Navigator Jack Thatcher commanded the two waka hourua that sailed from Aotearoa (New Zealand) to Rapanui (Easter Island) and back. Te Aurere and its supporting vessel Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti, known ...
There has been renewed interest in the ancient art of wayfinding over the last 30–40 years. Wayfinding or navigating without instruments is about ocean voyaging using the stars (more on the star ...
The 2012–2013 voyage of the Waka Tapu closed the Polynesian triangle. This confirmed that it is possible to successfully and deliberately travel great distances by canoe while navigating without ...
In this activity, students learn about star constellations and that various cultures have their own names and legends about them. They will appreciate that identifying constellations and ...
In this activity, students learn the cardinal points of the compass. They also learn how to use the Sun and star constellations – the Southern Cross and the Pointers – to identify the cardinal ...
In this activity, students memorise a number of items from the star compass as wayfinding navigators would have to do. This experience may help students understand how and why wayfinders use the ...
Search data from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft for the dips in star light intensity caused by exoplanets – planets that orbit stars other than the Sun. As these exoplanets pass between the star and ...
Help astronomers at Las Cumbres Observatory, California, study exoplanets – planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. Do this by interpreting images taken by their telescopes in Hawaii ...
Globe at Night is an international citizen science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen scientists to measure and submit their night sky ...
The Science Learning Hub has lots of resources for primary teachers related to the night sky in the Planet Earth and Beyond strand of the New Zealand Curriculum. The night sky is fascinating to ...
The Science Learning Hub has a selection of resources that have been translated into te reo Māori and a number of resources that feature both te reo Māori and English. Our webinar Opportunities ...
In this recorded professional learning session picturebook expert Associate Professor Nicola Daly (co-director of the Waikato Picturebook Research Unit at the University of Waikato) discusses her ...
Early Māori relied on their detailed astronomical knowledge – tātai arorangi – to navigate the ocean, plant crops, harvest kaimoana and to tell the time. With the arrival of Europeans, a lot of ...
Dr Pauline Harris (Victoria University of Wellington and Society of Māori Astronomy Research and Traditions – SMART) and David Perenara-O’Connell (Māngai, Tāwhaki Joint Venture) briefly explain ...
Dr Allan McInnes and Dr Adrian McDonald, from the University of Canterbury, explain how gravity and projectile motion keep natural and artificial satellites in an orbital path.
The size, orbit and design of a satellite depend on its purpose. In this interactive, scientists discuss the functions of various satellites and orbits. Accompanying fact files provide ...
Elements are formed deep within the cores of certain types of star. Find out more in this interactive.
Matariki is the name for the cluster of stars that signals the beginning of the Māori new year. Drag and drop each star's label to its location in the star cluster.
