©ABC 2015

Questions for discussion

Reef Funding

1. Discuss the Reef Funding story with another student and record the main points of the

discussion.

2. How are some kids at a Queensland school helping the Great Barrier Reef?

3. About how many small reefs and islands make up the Great Barrier Reef?

4. Name one of the threats to the reef.

5. Describe the damage that’s occurring to the Great Barrier Reef.

6. The reef is a World Heritage site. What does that mean?

7. The United Nation’s World Heritage Committee is deciding whether it needs to put the

Great Barrier Reef on the ____ ___________ list.

8. What is the government saying it will do to help protect the reef?

9. Why do the kids say it’s important to help the reef?

10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the Reef Funding story?

Check out the BtN Reef Funding resource on the Teachers page

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/teachers.htm

Malcolm Fraser

1. Which Prime Minister was removed from government in 1975?

2. How many years was Malcolm Fraser Prime Minister?

3. Why were many people fleeing Vietnam?

4. How did he help Vietnamese migrants?

5. Who did Malcolm Fraser lose the election to in 1983?

6. What causes did he support after leaving politics?

7. When and why did Malcolm Fraser quit the Liberal Party?

8. Give some other examples of how he supported multiculturalism.

9. What was Malcolm Fraser’s favourite catchphrase? Do you agree?

10. What do you think he will be remembered for? Explain your answer?

Check out the BtN Malcolm Fraser resource on the Teachers page

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/teachers.htm

Tactile Banknotes

1. What does Connor call his canes?

2. What is `Jaws’ and how does it help Connor?

3. How does Connor read?

4. What are tactile bank notes?

5. Why did Connor want Australia to get tactile bank notes in Australia?

Episode 9

31st March 2015

©ABC 2015

6. Which country has tactile bank notes?

7. What action did he take to get tactile features on Aussie bank notes?

8. What did the Reserve Bank of Australia announce earlier this year?

9. What did Connor learn from the experience?

10. How did this story make you feel?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Humans in Space

1. Before watching this story, talk about what you know about space exploration.

2. What significant event happened on April 12 1961?

3. Why is space a `hostile place’?

4. The space race was a competition between which two countries?

5. What happened on July 20 1969?

6. The Space Shuttle is not a reusable space craft. True or false?

7. What is the International Space Station?

8. Describe the cost of space exploration.

9. Do you think exploring space is important? Explain your answer.

10. What was surprising about this story?

Vote in the BtN poll. Go to http://www.abc.net.au/btn/polls.htm

Skater Kid

1. Briefly summarise the Skater Kid story.

2. How old was Keegan when he first won the under 18 skating championship?

3. How does Keegan feel when he does the big skateboarding tricks?

4. What happened to Keegan before the Junior Championships this year?

5. Why is he homeschooled?

6. Apart from skateboarding, what else does Keegan like to do?

7. What do other skateboarders say about his skating talent?

8. Name three words to describe Keegan.

9. What do you think makes a successful sportsperson?

10. Illustrate an aspect of Keegan’s story.

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

©ABC 2015

Activity

Reef Funding

Key Learning Students will learn about the importance of the Great Barrier Reef to animals, plants and people and explore different views on how it can be protected.

The Australian Curriculum

Discussion Questions

1. Discuss the Reef Funding story with another student and record the main points of the

discussion.

2. How are some kids at a Queensland school helping the Great Barrier Reef?

3. About how many small reefs and islands make up the Great Barrier Reef?

4. Name one of the threats to the reef.

5. Describe the damage that’s occurring to the Great Barrier Reef.

6. The reef is a World Heritage site. What does that mean?

7. The United Nation’s World Heritage Committee is deciding whether it needs to put the

Great Barrier Reef on the ____ ___________ list.

8. What is the government saying it will do to help protect the reef?

9. Why do the kids say it’s important to help the reef?

10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the Reef Funding story?

Science / Science Understanding / Biological sciences Geography / Geographical Knowledge and

Understanding

Living things have life cycles (ACSSU072) Year 4

Living things, including plants and animals, depend on each other and the environment to survive (ACSSU073) Year 4

Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment (ACSSU043) Year 5

The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094) Year 6

Interactions between organisms can be described in terms of food chains and food webs; human activity can affect these interactions (ACSSU112) Year 7

The importance of environments to animals and people, and different views on how they can be protected (ACHGK022) Year 4

Science / Science as a Human Endeavour / Use and influence of science

Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE062) Year 4

Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE220) Years 5 & 6

Science understanding influences the development of practices in areas of human activity such as industry, agriculture and marine and terrestrial resource management (ACSHE136) Year 7

Episode 9

31st March 2015

©ABC 2015

Activities

Negotiate with students how many activities they complete from each section.

