We are excited to be heading off on the first FAR Out tour for 2016

We are excited to be heading off on the first FAR Out! tour for 2016. This week we will be visiting schools in Tumut, Gundagai, Batlow and Franklin and we’re looking forward to sharing the riches of the State Library collections with students and teachers.

FAR Out! is a program for Stage 2 students generously funded by the Caledonia Foundation and the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation. This funding allows us to take original collection items out to schools in regional and remote communities of NSW and addresses our commitment to providing equity of access to teachers and students no matter where they live in NSW. We are always keen to point out that we are the State Library of NSW not the State Library of Sydney!

Children participating in the FAR Out! Program holding a $20 note.

This program was established in 2012 and to date 309 schools have participated and more than 25,000 students have had the opportunity to get up close to Captain Cook’s shoe buckles – a lucky few have even got to wear a replica of his naval uniform. The amazing story of Mary Reibey is always popular and students are fascinated by her journey from a 15 year old convict to a wealthy businesswoman and the face on the twenty dollar note.

An important component of the program is to share Aboriginal word lists from the areas we visit and to talk about the history of the original inhabitants of Australia by sharing language lists and art work which form part of the Library collections.

The FAR Out! program addresses outcomes from the NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum – History for Stage 2 and is a wonderful opportunity to engage students with the extraordinary collections of the State Library. The feedback from teachers and students is always positive and we look forward to making new friends around the state on the 12 FAR Out! tours planned for 2016.