School Visits

The JCPML Education Officer can travel to country schools or regional centres in WA to present the secondary school programs which are offered onsite at the JCPML. Four programs for year 10-12 students are offered - see Years 10 to 12 for information about the programs.

Enquiries from educators are welcome - please contact the Education Officer.

JCPML treasure boxes

The treasure boxes are fun filled historical activity boxes available for loan to WA schools and which target students from years 5 to 9. Priority is given to requests from remote and regional schools across the state.

Each box is designed to be a self-contained resource, offering comprehensive resources and detailed lesson plans for the activities within. The resources and activities are designed to assist teachers to meet the objectives of the WA Curriculum Framework (see Curriculum links).

The scenario:

John Curtin, our wartime prime minister, came to power in late 1941 just before the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the southward advance of the Japanese. In the grim days of 1942, when invasion by the Japanese seemed a real possibility, Curtin's government geared the economy for total war. Men were conscripted into the army and women into the workforce. Ordinary Australians were called on to live austerely and to give generously to the war loans' appeals. Rationing became a feature of everyday life.

The Treasure Boxes offer:

Each treasure box brings John Curtin and the World War II homefront to life through the use of archival resources, providing students with an experience comparable to visiting the JCPML as part of the Exploring Australia at War program. The use of primary sources is a feature of the 10 different activities included in the Treasure Box.

A wide variety of approaches are offered in the activities provided. Collaborative learning and cross-curricular activities are featured, with an emphasis on Society and Enviroment.

Students will use:

• letters
• newspaper articles
• advertisements
• cartoons
• photographs
• recordings of speeches
• archival video footage, and
• artefacts from the period

Students will investigate:

• the southward movement of the Japanese
• the bombing of Darwin
• the response of the Curtin Government to this threat to Australia.

Students will find out about:

• pounds, shillings and pence
• rationing and its effects on people's daily lives
• coupons
• other austerity measures
• air raid precautions

A sample of some of the activities:

• Learn about John Curtin in a CD Rom cloze (Stepping Out) activity and complete a profile of our war-time prime minister using the JCPML website.
• Put on the hat of a sleuth and use documents, photographs and an Imperial Map Directory to further investigate John Curtin's life before he became prime minister.
• Listen to important speeches given by Curtin and view archival footage of him.
• Discover a huge collection of photographs depicting important events in both John Curtin's life and Australian history by playing the John Curtin special edition snakes and ladders game.
• Put together two jigsaws which lead into an investigation of important events and people in the war years.
• Dress up in an air raid warden's helmet and gas mask to evoke the feelings of the community in the wake of the bombing of Darwin.
• Interpret photographs and other documentary material to assess the damage done by these bombings.
• Consider the issue of censorship during World War II in the light of press reports of the bombings.

Curriculum Links

Make a Booking

Booking form and Information

The JCPML Treasure Boxes were developed thanks to a grant from The Public Education Endowment Trust.