Remember and understand

Students will practice their note-taking while watching

the BtN Reef Funding story. After watching the story,

ask students to reflect and organise the information

into three categories.

What information about the Great Barrier Reef was...?

Positive

Negative or

Interesting

Students may want to watch the story again or

download a copy of the Reef Funding transcript to

assist them with this activity.

Brainstorm a list of words that relate to the BtN Reef Funding story. Use these words to make your

own sentences about the issue. Here are some to get you

started.

tropical

global warming

bad water quality

over-fishing

damage

problem

Queensland

coral

sea plants and animals

species

world heritage

climate change

Ask students to finish one or more of the following incomplete sentences:

A reef is...

Reefs produce food and shelter for...

Reef plants...

Reef animals...

The Great Barrier Reef is special because...

The Great Barrier Reef is in danger because...

We can protect the Great Barrier Reef by...

©ABC 2015

Apply and analyse

Six Thinking Hats

As a class, use Edward De Bono’s Six Hat Thinking to explore the Great Barrier Reef. Make your

own coloured hat cut-outs and place on the floor.

Students will take it in turns answering questions in relation to what they already know about the

issue, what they have learned from the Reef Funding story and what they want to learn further

about the topic. Ask students the following questions:

Evaluate and create

Creature Feature

Explain to students that they will imagine they are scientists

exploring the sea life found in the Great Barrier Reef.

Download Creature Feature Template

As a class identify different plants and animals that can

be found in the Great Barrier Reef. For example a

dolphin, dugong, seabirds, sea turtle, sea snake, fish,

molluscs, coral, seagrass or seaweed. Individually,

students will choose an animal or plant from the list to

research further.

Students will create a Creature Feature on their chosen

plant or animal. Students will use a range of sources to

How did the BtN Reef Funding story make you feel?

How do you feel about the Great Barrier Reef?

What do you know about the Great Barrier Reef?

What have you learnt from the story?

What are some of the positives that you learnt from this

story?

What are some of the negatives that you learnt from this

story?

What can we do to help save the Great Barrier Reef?

What are some solutions to the issues?

What questions were raised during this activity?

What do you want to learn further about this topic?

©ABC 2015

find their information, including the internet, newspapers and books. Students will use the

Creature Feature template to organise and present their information.

o Scientific and common name

o Picture/s

o Describe its habitat. Why does it live here?

o What does it eat?

o Description, for example colour and size.

o What are the threats to its survival?

o Other interesting facts

Create a class fact file book which contains each student’s research.

Students will reflect on the activity, by responding to the following comments:

o Parts of the activity I enjoyed

o Parts of the activity I found challenging

o Parts of the activity I found interesting

Who am I?

Students will make their own Who Am I? game to learn more

about the animals that live in the Great Barrier Reef.

Download Who Am I? Template

Students will research and write 8 clues to correspond

with each animal in the Who Am I? template, with the

first clue being the hardest and the final clue being the

easiest.

Students must include clues about the animal’s

appearance, diet, habitat and threats.

Students will test their game on a partner.

To make this game more of a challenge students can

select a range of animals that live in the Great Barrier

Reef.

Related Research Links

ABC News – Great Barrier Reef: Government releases Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-21/government-to-release-great-barrier-reef-sustainability-

report/6337238

Behind the News – World Heritage

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3958277.htm

Behind the News – Reef Warning

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3603113.htm

©ABC 2015

Behind the News – Reef Threat

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3363010.htm

Australia.gov – The Great Barrier Reef

http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/great-barrier-reef

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – Facts about the Great Barrier Reef

http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/facts-about-the-great-barrier-reef

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – Threats to the reef

http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef/threats-to-the-reef

ABC Splash – Great Barrier Reef

http://splash.abc.net.au/digibook/-/c/617044/great-barrier-reef-under-threat

©ABC 2015

Activity

Malcolm Fraser

Key Learning Students will learn about the achievements of Australia’s 22nd Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

