to live. These living
things look like rocks but they produce something humans use – oxygen. Find out
more about living and fossil stromatolites.
e) Find out about the Giant Squid. Have you heard or read stories about this creature?
Find out about where it lives, what it eats and what eats it.
f) What is the weirdest and/or most amazing creature you think ever existed on Earth?
Describe it to the class and explain why you think it is so amazing.
g) Did you know there is a type of kangaroo that can climb trees? They live in northern
Queensland rainforests and in New Guinea. Find out more about tree-kangaroos.
Are they endangered?
5. Unknown
a) What do you think are the main reasons scientists still haven’t described all the
species on Earth? Compare your answer with others in the class.
b) Which ecosystem type do you think has the most unknown species? Make a poster of
that ecosystem that shows some of the biodiversity that lives there and present it to
the class.
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c) Imagine an organism you think could have existed on Earth but became extinct
before scientists could find it. Write about its possible appearance and behaviour.
d) The Tasmanian Tiger became extinct many years ago. Have you heard about it? Did
you see it in the Surviving Australia exhibition when you were at the Australian
Museum? Do some research on the Tasmanian Tiger and write about the things you
think may have contributed to its extinction.
e) How much do you know about Australian fauna and flora. Research a plant, insect
or other animal that you think the other students in the class may not know. Make a
poster then introduce it to the class and find out how many classmates had never
heard of it before.
6. Threatened
a) Get involved.
You can help to conserve biodiversity either as part of a group or even just doing
little things at home that can make a difference.
•
Environmental groups: Australia has many environmental programs that help
conserve biodiversity directly or indirectly. Some of them are listed below. Find
out more about them and how they can help you to make a difference.
 Clean Up Australia Day
 Bushcare
 Environmental Education Programs with National Parks
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Activities at home / school: In your daily life you can do some of the following
things to help conserve habitats and biodiversity. Which of these can you do at
home and/or at school?
 reduce, reuse and recycle,
 turn-off lights when you are not using them,
 save water,
 buy environmentally friendly products,
 plant a tree,
 plant Australian natives in your garden.
b) In small groups, talk about what you think makes plants and animals endangered
and what you can do to help them.
c) Compost piles are a great way to recycle at school and home. Find out how a
compost pile is made and what living things are involved in decomposing the waste.
Design an informative poster about compost piles.
Make a compost pile at home or at school. Find out the best way to make a compost
pile and design it to fit in your school or home backyard. Don’t forget to place your
informative poster about compost piles nearby to help other people know what it is
for and how it works.
d) Find out about a threatened plant or animal and present three facts about it to the
class.
e) One of the Australia’s most endangered habitats is the Great Barrier Reef. Do you
know where it is located? Write a short story about the Great Barrier Reef and its
biodiversity.
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floorplan updated December 2008
Australian Museum floorplan
Level 2
Search & discover
Science Studio (for booked education groups)
Birds & Insects exhibition
Dinosaurs exhibition
Surviving Australia exhibition
Kidspace (for under 5s)
Temporary exhibitions
Accessible toilet
Toilets
Lift (education groups please use the stairs)
Level 1
Albert Chapman Mineral Collection
exhibition
Planet of Minerals exhibition
Lift (education groups please use the stairs)
Toilets
Level G (Ground floor)
Indigenous Australians exhibition
Skeletons exhibition
Major temporary exhibitions
Education Centre – Hands-on Rooms
Main Entrance (College Street)
Atrium – information and cloaking
Toilets
Theatrette
Café
Bistro
Museum Shop
Lift (education groups please use the stairs)
Alive