Playing the tourist in Canberra ...

View from Mt Ainslie towards the two Parliament Houses and the War Memorial

When visiting Canberra, it is impossible not to put on your nerdy, information seeking hat (also known as a lifelong learner hat in teacher talk) and soak up all the historical and cultural things on offer.  With limited time and a priority of spending time with family, we only visited the War Memorial and Old Parliament House.

Simpson and his Donkey outside the War Memorial

War Memorial

The War Memorial was a surprising treasure trove of information about Australia's involvement in various wars.  Although I do believe that it glorified war to a certain extent, the exhibits were fantastic, with a huge range of diverse media through which to engage with the information.  Since 10 year old B has been learning about the two World Wars, I am now planning a 'school camp' to Canberra to visit the Memorial.

Remembrance Wall

Government House

Next tourist stop was Old Parliament House where the museum goes by the name of 'Museum of Australian Democracy'.  I'd visited here several years ago but it was fun to wander through the rabbit warren of rooms again.  I was particularly impressed with some of the interactive displays that we stumbled across at the end of our visit (and therefore were feeling 'museumed out') ... I'll just have to come back again.

Old Parliament House

'Aboriginal Embassy'

Canberra often doesn't get a very good reputation, and while I certainly wouldn't want to live there (sorry Dad!), it's a great place to visit and there are still plenty more museums and things that I'd like to explore in Australia's capital.

View from in front of old Parliament House, looking past the 'Aboriginal Embassy' to the War Memorial and Mt Ainslie