The Australian Curriculum

Discussion Questions

1. Which Prime Minister was removed from government in 1975?

2. How many years was Malcolm Fraser Prime Minister?

3. Why were many people fleeing Vietnam?

4. How did he help Vietnamese migrants?

5. Who did Malcolm Fraser lose the election to in 1983?

6. What causes did he support after leaving politics?

7. When and why did Malcolm Fraser quit the Liberal Party?

8. Give some other examples of how he supported multiculturalism.

9. What was Malcolm Fraser’s favourite catchphrase? Do you agree?

10. What do you think he will be remembered for? Explain your answer?

English / Literature / Literature and context

English / Literacy / Creating texts

Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts drawn from different

historical, social and cultural contexts (ACELT1619) Year 7

History / Historical Skills / Chronology, terms and concepts

Sequence historical people and events. (ACHHS117) (ACHHS098) (ACHHS081) Years 4, 5, 6

History / Historical Skills / Explanation and communication

Develop texts, particularly narratives and descriptions, which incorporate source materials (ACHHS124) (ACHHS213) Year 6 & 7

History / Historical Skills / Historical questions and research

Identify and locate a range of relevant sources. (ACHHS101)

(ACHHS120) Years 5 & 6

Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience identify and locate a range of relevant sources. (ACELY1694) Year 5

Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, choosing and experimenting with text structures, language features, images and digital resources appropriate to purpose and audience. (ACELY1714) Year 6

History / Historical Knowledge and Understanding / Australia as a nation

The contribution of individuals and groups, including Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander people and migrants, to the

development of Australian society, for example in areas such as

the economy, education, science, the arts, sport. (ACHHK116)

Year 6

Episode 9

31st March 2015

©ABC 2015

Activities

Keywords

Watch the BtN Malcolm Fraser story and circle each of the following words/terms as you hear

them. Record any unfamiliar words.

Clarify students’ understanding of the words/terms.

Discuss as a group how these terms relate to this story.

Students will use each word to form their own sentences.

Biographical Writing

Activity overview

In this activity students will:

As a class, brainstorm what a biography is and what it tells us about a person. They will

identity where they can find biographical information and what makes a biography

interesting.

Using the Biography Organiser template, students will find and record information about

Malcolm Fraser, Australia’s 22nd Prime Minister.

Using the Bio-Cube template, students will design and create a 3D model to present their

biographical information.

Class discussion: What is a biography?

Before students begin to construct their biographies, hold a class discussion to find out what they

already know about biographical writing. Record your student’s responses on the class whiteboard.

Below are some discussion starters:

What is the difference between a biography and an autobiography? Find a dictionary

definition.

What does a biography tell us about a person?

Where can you look to find information for your biographical writing? It could include the

internet, newspaper articles, magazine articles and interviews, other biographies, historical

books or television interviews. Why is it important to use more than one source of

information?

What makes a biography interesting? For example, key information and facts, a timeline of

events, photographs, video interviews, illustrations and quotes.

Have you heard of the National Living Treasures listing? National Living Treasures are

exceptional Australians with substantial and enduring accomplishments in their field. Take a

look at the list to see which Australians are listed. What range of fields are covered in the

list? http://www.nationaltrust.org.au/nsw/NationalLivingTreasures

Vietnam War Asylum Seeker Election

Governor-General

Multiculturalism Parliament House

©ABC 2015

Biography Organiser

Using a range of sources (internet, newspapers, books etc)

students will research the life of Malcolm Fraser.

Students will use the Biography Organiser template to structure

their biographical information on Malcolm Fraser.

Some possible research questions include:

Where and when was Malcolm Fraser born?

Describe his family life growing up and as an adult.

For how long and when did Malcolm Fraser serve as Prime Minister?

What political party did he represent?

What was controversial about his appointment as Prime Minister? Describe how he was elected.

Make a list of his biggest achievements as Prime Minister. Choose one to explore in more detail.

What were some of the challenges he faced as Prime Minister?

How has he made an impact on Australian people’s lives?

What was life like for Australians during the time that Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister? Think about fashion, music, influential people and major events.

Students may also like to present the information they have gathered in the form of a timeline.

Make a bio-cube

Using the Bio-Cube template students will design and create

a 3D model to present their biography on Malcolm Fraser.

