ŌTĀKOU SCIENCE WĀNANGA
By Tim Lucas | Posted: Sunday November 19, 2017
Last week Hemi Aitken, Jade Couch, Ben Gee, Liam De Thierry Te Peke, Olivia Hiku, Thomas Kerr, Emily Kerr-Bell, Megan Hanning, Stella Tamatea and Eva Te Hiwi attend a science wānanga (place of learning) at beautiful Ōtākou marae.
Run by the University of Otago, this wānanga had four learning themes. Students studied bioarchaeology, taxonomy, sea lions and physics. About 60 Year 9 and 10 students from the Otago region were invited to attend.
The wānanga was very much a hands-on experience and our students had the opportunity to work alongside university Professors, PhD and Masters students who were experts in their respective fields. Thomas Kerr particularly liked the kōiwi/bones bioarchaeology workshop where students were taught excavation methods. The sea lions project was based at Allans Beach where Jade Couch and Eva Te Hiwi learned about how one amazing female sea lion was responsible for the recovery of a local population. Stella Tamatea and Hemi Aitken enjoyed the lasers and optics session and also had a great time making new friends.
Next year, the University of Otago are celebrating ten years of science wānanga events that have been run all over Aotearoa.
A special thanks to the university, Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, Otago Museum, Dodd-Walls Centre and Hiria Palmer for organising another successful wānanga.
Matua Lucas & Mrs Allibone
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