What we learned! From Schultz Elementary School

Kangaroo

We were able to get very close with the kangaroos at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary!

Here's a photo of Sam with a kangaroo. They were very tame and didn't really run away!

Can you find the Koala Bears in the Picture?

Today, Thursday, we had a free day. Most of the group decided to go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We had to take public transportation, a bus,to get there -about 40 minutes out of the city. It was very cool to be able to see more of the city during this drive too - Brisbane is a big place!

At the Koala Sanctuary we were able to see tons of animals native to Australia. Dingoos, koalas, crocodiles, bats, sheep, and kangaroos. You could even get your picture taken with a koala and hold it! And then we were able to go to the Kangaroo area where there were TONS of kangaroos in a fenced in area and we got to walk right up to them -pet them, feed them, get pictures taken with them, etc. It was an exciting chance that we probably won't get again -most zoos in the United States don't let you 'hang out' with the Kangaroos like this!

We learned a few things about Koala's too - that they are closer to a kangaroo than a bear and even have pouches like kangaroos where they carry their babies! Look for more pictures here. As soon as my computer is working again I'll try to post more photos. Do you know any facts about koala bears or kangaroos?

Queensland Art Museum

On Wednesday the weather was rainy off and on - but it was still very humid! We went to our second lecture, a presentation by Austratrade, a group that helps businesses sell what they make to other countries, and bring items made in other countries into Australia.

Then several of us went to the Queensland Art Museum to see the Andy Warhol Exhibit. It was very fascinating and great to see! Andy Warhol is a famous artist from the 1960s and 1970s who painted "Pop Art." This meant that he took 'POPular' images seen in everyday life (the Campbell's soup can, a Coke bottle, etc.) and turned them into art. This hadn't been done before -so his art was very extraordinary. He even went on to do pictures/paintings of famous people- such as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.

It was a very cool chance for us to see this show - so we were very excited! Brisbane, the city we're in, has 1.6 million people in it- so it's a BIG place to be. There's so much to do - it's hard to decide what to do first.

Do you have anymore questions about Australia for us - or what we've seen? I'm trying to upload pictures of the group to my Flickr account -me sure to look there for more! But I am having troubles with my computer, so I might have trouble getting some more up.

From the students at O.H. Schultz Elementary School...

Hi Travelers!

We are thrilled to be part of this experience!

We would like to begin by thanking you all for helping us to learn more about Australia and the indigenous people who live there. We have been studying Native American culture during the last month.

While we have many questions about Australia, we realize that you guys will be very busy on your journey so we will be quite pleased if you are able to answer a few of them! While your group is traveling we will be working on an Australian art project of our own which we look forward to sharing with you when it is finished in January.

We will post comments and questions about Australia during the next few months. I'd like to start by asking one question related to indigenous Australian culture. We have learned that indigenous Americans developed many unique ways to use their environment to build dwellings, homes and lodges. We were wondering about pre-colonial indigenous Australian dwellings that existed prior to the 1700's. What were they like? Do they have special names?

Thanks again for helping us learn and we appreciate all of your efforts as you make plans for your bold and daring Australian adventure!

Cheers!

From the 5th Graders - Schultz Elementary School