Each side of the cube will include a different aspect of the

students’ research. For example:

1. Name, birth date and the day they died

2. Dates he was Prime Minister

3. Picture, illustration or photograph

4. Something interesting you learnt about this person

5. Three important facts

6. Resource listing (bibliography)

Once students have created their 3D models display them in the classroom. Consider using this template to create biographies on other Australia Prime Ministers.

©ABC 2015

Related Research Links

Civics and Citizenship – Malcolm Fraser

http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/fraser_malcolm,15396.html

National Museum Australia – Malcolm Fraser

http://www.nma.gov.au/primeministers/malcolm_fraser

Civics and Citizenship – Biographical Writing

http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/cce_biographical_writing,23524.html

Film Australia – Australia Biography: Malcolm Fraser

http://australianbiography.s3.amazonaws.com/study/4600_ausbiofraser.pdf

Australian Screen – Life at the Top: A Week with Prime Minister: Malcolm Fraser

http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/life-at-the-top-malcolm-fraser/clip2/

©ABC 2015

BtN: Episode 09 Transcript 31/03/15

Coming up:

Australia remembers former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

Meet the kid who managed to single-handedly change the design of our money.

And find out how this kid became Australia's under 18 skateboarding champion at

just 9 years old

It's an amazing story. Hi I'm Nathan. You'll see that story and many more a bit later on.

Reef Funding

Reporter: Eloise Fuss

INTRO: But first today, to the federal government’s announcement that it's going to chip

in an extra $100 million dollars to tackle the environmental problems plaguing the Great

Barrier Reef. The new funding has come on top of the release of a new report which

explains how issues like pollution and the crown of thorns starfish should be stopped.

Eloise checked in with a local school to find out more about it.

ELOISE FUSS, REPORTER: In these big tanks, this class of kids are breeding some

colourful tropical fish and corals.

KID 1: Here we have many types of coral, soft corals and hard corals.

KID 2: This is the common, but everyone's favourite orange clownfish.

KID 3: Here are some black clownfish. For five years we've been breading Clownfish - it's a

difficult process, they have to be fed live food that is grown by us.

They're growing these tropical species to sell to pet shops. For every tropical fish they

breed and sell it means one less taken off Australia's reefs. It's all part of their effort to help

out an Australian icon that's in trouble.

Sitting off the coast of North Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in

the world. It covers almost 350,000 square kilometres, an area almost the size of Japan!

It's actually made up of more than 2,900 smaller coral reefs, and it's home to heaps of

tropical sea plants and animals.

©ABC 2015

It's so beautiful and so unique that in 1981 it received World Heritage status. But all this

could change, unless we step in and help.

According to the reef authority, there's all sorts of things that have started to damage the

Great Barrier Reef. Climate change is making the water warmer, which can kill parts of the

coral and make their colour fade. Extreme weather, like flooding and cyclones, is

destroying big areas of seagrass, whilst illegal fishing and poaching can be a problem too.

But declining water quality is a biggie. As mining increases on the nearby coast, big ports

have been built and leftover sand dumped in the ocean. Some say this can make the water

dirtier, and affect the health of reef plants and fish. On top of that, pollution has been a

problem too. Things like farm chemicals can wash out onto the reef and cause outbursts of

bad sea pests like this nasty looking thing, the prickly crown of thorns starfish.

These threats are getting so bad, the United Nation's World Heritage Committee is

deciding whether it needs to put the reef on its 'In Danger' list. It's the job of the

Queensland and Federal Governments to look after the reef, so if it was classed 'in danger'

that would be like giving them a big F on their report card.

So recently the Government stepped in:

STEVEN MILES, QUEENSLAND ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: “Today we launch

Australia's plan to save the Great Barrier Reef.”

An extra 100 million dollars has been promised to try to improve water quality on the reef.

Something the kids at this school are pretty happy about.

KID 4: What I love about the Great Barrier Reef is I get to see animals I can't see anywhere

else, and it's very close to my town.

STUDENTS: The Great Barrier Reef is a natural wonder which we all have to look after for

future generations

That's why they're doing what they can to save the Great Barrier Reef, one clownfish at a

time.

The Wire

To other news now:

The New South Wales state election was held over the weekend. And people there voted to

keep Premier Mike Baird in the top job. The Liberal-National Coalition won pretty easily,

even though Labor picked up a few more seats and the Greens picked up three new ones in

the lower house too.

