Gain confidence in the world of coding with Scratch.
This is a beginner-friendly platform that makes programming accessible and exciting. Improve mathematics and develop coding skills with this engaging software, which allows children to build functional computer games and other applications.
Looking at ways of integrating your classes unique cultural diversity into your STEAM planning. Through personal experience and years working in a culturally diverse classroom, this workshop explores ways to help engage learners from different cultural backgrounds and fosters diverse ways of thinking.
Using a STEAM framework that plans for cultural diversity, educators can create more inclusive and holistic learning environments that empower students to innovate responsibly.
Working collaboratively through out the session, attendees have the opportunity to discuss techniques that have worked for them and to build ideas around how we can be a inclusive group of learners.
Practical strategies for teaching evolution through observation and key insights into Darwin's groundbreaking ideas. Our 'Zoo' workshops are for Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Christchurch Zoo's. Registration payment includes zoo entry. For all workshops, participants will meet Hagar at the Zoo entrance. You can register for any 'zoo' workshop via the Christchurch, Kapiti, Taupo, Rotorua, North Auckland, Central Auckland or South Auckland Flexi Conference venues.
Part of a series of immersive workshops based on the theme “Science in the Kitchen’, combining exploration, observation, and discussion to bring Nature of Science concepts to life.
Transform everyday kitchen recipes into captivating science lessons for biology and chemistry classrooms.
Featured Workshop: How the Cookie Crumbles Learn how to turn a simple cookie recipe into a dynamic science lab.
Highlights: Conduct hands-on investigations focusing on the scientific method. Takeaways: Practical ways to explore the nature of science and foster curiosity through culinary experiments.
Learn the basics of screen printing creating a hand-cut stencil, printing – colour and design, and overlay printing (great for yr 10-13 applied design tee shirts).
You will also have the chance to get a ‘taster’ of digital stencilling using the cri – cut machine.
Identify local birds and undertake 5MBC and complete a quick quadrat survey of potential food sources, to determine if there is a link between the two.
Join Phillip Robinson, “The Tsunami Guy,” for an engaging and action-packed workshop designed to boost awareness of tsunami hazards and preparedness.
Through hands-on classroom activities, students will learn best practices for earthquake and tsunami resilience, including the life-saving “Drop, Cover, Hold” and “Long or Strong, Get Gone” messages.
Phil will guide your school in planning and conducting a successful practice Tsunami Evacuation Hikoi, helping students map the local area, read hazard maps, and plan evacuation routes.
This program inspires critical thinking about preparedness at school and home, fostering resilience across the entire community. A must for any school in a coastal region!
What would it be like to live in the Ocean? Who are the animals that cope in this watery world, and how do they do it? Using a range of colourful characters, we can explore the shoreline without getting too wet, or do we! Predation is a big issue for many creatures, so critters use many ways to avoid being something else’s dinner! Try the Survivor game and see how you fare!
Did you know you can sustainably create paper from native plants, and that native plant fibres are being used for a range of biomaterials? Papermaking is well known as a creative and artistic pursuit but also provides a springboard into a range of STEAM-themed inquiries, from forest science and horticulture to process chemistry and engineering, and ultimately material science and design. Native plant papermaking enables access to the ideas and concepts of the emerging economic sector of biomaterials, allowing for engaging and relevant learning opportunities including the rich social, environmental and technological history of papermaking and the modern need for decarbonising the economy.
Our 3-hour hands-on training session will take you through all the practical aspects of running a papermaking session with your class, from preparing pulp and setting up a papermaking station, to pressing and drying processes, and ideas how to use the finished paper in further projects. We’ll also discuss inquiry topics relevant to your subject area, which will elevate a simple craft pursuit into a powerful and memorable learning experience.
Explore the fascinating relationship between plants and their environment with Ruud Kleinpaste in his workshop, “How to Murder Your Plants More Slowly.” Perfect for schools with gardens or access to natural plant areas, this session dives into the challenges plants face from pests and diseases. Learn how these factors influence plant health and discover practical strategies to slow their impact. With Ruud’s signature wit and expertise, this workshop offers valuable insights for educators and students alike, fostering a deeper understanding of plant care and sustainable gardening practices.
Engage your students through sharing and creating video. See how you and your ākonga can film, edit and share stories through video without the need for specialised equipment. Discover how to plan, record and edit your own meaningful content. Explore the use of third-party content and how to utilise this without breaching copyright. See how to employ different techniques to extend the quality of your visual and audio recordings and inspire your students to embrace the art of videography.
In survival scenarios, you’re rarely alone, and this creates both unique challenges and valuable opportunities for growth. Join us for an immersive team-building experience where you’ll collaborate to create a shelter using only the natural resources provided (a perfect way to bring your local curriculum to life!). This challenge will spark your creativity, deepen your collaboration, and add a fun, slightly competitive edge!
Protection is a top priority in wilderness survival, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. While people are naturally inclined to work together, identifying your role within a team dynamic can be tricky. In this experience, you’ll discover how to leverage everyone’s strengths, navigate differences, and find common ground to achieve your goals—skills that are just as valuable in the classroom. The key competencies of Managing Self, Relating to Others, and Participating and Contributing will be at the forefront of this experiential learning activity.
