Pupils at the Goldfields Primary School have been studying the journey of Polynesians across the Pacific to New Zealand and created Te Whare Taonga o Hiwa-i-te-raki, an interactive museum, to showcase their findings.
Principal Anna Harrison said the children learnt about navigation using the stars and birds, and different aspects of the journeys taken.
They had chosen how to share their new knowledge in a museum and incorporated a range of interactive technology from QR codes and stop-motion through to coding and 3D mapping, she said.
‘‘It gives the children so many opportunities to explore learning in ways that really resonate with them . . . how can they show what they’ve learned that’s not necessarily pencil and paper type learning.’’
‘‘We’ve got displays from 5-year-olds who have used coding or built models . . . right through to our Year 6s that have built 3D maps and have got Spheros (robots) and Blue-Bots and Lego robotics rocking round the Pacific on them — so there’s amazing things going on.’’
Te Whare Taonga o Hiwa-i-teraki opened in the Goldfields Primary School hall on Monday and would be open 4.30pm-6pm on Monday and Tuesday next week for the public to view.