Air crash investigators reckon they know what caused a plane to crash in France last week.

The flight was travelling from Spain to Germany when it hit the side of a mountain, killing

©ABC 2015

all 150 people on board. Experts have been looking at the black box and flight data. And

they say the co-pilot did it deliberately but they're still investigating why.

Australia's bravest citizens have been honoured in this year's bravery awards. Calyn was

only seven when he saved his younger brother from being run down on a busy street taking

the hit himself.

He survived life-threatening injuries and now he's been given a Bravery Medal. Cody was

also awarded a Commendation for Brave Conduct for stopping a thief from getting away

with his mum's handbag.

CODY SUNDERLAND: “Half way up the hill he turned at me, went to strike me. He

missed.”

And last Friday thousands of people turned out to say goodbye to former Prime Minister

Malcolm Fraser. He was Australia's PM for more than seven years starting in 1975.

Current and former political leaders were all at the state funeral, along with Fraser's family

and members of the public.

Malcolm Fraser

Reporter: Carl Smith

INTRO: Now as you just saw there last Friday was the memorial service for former

Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. He started leading the country in controversial

circumstances during the 70's but went on to make some big changes. Here's Carl with a

look back at his time in office.

CARL SMITH, REPORTER: In 1975, a technological revolution was changing the world.

Australian television was switching from black and white to colour. A mechanical shark

was terrifying movie-goers at drive-in cinemas all over the country.

And a little company called Microsoft was just starting out. Politically things were rapidly

changing in Australia too. At Parliament House a crisis was brewing. And this man,

Malcolm Fraser, found himself in the hot seat.

The Governor-General had just removed a Prime Minister called Gough Whitlam from

power. That had never been done before, and hasn't been done since!

GOUGH WHITLAM: “God save the queen because nothing will save the Governor-

General.”

©ABC 2015

As the head of the opposition at the time, Liberal party leader Malcolm Fraser was declared

the nation's care-taker Prime Minister until an election could be held.

MALCOLM FRASER: “All those who want Mr Whitlam to get the hell out of Canberra.”

And he had the not-so-simple task of restoring order to a chaotic parliament. He tackled

the job head on and soon after won the biggest election victory in Australian history.

So Malcolm Fraser became Australia's 22nd Prime Minister; officially, this time. Fraser

was elected three times between 1975 and 1983. One of the things Fraser is best

remembered for is supporting multiculturalism.

He was Prime Minister in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, which Australia and America

had fought for many years. But the war left a lot of Vietnamese people without a safe place

to live. So Fraser decided to help them by opening Australia's doors. He helped settle tens

of thousands of Vietnamese refugees.

Among them were Emelie's dad and grandparents; they came here by boat while Fraser

was Prime Minister.

EMELIE: “I don't think they could have survived out there or I probably wouldn't be here

right now. We're really grateful for Malcolm Fraser because otherwise we wouldn't be

blessed with such a big family!”

But Malcolm Fraser supported multiculturalism in other ways too. He oversaw the creation

of the SBS in 1980, a network to help tell the stories of a diverse nation. And overseas

Fraser protested against South Africa's treatment of its black citizens.

In 1983 Malcolm Fraser lost his fourth federal election to Bob Hawke. But the Australia he

left, looked pretty different to the one he started leading in the 70s. The economy was

booming and Australia was beginning to define its identity as a country.

After leaving politics Fraser continued fighting for many of the causes he'd championed as

Prime Minister. But he also began questioning his own party - the Liberals. In particular he

spoke out against its stance on asylum seekers, and when Tony Abbott became Liberal

leader in 2009 Fraser quit the party altogether.

But throughout it all, Malcolm Fraser remained a highly respected figure in Australia. He

fought hard for what he believed in, but his favourite catch cry shows he wouldn't have had

it any other way:

MALCOLM FRASER: “Life wasn't meant to be easy. But take courage child, for it can be

delightful.”

Quiz 1

Okay, time for a quiz now. Good luck guys. What was the population of Australia when

Malcolm Fraser became Prime Minister?

©ABC 2015

Was it:

10 million

14 million

Or 20 million

Answer: 14 million

The population now is around 24 million.