This experience will not only help you build practical survival skills, but will also strengthen your resilience, communication, and problem-solving abilities as kaiako — skills that are essential for supporting your ākonga in developing their own teamwork and resilience, both in and out of the classroom.
As you reflect on how to work together effectively, you’ll gain strategies to help your students:
Enhance their ability to collaborate and work with others Notice, recognize, and respond to the diverse needs and learning styles of ākonga Foster whanaungatanga—the building and maintaining of meaningful relationships that create a sense of belonging, shared responsibility, and support within the learning community. By the end of this experience, you’ll walk away with practical skills and valuable insights you can immediately apply to your teaching practice, helping your students not only survive, but thrive, both in school and in life.
This workshop will introduce participants to the concept of trace evidence. Wherever they step, whatever they touch, whatever they leave, even unconsciously, will serve as a silent witness against them. We will guide you through a mock murder scene (with full PPE if required) describing the evidence that is critical to aid in the investigation through forensic science including Blood spatter, hairs and fibres, fingerprints and footwear and how we can utilise many differing chemicals to develop and preserve the items. Hands on workstations will allow you to develop and preserve fingerprints and footwear. We can show how this can be replicated for your students within the classroom.
This workshop will dive into the world of flawed experiments, misleading statistics, and pseudoscience.
Through engaging examples like anti-vaccine movements, fad diets, and pseudoscientific wellness trends, participants will learn to critically evaluate claims and understand the hallmarks of credible research.
You’ll leave equipped to navigate the modern information landscape.
In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore how to enhance learning in the classroom with Micro:bits.
These small, programmable devices make coding and electronics accessible and fun for students of all ages. We’ll cover the basics, including simple coding projects and interactive activities that can be easily integrated into various subjects.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll have practical ideas and resources to inspire your students and bring their creativity to life through hands-on technology.
The “A” in STEAM represents the Arts, encompassing creativity, design, and critical thinking, which are essential for driving innovation across all disciplines.
Including the Arts in STEAM encourages students to explore new ways of problem-solving, enhances their communication skills, and fosters a deeper connection between scientific inquiry and creative expression. Look at ways to incorporate the A through a 6 step STEAM process.
Learn the technique of wet felting using wool. This technique is fun, affordable and hands on creating an applied design that can be used for wall art or embellishment for any textile item/ project.
The elements of design – colour, texture and scale are considered within a theme or concept.
In this practical workshop, Julian will share all sorts of ideas, do-able practical activities, resources and information for teaching a topic on earthquakes in New Zealand. We will look at why and where they occur, what it feels like to be in an earthquake, what scientists are learning about potential threats, how NZ landscapes change because of earthquakes, how scientists monitor and research them and what that teaches us about the earthquake hazard. Finally we will think about how best to prepare for a quake and what sort of things to expect if one happens.
Indoors for the first part, with some activities outside. Running through the ethical considerations in conservation (activities), the representation of data for projects such as 1080 application, investigating claims and creating a science communication piece.
Enhance their ability to collaborate and work with others Notice, recognize, and respond to the diverse needs and learning styles of ākonga Foster whanaungatanga—the building and maintaining of meaningful relationships that create a sense of belonging, shared responsibility, and support within the learning community. By the end of this experience, you’ll walk away with practical skills and valuable insights you can immediately apply to your teaching practice, helping your students not only survive, but thrive, both in school and in life.
In pre-European times, the seas around Aotearoa were the main food source for most Māori. However, having recently arrived, the earliest Polynesian settlers were used to spearing fish in clear tropical waters. In Aotearoa, the murky seas must have been initially frustrating. Māori went on to develop the fishing hook beyond any other culture on the planet.
This session will look at examples of hooks, lures, traps, nets, and aquaculture, looking at design, manufacture, and functionality. It will also explore some of the tikanga and science around traditional Māori fish harvesting and enhancement methods. This content links to NZ Histories.
Did you know you can sustainably create paper from native plants, and that native plant fibres are being used for a range of biomaterials? Papermaking is well known as a creative and artistic pursuit but also provides a springboard into a range of STEAM-themed inquiries, from forest science and horticulture to process chemistry and engineering, and ultimately material science and design. Native plant papermaking enables access to the ideas and concepts of the emerging economic sector of biomaterials, allowing for engaging and relevant learning opportunities including the rich social, environmental and technological history of papermaking and the modern need for decarbonising the economy.
An exciting, hands-on workshop that brings the art of a bioblitz to life. Participants will learn how to organize and conduct a bioblitz, with a special focus on catching and observing the incredible variety of critters that take to the skies. From delicate insects to dazzling winged wonders, you’ll uncover the secrets of the flying world. Perfect for educators, students, and nature enthusiasts, this workshop promises to inspire curiosity and a deeper appreciation for the creatures that share our skies.
Discover how to engage and inspire your students through virtual field trips.
See how you can create your own virtual field trip experiences without the need for specialised equipment.
In this workshop you will take part in an interactive virtual field trip and see how to plan, create, share and evaluate your own virtual field trip. See how online tools and multimedia can engage your students and take them to places they may not otherwise experience.
