Extremes: Survival in the Great Deserts of the Southern Hemisphere

Topics: The science, cultural history and contemporary societies of the great deserts of the southern hemisphere: the Namib and Kalahari in Africa, Australia's Red Centre and the Atacama in South America.

Type: Curriculum materials

Years: 4-10

Key Curriculum Links: SOSE/HSIE, History, Aboriginal Studies, Geography, Science and Visual Arts.

Extremes: Survival in the Great Deserts of the Southern Hemisphere is an exhibition developed by the National Museum of Australia in conjunction with research centres in three continents. From the sand seas and Skeleton Coast of Africa's Namib Desert, to the Red Centre of Australia, from the snow-capped volcanoes and moonscapes of Chile's Atacama Desert to the sand-ridges of the Kalahari - some of the world's greatest deserts lie in the Southern Hemisphere. This exhibition explores the natural and cultural history of these extreme environments, to find out how people have coped with these remote, hot, dry, hard lands. This is history on a grand scale, beginning with the first migration of people into the deserts and sweeping forward in time to contemporary life in these regions.

Extremes: Survival in the Great Deserts of the Southern Hemisphere exhibition at the National Museum of Australia, is open from 26 December 2005 until 22 August 2006.

Extremes Education Kit
This education package has been written for students from Years 4-10. It is aimed principally at teachers but may also be useful for students. The information and activities in this package complement the Extremes: Survival in the Great Deserts of the Southern Hemisphere exhibition and contains 12 sets of fact sheets on a range of topics including:

• what is a desert?
• plant and animal adaptations in the desert
• scientific research in the desert
• early inhabitants and contemporary societies of the southern deserts
• cultural arts of desert peoples
• rock art of desert peoples

Click on the PDF file name below to download the education kit.

If you are unable to download the below resources, please contact the Education section at education@nma.gov.au.

Bookings
Ph: 61 2 6208 5345
Email: bookings@nma.gov.au