Matariki trip

After a night of thunder and lighting and a torrential downpour in the morning, we decided to car pool all the children to the City and Sea Museum for the first part of the trip. It was fantastic how many parents and our staff came together to get everyone to the museum dry. After watching a video about the Maori migration to New Zealand, Karaka was split into two groups to explore the museum. The first group explored the Attic to find objects and displays they found fascinating while the second group were shown tools used for navigation. Then they swapped.

After taking the cable car up to the lookout and then walking to Space Place, Karaka was once again split into two groups. In the first rotation, the group went into the Planetarium to watch a video about space and satellites before being shown how to find the Southern Cross and Matariki. In the next rotation, the students investigated how to make navigational tools and how GPS systems use multiple satellites to locate points. Afterwards, they made compasses using a needle and magnet and used rulers to find points on the floor.

It was impressive how quickly the students walked back to school after getting off the cable car. Best of it, we stayed dry on a very wet day.