THE Greater Hamilton Library will celebrate Education Week from May 22 – 28, staying true to this year’s theme of ‘150 Years of Public Education’ by encouraging students to explore the past.

The theme commemorates the past, celebrates the present, and imagines the future of education for students of any age to showcase their part in Victoria’s education Story.

Southern Grampians Shire Council library services coordinator, Kelly Pitt-Lancaster, said libraries around the state, such as the Greater Hamilton Library, provide access for students to resources and information to help support education within the community.

“Free public libraries and public education were both formed around 150 years ago in Victoria, with a shared belief that every child deserves a high-quality education both at school and in our community,” she said.

“In order to celebrate this special milestone, we have planned some great activities that continue to acknowledge the vital part the Greater Hamilton Library plays in providing educational access for the Southern Grampians community.”

Southern Grampians Shire Council senior library officer, Jenny Poynton, said the library would host local schools and provide students with a range of interactive activities.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with the response from school groups, with over 150 students now booked in filling

Registrations,” she said.

“On May 23, we will host a data show, ‘Life … Then and Now’ run by The History Box Ballarat.

“(It) will deliver a show where students will be immersed in interactive storytelling and focuses on what life was like in our more recent past.

“The second opportunity is a workshop where students will be provided with toys and games from the past to experience something unique from our region’s history.

“We are looking forward to opening the doors to the region’s current students to reflect upon those of the past.”

In 1872, Victoria became one of the first jurisdictions across the world to create a central school system offering free, secular, and compulsory education to its children.

This program is supported by the Victorian State Government Department of Education and Training.

For more information, contact the Greater Hamilton Library.