Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre

Bookings are open for 2021 program dates

Term 4 2020 Covid 19 update

Although excursions are permissible by the Department of Education in Term 4, as our excursions take place in public urban areas, we must still abide by Department of Health guidelines of group sizes of 20 maximum (ie 18 students, a class teacher and an EEC teacher).

We are happy to take these groups, however our teacher staffing limit allows for a maximum number of 54 students per day, (depending on availability of casual teachers). We are happy to split groups over multiple days, and work on a cost recovery basis. Please contact the Centre on 9247 7321 to discuss excursion options.

Secondary Virtual fieldwork 

Observatory Hill EEC is delivering virtual lessons via Zoom or Teams in lieu of our regular fieldwork programs. We currently offer virtual lessons for the following Geography and History topics:

• S6 Urban Dynamics - (Green Square, Barangaroo, and Pyrmont case studies)
• S6 People and Economic Activity (Tourism with Taronga Zoo case study)
• S5 Changing Places (Barangaroo case study)
• S5 Environmental Change and Management (Sydney Harbour marine environment case study)
• S4 Place and Liveability (Harold Park and White Bay case study)
• S4/5 History - The Rocks Site Study 

Each session can be scheduled to suit you and your students. Trained DoE Geography/History teachers will present the sessions via Zoom or Teams. Each session will allow time for student questions and worksksheet is provided. Sessions will be recorded and available for teachers to share with any absent students.  
Ring Observatory Hill EEC on 9247 7321 to book a virtual lesson to support your teaching program, at a time that suits you.

Primary School Incursions 

Primary school incursions operate as usual. All Observatory Hill EEC teachers are DoE teachers, able to operate in all primary schools. Vist the incursion page to find out more about incursion offerings. 

Google Sites to support student learning

Observatory Hill EEC has developed a range of Google Sites to support Stage 5 and 6 Geography students with their geographical learning and fieldwork assessment tasks, as well as a History Site Study (and units of work). The continuously updated websites offer students a range of resources, valuable links and current news articles. These sites are a perfect compliment to the virtual lessons above, allowing students to independently explore the fieldwork options. 

Secondary Sites:

People and Economic Activity – Tourism:

Changing Places: 

Urban Places – Pyrmont: 

Urban Places – Green Square: 

Urban Places – Barangaroo: 

Environmental Change and Management: 

Place and liveability

The Rocks Site Study 

New Sites 

Urban Places - Waitara 

Urban Places - Pyrmont 

People and Economic Activity - Sydney Harbour YHA

Primary Sites:

First Contacts 

Visit the new First Contacts website to learn more about the first contacts between Gadigal Aboriginal people and the early colonists. The site contains learning modules that you can work through with your class, as well as lots of links to teaching and learning resources. 

Students engaged in a variety of Observatory Hill EEC High School Urban Geography Programs 

Students engaged in a variety of Observatory Hill EEC Primary School History, Geography and Science programs. 

Our centre is located at:

Level 4, 40 Gloucester Street
The Rocks NSW 2000

From Wynard Station:

Exit on York St and walk north past Lang Park. Cross over Grosvenor St into Cumberland St (pedestrianised) and continue on to the Australian Hotel. The Centre is located on the corner of Gloucester St and Cumberland St behind the Australian Hotel.

From Circular Quay Station:

Walk towards the Rocks through First Fleet Park to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Turn left into Argyle St. Just before the Argyle cut (tunnel) turn left into Cambridge St (pedestrianised). The entrance is at nunber 11 Cambridge St just past the Kameya Restaurant. Take the lift to level 4. 

Program Evaluation 

We value feedback from visiting teachers and students to help us improve our programs and to collect data about our school’s effectiveness. 

Teachers, it would be appreciated if you could complete the following short survey about your experiences with us and inform and support your students to complete the survey. 

Teacher Evaluation

Student Evaluation