We did drive into the city to see that exhibition. It was called "National Treasures" because many items of interest from all of the library archives around the country were brought together and taken on tour. Some of them were quite interesting. One of the highlights was Ned Kelly's helmet, with several little round impressions from bullet holes in it, proving that the life of a bushranger was obviously quite stressful. Living in the twenty first century, it's easy to wonder why young men might've chosen a rebel's lifestyle that included so much danger. Back in the mid 1800s, bushrangers were a scourge on the highways, "pesky as rabbits" as I read in one history book. But my dh reminded me that back then, there was no Social Security  or welfare payments, so they might've felt driven to it. A tough old time in which to live in many ways.

Also interesting were some maps sketched by Captain James Cook as he navigated along the east coast in his ship, "The Endeavour" along with the big thick ship's log he was keeping. There was a cricket bat that was owned by Sir Donald Bradman, one of our most famous sporting legends, a shirt that was worn by the poet, Henry Lawson, and a convict's uniform complete with ball & chains.

Before we went in, a lady offered the kids some worksheets to complete, which involved answering short questions about some of the exhibits, and she promised "a prize" at the end. The kids were reticent, as they've had negative experiences with worksheets before, which I'll explain in a minute. In the end Emma took one and completed it with Andrew's help, but Logan declined.

About three or four years ago, while I was pregnant with Blake, we were in Ballarat with the kids on our first holiday as homeschoolers. We visited a wonderful "growing" maze. Its walls were grown from tall hedges and vines with all sorts of bright flowers smothering them. Before we entered, the man offered the kids one of those worksheets with the promise of a prize at the end if they completed it correctly. Both of them were keen to give it a go. We carefully looked out for each of the hidden objects along the maze but one of them, we just couldn't find! Logan in particular was desperate to move back the length of the maze and search in all sorts of places we might have missed, because he didn't want to miss out on the prize by just one question. We traipsed up and down for an extra 45 minutes just to find that last wretched clue, but it still eluded us. Logan and Emma were frustrated. In the end we went back to the gift shop and admitted to the man that we hadn't been able to find it. He told us that we were on the right track and sent us back to the area it was. I forget what it was, except that it was very obscure and many others had difficulty finding it too. But Logan and Emma were delighted to think that they had a second chance and they'd still get their prize.

When we returned the worksheets, the prizes turned out to be pieces of paper with simple little puzzle mazes sketched on them. The kids thanked the man politely, but when we got to the car, they vented their spleens. They were really let down because after all of their sweat and toil, the prize wasn't worth having, in their opinion. Logan completed his in a flash and then screwed it up. "At least they could've given us an ice-cream!" So ever since then, although we've been offered worksheets from several different venues, Logan and Emma have regarded them with suspicion. And usually that suspicion has been warranted. So Logan very rarely chooses to do them anymore. (I have to say, we would have remembered that maze with complete pleasure except for the lousy prize on the worksheet. I can understand that they can't spend too much money on prizes, but when tourist destinations choose to embellish their attractions with little extra features, perhaps they should think it through to make sure that they really will make a good impression.)

As for the prize that Emma won from "National Treasures" on Thursday, it was a couple of bookmarks with some of the features on them. Not bad. One of the better prizes we've come across.