Mission Control

Through engaging in the Mission Control program students will think critically about the skills and knowledge needed for a successful mission to Mars, including debating and voting on industries to send on the mission, mirroring Victoria’s parliament processes, and work collaboratively to complete a hands-on design challenge as they consider how to sustainably power operations, feed the population, and communicate across the far reaches of space.

For the civics and citizenship classroom, students will:

• Experience the process of passing a bill through parliament, including the process of making amendments
• Create responses to committee reports
• Represent a fictional party and electorate
• Make decisions on behalf of their constituents
• Evaluate the success of the decision-making process and design challenge, including consequences and unintended consequences

This program is a collaboration between Science Gallery Melbourne, Australian Space Agency and Parliament of Victoria.

• Classroom connections

  Mission Control is a flexible interdisciplinary program, that links to Victorian curriculum: civics and citizenship and science curricula, as well as the critical and creative thinking capability, design and technologies, digital technologies, economics and business curricula.

• Related resources

  How to host a committee inquiry

  So much about the way we live and work has changed in the more than 165 years since the 8-hour workday law was introduced. This teaching guide explores some of these changes, especially how the nature of work has changed, including the use of digital technologies, and the impact of these changes on our work-life balance.

  How a law is made: Teacher guide

  This teaching guide presents activities and a case study that have been designed for grades 3 to 6, but can easily be adapted for Years 7 to 12 as either refarmilarisation or consolidation activities.

  Parliament of Victoria explains

  The Parliament of Victoria explains series of videos includes three animations that describe core processes relating to the work of parliament.

  How parliament makes laws follows the process of the introduction of a bill into parliament, its passage through both Houses, to receiving Royal Assent.

  How parliament’s committees work explores the purpose of and types of parliamentary committees, the non-partisan nature of committees, as well as the overall committee process.

  Finally, How parliament’s elections work explains the systems of voting to elect the 128 Members of the Parliament of Victoria; preferential voting for the 88 members of the Legislative Assembly and proportional voting for the 40 members of the Legislative Council.

  How a law is made: Video series

  This series of short videos explores the process of passing a bill through parliament, from identifying the initial need through to Royal Assent and the bill becoming an Act of Parliament, in other words a law.