Mt Chalmers State School

18 School Rd Mt Chalmers, 4702
(25 km east of Rockhampton)

Amanda Slasberg

SOSE: Time, Continuity & Change,             Evidence Over Time 1.1, 2.1, 3.1
Media: 2.1, 3.1, 2.3, 3.4
Visual Arts: 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 3.2, 4.2, 2.3, 3.3

• At the completion of the School Centenary, we had a collection of more than 100 photos and no way of displaying them.
• Strong push by community members to preserve the area's history - many older community members now dead
• Offer of the Grant money for such a project.

• Started considering concept semester 2, 2004
• All of semester 1, 2005-06-14
• Will continue as an ongoing project

• Created a permanent Pictorial History display of our area as part of a new Community museum.
• Preserved the photographic history of Mt Chalmers and will back it up by sending a completed copy to the State Library to be added to Picture Queensland collection. (This step is still going on).
• Children learnt valuable research and inquiry skills.
• Children developed an understanding of the history of Mt Chalmers.
• Children developed picture scanning, cataloguing and Picture presentation skills.

• Students studied the history of Mt Chalmers through simple activities - listed in extra materials.
• Students cross-catalogued all existing photographs
• Students wrote letters to CQU, Historical Societies, individuals known to have lived in the area requesting photographs of interest that they may have in their possession. They also asked community members for help in constructing frames and easels for display purposes.
• The students then set about scanning and cataloguing all photos onto a data base according to the requirements of Picture Queensland.
• They physically prepared the rooms of the old school house ready for display by washing walls, removing rubbish, moving furniture, putting up hooks, sanding and staining frames and adding hooks and wire to frames.
• They scanned and enlarged photos for display.
• They liased with Livingstone Shire Council for certain displays and maps.
• Students undertook a study of the elements of good photography and have developed extremely fine personal photographic skills.
• They will be creating a school webpage and site but time has not allowed for this to happen yet.

• After sending 'request' letters we only had two replies from our two local historical societies. So we telephoned everyone we had sent letters or emails to.
• Go in person whenever possible - the results are much quicker.
• Dont solely trust or rely on people who have promised to do things - have a backup plan.  We learnt to develop plans C, D, and E!! (We also learnt to be great 'naggers'.)
• Constantly rehash the historical data as it sometimes can get 'pushed to the back' in all the other preparations.

• The most expensive item was the reproduction of the photos the ink and paper.
• Mounting materials and display boards were also expensive.

We have spent or committed our entire CHP budget of $2500.

• Unit Overview new window 31k
• Work sheet 1 new window 21k
• Work sheet 2 new window 68k
• Work sheet 3 new window 20k

• Making History - Upper Primary Units - History at Home - a local area study.
  The Activities in this unit were a good guide to follow.
• Grant money - used for the purchase of materials for the display

• Mt Chalmers History book which was compiled by us during the Centenary year.
• Central Queensland University - CQ Collection.
• Zoe Scott - Museum Development Officer
• Livingstone Shire Council who was able to do a montage of background photos and maps and print double A1 posters.
• The local Historical Societies were most helpful in providing data, photos, and advice on contacts.
• I attended a museum display course.
• Neal, Aminter - Exhibits for the Small Museum

• Research Skills - gathering photographs from many sources, identifying the origin sources and their ownership (to establish the copyright and acknowledgement of photos), analysing the sources.
• ICT understandings - establishing an information and pictorial database that can be shared with the State Library's Picture Queensland.
• Making connection - the students have had to constantly associate the photos that they have found with what they know of their area today.
• Representational expression - designing the best way to display the photos and information in our History Centre.

• Mt Chalmers will now have a permanent Community History Centre that can be built on as the years go by.
• The students of this school have directly contributed to the improvement of their own area through a real-life project that has taken them out into their community.  They can see the tangible results of their labours.
• The students have a greater knowledge of the history of their own area and can recognize many of the characters and places in the historical photographs.

I believe the whole experience was a positive one.

We have not finished.  One of the things we have found is that a museum is never finished.  It must continue to change and the art will be to know how much change is good. 

Our webpage is not operational yet and needs to be developed fully so that our photos can be displayed as a link to it as well.

We would like to develop an educational side to the museum with worksheets and activities that would encourage school groups to visit and work their way through our exhibits.

V: It was very interesting and fun.

W:  I have learnt to scan photos and do it very well.

I had to learn my 3 times table to put the screws in the picture frames.

Why do we always have to do all this hard work?  (When I promised W that next term we would not do so much he said)

I'm not complaining. I like doing this stuff.

T: I learnt about levers when we were putting the screws into the picture frames and the screws were tight.

B: I can stain timber now.

I would be willing to talk anyone through the process I went through.   It is sometimes easier when you can speak to people personally and get an understanding of what was really involved. 

I kept a diary for most of the journey and some of that is helpful because it was more my feelings rather than what I was actually doing.

Anything we have, from work experiences to plans of how to build display boards and cases, are here to be shared.

My email is: aslas1@eq.edu.au
Phone is: (07) 49344152
Or write to Mt Chalmers State School, 18 School Road, Mt Chalmers Qld, 4702.