Self Guided

Self-guided tours at Cape Otway enable you to visit all of the historical buildings, including the 1848 lighthouse tower, the World War 2 Radar Bunker and Talking Hut all at your own pace. To get the most out of your visit we suggest you tune your students in.

We have outlined one approach below, but you will have many other great ideas for how to make the most of your visit to Cape Otway Lightstation.

Before Your Visit: 

Break your students up into groups of 3 to 4 and have them choose one of the following themes/topics to explore further.

• Life in the 19th Century 
• The Cape Otway Environment
• Weather at Cape Otway
• Native Plants at Cape Otway
• World War 2 at The Cape
• Lighthouses and Navigation
• Remote Living at The Cape
• Communication at Cape Otway
• Immigration and Shipwrecks

Each group brainstorms what they know and what they want to find out about their topic. Each student should contribute one or two questions to the list of what they want to find out. 

Depending on the theme/topic chosen, students should Explore The Cape on our website and watch one of our Tales of The Cape videos to help them tune in. 

Download the Map of the Cape Otway Lightstation and have students plot where they think they will gain further information. Prompt students if needed. Eg. the Telegraph Station would be the key data source for information about “Communication at Cape Otway”, “Life in the 19th Century” and “Remote Living at The Cape”. 

During Your Visit:

Depending on the age of your students you may need more or fewer teachers/additional adults to supervise and assist student groups to navigate their way around the Lightstation precinct. It is important to note that you are always responsible for your students while on site.

Students will no doubt wish to explore as much of the historical site as time permits as well as follow up on gaining first-hand data on their specific theme/topic. Students should use the map they plotted in class ahead of time to help them navigate their way around.

Students may need to ask our Guides questions if they have not found out their answers from the first-hand data sources on site. Guides will be happy to help when they can.

Students should note the source of the data which helped answer their questions and take photos if possible. Perhaps allow one digital camera/ipad or similar per group. Teachers/adult helpers can assist with this.      

As well as gathering data specific to their theme/topic, students should note any other interesting facts they found fascinating.

After Your Visit:

Students investigate the post-visit resources to find out any other information about their theme/topic and then plan/prepare a group presentation to share their findings with the rest of the class.