Tactile Banknotes

Rookie Reporter: Connor

INTRO: Most kids love getting money for Christmas. But for 13-year old Connor cash

gifts have always been a bit of a headache. He's blind so he could never tell how much he

was given. So he decided to petition the Royal Bank of Australia to add a Braille label to

notes so he could tell how much they're worth. Here's Connor to tell you how it went.

ROOKIE REPORTER, CONNOR: Hi! My name is Connor and I'm 13 years old. I like

getting outdoors, especially going rock climbing, abseiling and wild caving. But doing this

fun stuff can be a little tough, especially because I'm blind. I've been blind ever since I was

born. I can see contrasted shapes but I can't see real far and I can't see too much detail. I

can tell your approximate height but I can't tell your hair colour.

To help me get around I had to learn cane skills when I was two. I call my canes my skinny

guide dogs. I also have a special program on my computer called Jaws. It reads me what's

on the screen. When I was younger I had to learn to read and write Braille. It's pretty cool.

If you've never seen it before, Braille is a tactile writing system. That means I touch it

instead of reading it with my eyes. The different sequences of bumps make letters and

words and when I touch them I can tell exactly what the words say. The living creatures of

our home are too numerous to name. Braille's pretty cool because I can read in the dark.

Being blind can also be a bit of a nuisance, especially when it comes to money. Telling the

difference between coins is easier than telling the difference between notes. When I get

money for Christmas or birthday presents I have to ask people how much I've gotten.

Sometimes I get a bit nervous in shops when I have to pay for things with notes so I need a

little bit of help. In other countries such as Canada, they have raised dots on their notes so

that blind people can tell the difference between them. These are called tactile bank notes.

This made me wonder why Australia didn't have them too.

I started an online petition to get the Reserve Bank of Australia to add tactile features to

Aussie bank notes. We posted links to the petition all over Facebook, Twitter and Google

Plus and we got the support of Vision Australia and the Human Rights Commission. All up

©ABC 2015

we got just over 57 thousand signatures which is way more than we expected! There's been

heaps of media attention too. We've been talked about in the UK, America, New Zealand,

Singapore, Europe and all over Australia. And the best part is all our hard work paid off!

Last November we spoke to the Reserve Bank of Australia and this year they announced

the next generation of bank notes to be released will have the tactile markings. It's pretty

awesome to know that hundreds of thousands of people around Australia will be helped by

something I made happen.

If there's one thing I've learnt from the whole experience, it's that if you put your mind to

anything and never give up, it could happen like it did for me.

Presenter: Amazing work Connor. Okay, next up we're heading into space but first a quiz.

Quiz 2

What is a shooting star?

Is it

A comet

A dying star

Or a meteor

The Answer: Meteor

Humans in Space

Reporter: Carl Smith

INTRO: Now, during the school holidays the world will celebrate the anniversary of the

first time a person was sent into space. It was an amazing achievement that paved the

way for many more space success stories in the years after. Carl celebrates with a look

back at our biggest space moments so far.

CARL SMITH, REPORTER: Humans have looked up at the stars for millennia a whole

universe of planets, asteroids, moons and suns. But they were all too far away to explore in

person. On April 12, 1961 that all changed. Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut flying in the

©ABC 2015

Vostok 1, became the first person to make it into space. And that one trip helped change

the course of history.

Space is a hostile place - there's no air to breathe and it's freezing cold. But conquering it

became an obsession for countries like Russia and the US.

JFK: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they

are easy but because they are hard.”

So huge amounts of money and research went into building this: Apollo 11. And on July 20,

1969 it landed on the moon. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first

two people to step onto the lunar surface.

NEIL ARMSTRONG: 'One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind'

But there were more leaps to come. In the 70s the US set up something called Skylab. It

was the world's first space station, letting people live in space! But it wasn't the last.

In 1981, the launch of the space shuttle Columbia marked the beginning of reusable space

craft. And they helped build this giant structure which can be seen with the naked eye from

Earth! It's called the international space station and people have been living in it since the

year 2000. They even answer questions you might have about space.

The knowledge gained from space missions like this has helped make other things possible

too. Satellites now orbit the earth in their hundreds. Relaying TV signals, phones and the

internet all around the world.

The costs for human spaceflight are enormous, spaceships can cost billions of dollars to

develop and launch. So a lot of the big ambitious projects now use unmanned satellites and

advanced robots.

But there's still plenty to learn about our universe by sending people into space. Some

companies have set up space tourism programs to take people beyond Earth's atmosphere

just for the experience!

