alice springs school of the air visitor centre

855BruceH

The School of the Air has been around for as long as I have being established in 1951 and has provided education to primary aged school children living in remote properties throughout the Northern Territory and a little more in Western and South Australia. During our visit to the centre, we learnt how this essential service was delivered via satellite across more than one and one third million square kilometers. With the majority of the population in Australia living close to the coast it was amazing to see how they provide education to the more sparsely populated and remote regions of the country, or ‘Outback,’ These people deserve all the praise in the world for not only the service they provide to the children but for their great presentation at the Visitor Centre.

656maryj

Very interesting worth a visit, well presented by guides, makes you realize some of the problems and isolation of living in this part of Austraila

CarolinaBecky

While this may not be unique, it is certainly a highly unusual and creative solution to educate children in a very unpopulated, vast and isolated area. We learned about the school's history, how it is organized now and transitioned to computers and wifi versus use of television/radio. We learned about the curriculum, the students and their families and the teachers and saw one of the studios. Films and exhibits were quite interesting too.

Bookworms2010

Just like the Royal flying Doctor Service, this facility explains what Australia is doing to provide education via computer and video to children in the outback and on remote sheep or cattle stations.

MeriC244

I was so impressed with how they have been able to keep all these far-flung kids educated and ready to take on the world. Kudos to the Australians and these dedicated people.

114maureenp

I enjoyed this visit and found it very informative. The only downside for me was not any fault of the facility but the fact that now it is all done digitally makes it not really that different from the open university concept that has interactive classrooms etc. But the history of it was fascinating and it really gave me the true understanding of the lonely life some of the outback families must have.

JojoMid

We visited the school of the air as part of an excursion package, and I a so glad that we did. We found out about things that we didn't know existed and the lady who was explaining obviously loved the job that she did. Please visit the School of the Air if you get the chance, and make a donation to help the keep up the good work.

104SueR

What an amazing facility catering for just over 100 students spread over some 1 million kilometres. This centre will astound you as to how it teaches our children of the outback. The film was great and our guide passionate. Well worth the visit.

LindaT2409

The tour is a bit long, but the subject is really important. This dedicated staff shows you the history of the technology and the methods that are employed to reach long distant students in the Northern Territory.

fermax

Setup to raise funds for the School of the Air, the Visitors Centre includes a presentation and a chance to observe the school in action. We visited during school holidays, so we watched a video instead of seeing the teachers in action.It's quite amazing that the school only has 100-ish students yet has established such a good means of distance education. While you're there, you can buy some souvenirs and donate a book to the school library.

KathrynL192

I never knew just how much the "outback" kids had benefitted from this service. We even watched a lesson taking place. A Fabulous facility.

RJBaxter

Well organized presentation and video about the methods used for educating kids in he outback. See the studio where teachers conduct classes over the air. There is a small gift shop.

LR803

What a brilliant insight into the education of those youngsters who live in remote locations. Gives you a sense of how this school has allowed these young students to be able to interact with the community at large.

Maisonnette

An absolutely fascinating school. My husband and I are both retired educators, and we thoroughly enjoyed learning about this excellent school.

kay0ss

Very interesting visit. Learned a lot about the massive scale of this operation. The school educates students who are hundreds of miles away.