Spring activities
Maitland Gaol will be offering the following activities in the next spring school holidays.
There are three self guided audio tours available seven days a week, each providing a different perspective of the life behind the bars.
Help the Maitland Gaol team prepare for the planting of the spring gardens by building scarecrows to ward off pesky birds and bugs. To make it super fun, participants will break into groups and each group will get clues and a map to help them find different pieces of the scarecrow. The group will come back together after we’ve found the pieces to build, stuff and name the scarecrow. It will then be planted in the garden for visitors to enjoy throughout the spring and summer.
Dates: 2 and 9 October at 11am
Cost: $10 per child
Suitable for ages 5 – 12 years
Junior sleuth is back, this time learning all about prisoner descriptions. We caught the crims last school holidays and this time they are getting locked up. Following a mini tour of the site, everyone will get an opportunity to buddy up and create a prisoner description of their partner. This will include hair colour, eye colour, height, age and an instant photograph. If all goes well, each new prisoner will be released and upon their exit, marked by a big red stamp. Come along and learn all about prisoner descriptions, what they are used for and why they are important.
Dates: 5 and 12 October at 11am
Cost: $10 per child
Suitable for ages 5 – 12 years
On this guided tour you will delve into all parts of the site and learn of the changes that have occurred in prisoner treatment throughout history. From the English Pentonville Model of the original cell blocks to the modern maximum security 5 Wing and the many ancillary buildings scattered throughout the site.
This tour is suitable for children and runs for approximately 90 minutes.
Dates: 1, 8 and 14 October at 11am
Cost: $23.00 per person
This guided tour has been specially designed and explores the various stories behind some of the documented escapes from Australia’s longest continuously operating correctional facility, Maitland Gaol. Your guide will escort you around the site, delving into the ways prisoners were treated through various eras of prison management and how the Gaol was developed through its 150 year operational history.
This tour is suitable for children and runs for approximately 90 minutes.
Dates: 30 September, 3, 7, 10 and 13 October at 11am
Cost: $23.00 per person
Your guide will provide you with information on the history of this maximum security facility and what it was like to look after some of the 'worst of the worst'. Be prepared for some harrowing tales. This tour is not recommended for children under the age of 14 years as the information presented may be confronting and includes adult themes, coarse language and drug and sexual references.
The tour runs for approximately 90 minutes.
Dates: 4, 6 and 11 October
Cost: $23.00 per person