Educational resources
You can find a collection of educational material about Government House through:
- a game-based learning platform – Minecraft
- books, teacher guides and lesson plans.
Game-based learning platform
Government House, together with Charles Darwin University and the Department of Education have developed the historical world of Government House using Minecraft.
Minecraft is a game-based learning platform that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in a digital environment.
It allows your students to tour and explore Government House in a fun and interactive way from your local school.
You can also create lessons and other worlds to educate your students on subjects including architecture and design, history, science, English and more.
Credit: The Government House world was developed by Charles Darwin University students Reema Bali and Patrick Alegria.
How to access
To experience Government House in Minecraft, follow these steps:
Step 1. Get Government House world ZIP (55.0 KB) and save it on your computer.
Step 2. Go to the Minecraft Education Edition website and install the application by following the instructions.
Step 3. Open the Minecraft application and select Play > Import > ZIP file (you saved in step 1) > View My Worlds.
You and your students must sign in using your school email address – eg. firstname.lastname@ntschools.net and your password.
Books, teacher guides and lesson plans
The Department of Education has also created books, teacher guides and lesson plans that explore the history, apiculture and architecture of Government House.
You can use these to develop structured lesson plans in your classroom or for school excursions at Government House.
Books
- The First Government House: A Story for Early Primary Students by Christine Collins, 2019 PDF (15.1 MB).
- The House on the Hill by Christine Collins, 2019 PDF (7.7 MB).
- The Bombing of Government House by Christine Collins, 2019 PDF (4.2 MB).
- A Buzz at Government House by Caitlin Conway, 2019 PDF (5.6 MB).
- Highest Award of the Commonwealth by Christine Collins, 2019 PDF (9.4 MB).
- Riot and Rebellion by Christine Collins, 2019 PDF (4.8 MB).
Teacher guides and lesson plans
- Overview of lessons: Government House PDF (96.4 KB).
- Transition and year 1 teacher guide: the first Government House PDF (1.2 MB).
- Year 2 teacher guide: Government House - house on the hill PDF (238.2 KB).
- Year 3 teacher guide: Government House - the bombing of Government House PDF (345.4 KB).
- Year 4 teacher guide: Government House - the highest award in the Commonwealth PDF (495.0 KB).
- Year 5 teacher guide: Government House - buzz at Government House PDF (314.7 KB).
- Year 6 teacher guide: Government House - the bill PDF (284.5 KB).
- Year 7 teacher guide: Government House - riot and rebellion PDF (340.4 KB).
- Year 8 teacher guide: Government House - our identity PDF (216.6 KB).