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Listed under:  Arts  >  Visual arts
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I am an inventor lesson

In this lesson, students explore the life, work and times of Rube Goldberg. The lesson uses Rube Goldberg’s work to teach students about simple machines, how they function and their design principles. Working in groups, the students then design and create a Rube Goldberg machine that can complete a simple task. Students ...

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Balancing Mobiles

In this teaching activity, students will apply mathematical, science, and engineering concepts to experiment with balancing levers. They classify types of levers to design and build a simplified mobile and explore suspended and standing mobiles by sculptor Alexander Calder.

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John Glover: 'Mr Robinson's house on the Derwent, Van Diemen's Land' c. 1838

Artists were often captivated by their first glimpse of the Australian landscape and portrayed the countryside with a sense of wonder. This example by John Glover includes trees with curled branches, brightly lit skies and colour infused hills. How does this image compare to others you have seen of this period?

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John Glover: 'Patterdale landscape with cattle' c. 1833

John Glover migrated to Tasmania in 1831, arriving on his 64th birthday. He is considered one of Australia's most important artists of the early 19th century and the colonial period. This piece was one of the first he completed after taking up a land grant in Patterdale on the Nile River. The pastoral scene depicts the ...

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Finding beauty in the everyday

Lin Martin is passionate about the connections between science, nature, humanity and Buddhism, all of which come together in her art. Her photographs explore the beauty all around us, in our everyday natural surroundings. It is in these small moments captured by her work, where she draws attention to tiny details in nature, ...

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John Lewin: 'Reed warbler' 1805

Natural history illustrator John Lewin was the first professional artist to come to Australia as a free settler. His collected illustrations of native birds became the first non-government book published in the colony. How difficult do you think it was to identify and illustrate so many different birds?

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Charles Conder: 'Hot wind' 1889

In the late 19th century symbolism was used in depictions of the Australian Colonial landscape. This example painted by Charles Conder was painted during the Victorian drought in 1889.How does the artist convey the heat of the Australian landscape in this image? What role does the female figure play in this painting?

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What a stretch!

Investigate the unique physical features of the giraffe and explore how giraffes are represented in art. Create your own giraffe artwork.

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Stories without words

Learn how Australian story-teller, artist and academy award winner, Shaun Tan uses emotive illustrations to tell a story. You will also create your own character and tell a story using illustration.

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Cat-toons!

Students learn about cartooning techniques to create cat cartoons inspired by the Cat in the Hat.

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Contemporary: Art Gallery of NSW - iTunes app

Explore a selection of artists and artworks from the contemporary collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, including the John Kaldor Family collection. Contains images, background information on the artists and their art, and some audio curator insights and video interviews. Artworks are from 1960s to 2010s. Free ...

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Indigenous Australian: Art Gallery of NSW - iTunes app

Explore a selection of artists and artworks from the Art Gallery of New South Wales' collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Contains images, background information on the artists and their art, and some audio curator insights and video interviews. Artworks are from 1990s to 2010s. Free when reviewed 26/5/2015.

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Stamping in visual arts

In visual art, what do you think stamping refers to? Learn how to create artworks using this technique. See if you can find something other than a leaf as the stamp to experiment with.

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Create: What is abstract art?

Traditionally artworks were representations of real life objects and environments. When you looked at these works you could usually identify what the artist was representing. How is abstract art different from this? Watch this video to see an example of an abstract painting, then have a go at creating one yourself!

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NGV Asian art

This is a series of PDF and multimedia resources that illustrate and interpret examples of Asian art. Intended primarily for teachers of Foundation through to year 10, the series consists of c.45 two-page PDFs with text and images that include paintings, ceramics, textiles, and sculptures, and 11 multimedia resources that ...

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The power of science photography

Visual art and science are often considered to be separate fields. Watch as Phred Petersen talks about the way he combines his passions of photography and science. What is the role of technology in enabling this crossover? What kinds of scientific discoveries can be assisted by high-speed photography? And how can scientific ...

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Making waves with Hokusai

Students create artworks and poetry inspired by the works of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.

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TrackSAFE Education Primary School Resources: Foundation, Year 1, Year 2 The Arts

This unit uses the idea of track safe behaviours as the stimulus for Arts activities including the lines on a platform to explore artworks that use line as medium; dramatising safe behaviours through role play; and exploring sounds and music associated with trains in order to compose and perform music that simulates a train ...

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Autumn leaves

Explore dance, art and music through a song about Autumn leaves. Make some art works, dance like a leaf and learn to play the song on a keyboard instrument.

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Finding your frame

Developing a concept by making artworks from found objects. Explore how artist, James Powditch, assembles found objects to create artworks inspired by his love of film.