Are You Tougher than Your Ancestors? is a fun and immersive living history series that pits the skills of today’s kids against the exploits of children from Australia’s past, to find out how they measure up!
Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors?
Are You Tougher than Your Ancestors? is a fun and immersive living history series that pits the skills of today’s kids against the exploits of children from Australia’s past, to find out how they measure up!
Fun and fast paced, we challenge modern kids to walk in the shoes of a child from another era. Diving into new worlds, they learn as much about themselves as they do about history… and unearth some unexpected skills in the process!
Episodes
Episode 1 Kernewek Lowender
Mine work, night school, chores… and goat racing! Makayla and Jack tackle the 1898 life of Cornish kid Robert Richards.
Episode 2 Olympia!
Sienna and Paige attempt to beat the 1912 Olympic Medal winning time of one our first female Olympic swimmers, Wilhelmina Wylie.
Episode 3 Lennie the Legend
Gracey and Mikey tackle 24 hours of Lennie Gwyther’s epic 1932 solo ride from Leongatha to Sydney for the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Episode 4 Pioneer Living German Style!
Maeve and Harper follow in the footsteps of 1850s Lutheran refugee Thekla Staude, trekking 26 kilometres along bush tracks to take their homemade produce to market in Adelaide.
Episode 5 The Original “Ghan” Trains
Ezekiel and Nathaniel guide a camel train through Australia’s harsh desert country following the route taken in the early 1900s by teenage Afghan Aboriginal cameleer, William Satour.
Episode 6 Dancing on Wheels!
Charli and Matthew attempt to master the moves that won their coach, world champion artistic rollerskater Tammy Bryant, the 1989 Artistic Rollerskating Championship when she was only 12 years old.
Episode 7 Plane Sailing!
Caitlyn and Stella learn the ropes on board the three-masted sailing ship the “James Craig” in an attempt to match 1912 sailor Douglas Bull’s seamanship skills.
Episode 8 The Big Match!
Footballers Ray Ray and Jaikye play for the title of best and fairest in a Kaurna Parntu match that includes everyone.
Episode 9 Milk Run!
Jeffrin and Harry have a go at completing Conway Tighe’s milk delivery run, 1940s style.
Episode 10 Dai Gum San! Bendigo Easter Festival
Inspired by 9 year old Christina Tie’s performance in the 1889 Bendigo Easter Festival, Avie and Alyssa put on a show!
Awards
2021 Screen Producers Australia Awards
Nominee: Best Children's Series Production of the Year
2020 Australian Teachers of Media Award
Winner: Best Factual Television Series
2020 Australian Teachers of Media Award
Nominee: Best Children's Television Program
2020 Chicago International Children's Film Festival (USA)
Winner: Children's Live Action category (2nd Prize by Professional Jury)
2020 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award
Nominee: Best Children's Program
2020 Australian Effects & Animation Festival (AEAF) Awards
Special Merit Award: TV Series - Children
ACTF Education
Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors? explores familiar historic periods and events through the eyes of children who lived through them. Each episode reveals an incredible true story of a resilient and courageous child from the past, and challenges modern-day children to emulate their experiences. Through these participants’ firsthand experiences, students see what their lives would have been like in a different era. The Are You Tougher than Your Ancestors? resource is a History resource for Foundation to Year 6 teachers and students. Episodes and suggested learning tasks relate to the key understandings and inquiry skills outlined in the History sub-strand of the F-6/7 Humanities and Social Sciences curriculum.
Primary students from around Australia ask Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors? creator Vanna Morosini, host Ghenoa Gela, and cast members Jeffrin and Harry (from the ‘Milk Run’ episode) about the ideas behind this engaging series, and the work that goes into bringing a TV series to life.
Working either independently, in pairs or as a class with teacher support, this resource guides Year 5 and 6 students in examining representations and points of view in children’s television. Students will learn from industry experts, then view and respond to short clips drawn from children’s television programs. The short learning tasks encourage students to critically reflect on their roles as audience members and content creators.
Media representations portray people, places and ideas; media literate students understand how and why these representations are constructed. Join the ACTF and ACMI Education for an interactive virtual workshop examining representations and points of view in children’s television. Students will view and respond to short clips drawn from children’s television programs while critically reflecting on their roles as audience members and content creators. Teachers may choose to print copies of our worksheet before viewing this virtual workshop with students. Our hosts indicate when to pause the video to complete learning tasks about media representations.