Explore strategies to deepen learning and inspire ākonga to take action within the context of a relevant and authentic virtual field trip.
In survival scenarios, you’re rarely alone, and this creates both unique challenges and valuable opportunities for growth. Join us for an immersive team-building experience where you’ll collaborate to create a shelter using only the natural resources provided (a perfect way to bring your local curriculum to life!). This challenge will spark your creativity, deepen your collaboration, and add a fun, slightly competitive edge!
Protection is a top priority in wilderness survival, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. While people are naturally inclined to work together, identifying your role within a team dynamic can be tricky. In this experience, you’ll discover how to leverage everyone’s strengths, navigate differences, and find common ground to achieve your goals—skills that are just as valuable in the classroom. The key competencies of Managing Self, Relating to Others, and Participating and Contributing will be at the forefront of this experiential learning activity.
This experience will not only help you build practical survival skills, but will also strengthen your resilience, communication, and problem-solving abilities as kaiako — skills that are essential for supporting your ākonga in developing their own teamwork and resilience, both in and out of the classroom.
As you reflect on how to work together effectively, you’ll gain strategies to help your students:
Enhance their ability to collaborate and work with others Notice, recognize, and respond to the diverse needs and learning styles of ākonga Foster whanaungatanga—the building and maintaining of meaningful relationships that create a sense of belonging, shared responsibility, and support within the learning community. By the end of this experience, you’ll walk away with practical skills and valuable insights you can immediately apply to your teaching practice, helping your students not only survive, but thrive, both in school and in life.
This workshop will introduce participants to the only unique form of identification in the world. The history and science behind fingerprints and how this differs from DNA profiling. The many types of powders and chemicals that can be used to develop fingerprints from a multitude of substrates. We will then introduce our very own Automated Fingerprint Identification System AFIS (The only one in private hands in the world) for you to search your develop crime prints from the mock crime scene.
We get to space with rockets and we can explore science concepts to do with rockets through water rockets.
In this workshop we will take you through a few experiments you can do with your students to explore physics and how rockets work.
Many schools have water rocket launches available so these are a fun and accessible way of getting closer to space. Water rockets are suitable for all ages from year 1 through to year 13, with many of the concepts applicable to ESS and Physics.
Discover the hidden world of moths with Kelly Body in this captivating after-dark workshop. Participants will design and build their own moth traps, witness Kelly’s expert model in action, and collect samples from the night’s catch. This hands-on experience offers a unique lens into biodiversity and highlights the essential roles moths play in ecosystems. Perfect for integration with microscope work or internal assessments, this workshop combines practical science with meaningful discussions about conservation and the importance of protecting our planet’s nocturnal pollinators.
Who’s responsible for the oceanic disco lights the we call bioluminescence? Is it really causing albatross to swim in circles? Can we catch and get to see some of these mysterious glowing creatures? Why and how do they do it? The disadvantages of glowing in a dark ocean are obvious, so what are the advantages? Join us on a dark oceanic field trip to see if we can find some of the culprits!
Join Ruud Kleinpaste, “The Bugman,” for a nocturnal adventure in “The Tonight Show with The Bugman.” This engaging workshop will unveil the fascinating world of creatures that buzz, creep, and flutter through the night. From stealthy spiders to fluttering moths and glowing glowworms, discover the hidden ecosystem that thrives under the cover of darkness. Using his signature humor and deep knowledge, Ruud will guide you in uncovering the secrets of nocturnal life during this prime time for observing nature’s night shift. Perfect for nature enthusiasts, educators, or anyone curious about the mysteries of the night!
Get lost with us and unlock your inner strength! We will show you how you deal with the challenges of disorientation and uncertainty. In the face of disorientation and uncertainty, we’ll help you navigate through challenges and make confident, well-informed decisions. With a focus on safety and support, we’ll guide you through the essential priorities of survival and equip you with strategies that will elevate your confidence and resilience.
This hands-on experience is grounded in Te Mātaiaho’s elements of Understand, Know and Do. It is designed to build your personal growth and empower you with practical skills. By the end of the journey, you’ll have the tools to approach challenges like an expert, with a deepened sense of self-awareness, an appreciation for your own strengths, and a stronger connection to te taiao, the natural world.
This immersive adventure is not only engaging, but also highly relevant. The powerful, enduring big ideas are relatable and accessible for both ākonga and kaiako alike. Your newfound knowledge will be highly engaging for your tamariki and easily applied and delivered in a variety of learning contexts. Together, we’ll work through a dynamic and enjoyable experience—one that will boost your confidence, resilience, and appreciation for the world around you.
Join “The Space Guys,” Haritina (Hari) and Sam, for an unforgettable evening under the stars in their “Star Party” workshop. Using some of the finest mobile telescopes in New Zealand, this outdoor, after-dark experience offers participants a chance to explore the wonders of the night sky. From distant galaxies to sparkling star clusters and planets in our solar system, Hari and Sam will guide you through the cosmos with their passion and expertise. Perfect for stargazers, educators, and anyone curious about the universe, this workshop promises to leave you awestruck by the beauty and vastness of space.