BRANSON: “Virgin Galactic is on track to become the world’s first commercial space line

and if you've ever dreamt of joining the incredible group of pioneering astronauts your

opportunity has arrived.”

And you've probably heard about this project, which wants to send people to Mars for an

out-of-this-world reality TV show!

Mars One trailer: “The crew is actually going to stay and live on Mars with the intention to

live there for the rest of their lives.”

If that all goes to plan then we might be able to prove we've got the technology to travel

even further. So although the world is getting ready to celebrate the history of sending

people into space, the future of space exploration still looks pretty bright too.

©ABC 2015

Online Poll

Okay. Let's find out how you feel about the future of space exploration with a poll.

Do you think humans will ever find another habitable planet?

Head to our website to place your vote.

The Score

Okay, missed something this week in the world of sport? We've got you covered.

The Australian one day cricket team is now officially the best in the world after the Aussies

breezed past New Zealand in the World Cup final in Melbourne. Fittingly Michael Clarke

top scored for Australia with 74 in his last One Day International ever. And successor Steve

Smith notched the winning runs.

Starc was named player of the tournament and the World Champs say they'll be doing

plenty of celebrating over the coming days.

Aussie teenager, Ben Simmons has been named the National Boys Basketball Player of the

Year in the US. Ben was born here but moved to America to pursue basketball. He's tipped

to be a future star of the NBA.

And finally, we often show races between young people but this is getting ridiculous. It's a

baby race which was held during a break at an NBA game. It was quite a battle, with some

of the contestants a bit confused about where the finishing line was. The eventual winner

turned up the speed to snatch the title to the delight of his very proud father.

©ABC 2015

Skate Prodigy

Reporter: Eloise Fuss

INTRO: Finally today. How old do you think Australia's under 18 skateboarding

champion is? Seventeen? Maybe sixteen? Try 12. Eloise found out more about this

insanely talented young kid who's already taking the skateboarding world by storm.

ELOISE FUSS, REPORTER: Imagine having your own personal skateboard ramp, or

getting to travel to places like Paris for skating comps, and you've nailed some incredibly

moves all by 12 years old.

This is what life's like for this kid, Keegan. He's a skateboarder from the Gold Coast and by

just nine-years-old was already the under 18 champion of Australia. So he was beating

skaters twice his age, and twice his size too!

FORMER WORLD SKATEBOARDING CHAMP: People know him around the world, he's

well known as one of the renowned up and comers. Just recently Keegan skated at a junior

championship in Melbourne. He pulled off awesome moves, even though he had a broken

arm and a cast on.

KEEGAN: I broke my wrist just when I was coming down here so that was a little bummer,

but I'm still skating and I'm still having a lot of fun

Keegan makes it all look super easy, but does he ever get scared going for those big tricks?

KEEGAN: Oh yeah all the time, but just if you get scared of something try it, try something

that makes you happy and go for it, and then you feel good afterwards when you land a

new trick.

Even though Keegan's a skateboarding superstar, he still has to do school work.

KEEGAN: My Mum always is just, 'do your school work, do your school work' all the time.

Keegan's homeschooled, so he can still train three hours a day, travel to comps all around

the world, and not get behind in his school work.

KEEGAN: When I went to normal school I was missing so much school because I just kept

travelling the world, going to do contests. And then my mum just said 'oh let’s just do

homeschooling so I don't miss as much school, so I can bring my work with me on the

aeroplane and I can finish it.

In between all that homework and skating, Keegan manages to fit in some surfing as well.

He rocks at that too.

KEEGAN: I would like, just love to be a professional surfer and a professional skater, just

living life to the fullest.

Older skaters think in a few years he could be the best skateboarder in the world

©ABC 2015

FORMER SKATEBOARDING WORLD CHAMP: I think what really sets him apart is he's

really focussed, and he's keen to make things happen, I mean you just have to watch him

skate and you can see he's something special.

And to those of you dreaming of following in Keegan's shoes:

KEEGAN: If you put your mind to it you can learn anything.

But let's be honest, this kid would be a pretty big act to follow!

Closer

And that brings us to an end for today!

We'll leave you with a final look at some of the messages we received during our

#BehindYou anti-bullying campaign! Thanks again to all of the schools that got involved.

See you after the Easter break!