Primary & Secondary School Programmes
Planning a school visit to Te Manawa? We have a diverse range of learning programmes sure to delight and inspire your tamariki. Led by Te Manawa’s knowledgeable educators, our learning programmes cater for Years 1 to 10 and suit a variety of group sizes. Enquire now to plan the perfect day!
Animals & Adornments
This programme will explore ideas presented in current exhibitions. The exhibitions highlight contemporary jewellery and animal-based fashion. They will provide opportunities for tamariki to delve into the world of fashion and adornment, think critically about the use of different materials, and then create their own adornment to take home.
Year 4 – 13
Max group size: ~30
Total time: 2 hours
Te Awa
Tamariki will explore our awa from its source in the Ruahine Ranges to where it meets the Tasman sea using our large carpet map. We will talk about what we can do to protect our awa and the creatures that live in it. Students will enjoy a hands-on art activity, creating their own tuna (eel), one of the many amazing creatures that calls the Manawatū awa its home.
Year 4 – 8
Max group size: ~30
Total time: 1.5 hours
Discover Art
There’s always something great to see at Te Manawa Art Gallery. Students will join one of our art educators to explore a current exhibition and ask what, why, and how with a critical eye. They will then head upstairs to our art studio and participate in a hands-on creative activity.
Year 1-13
Max group size: ~30
Total time: 1.5 hr
NEW
Air Lab
What makes air so exciting? Let us show you!
During our air lab programme tamariki will visit Museums’ Victoria’s Air Playground exhibition and experience the power of air through educator led demonstrations and hands-on challenges.
Please note this is a ticketed experience – if your group would like to spend longer in the exhibition and have access to the bouncy ‘Squish’ interactive inside, this will be an extra cost of $5 per student
Year 0-10
Max group size: 30
Total time: 2 hours
Flooding & Erosion
Follow Te Awa o Manawatū from its source all the way to the ocean and learn how the awa has shaped our land. In our custom-built water room students will experience the effects of flooding and erosion first-hand by playing our popular erosion game. After a full group introduction, the group splits for a rotation of two 30-minute sessions;
1: The Water Room (educator lead, 45 min)
2: Self-lead with a related worksheet (45 min)
Year 3-10
Max Group Size: 30
Total Time: 1.5 hours
Haunui-a-Nanaia
Thirty-five generations ago, Haunui-a-Nanaia made an epic journey through our rohe. This engaging and interactive programme will build students’ understanding of the many different ways stories are told and carry important information through the generations. Students will learn the names of awa in our rohe and the meanings behind them. They will also gain a sense of how events from the distant past tie people to place. This programme was developed by external experts with knowledge of Mātauranga Rangitāne and active embodied learning.
Year 4 – 8
Max group size: ~30
Total time: 1.5 hours
Time Traveller: Destination 1900
Travel back in time to the 1900s and experience early NZ school life in the old Awahou South schoolhouse, tour the historic Tōtaranui cottage, with a chance to wash some clothes the old-time way, and play with old toys and games.
Year 1-8
Max Group Size: 70
2 hours
Print It!
This programme offers students a hands-on art experience using a printing technique. Current exhibitions will be used to inspire a response from students.
Year 4-10
Max group size: ~30
Total time: 1.5 hrs
Harakeke/Flax
Transported back 300 years through imagination and storytelling, students will learn the traditional importance of harakeke in our rohe. They will each transform harakeke from rau (leaf) to whiri (plait). They’ll also play an inter-iwi ‘trading game’ to illustrate the importance of harakeke as a resource for practical needs, exchange and interconnection. This programme was developed by external experts with knowledge of Mātauranga Rangitāne and active embodied learning.
There are two options for this programme to suit your timeframe. The half-day programme includes the key storytelling and rau mahi. The full-day programme includes the key storytelling, rau mahi and the trading game.
We provide a venue for a lunch break.
Year 5 – 8
Max group size: ~30
Total time: 2.5-3.5 hours
Te Āpiti Manawatū Gorge
More suited to older students who will discover the fascinating geology of our region, with a focus on the unique Te Āpiti Manawatū Gorge. Students will also get the chance to investigate rocks and fossils close-up and consider the forces of nature that have formed our rohe.
The programme first takes students on a journey through our Te Awa gallery investigating the geological formation of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Manawatū before moving into our Education room for hands-on activities investigating sedimentary rocks and fossils
Year 7-10
Max group size: ~16*
Total time: 1-1.5 hrs
*If your group size is larger we can discuss options for a two-rotation programme of 2.5 – 3 hrs
Te Haerenga
We also offer the inter-iwi trading game as a separate programme to the Harakeke/Flax programme.
Transported back 300 years through imagination and storytelling, students will learn the traditional importance of harakeke in our rohe.
They’ll play an inter-iwi ‘trading game’ to illustrate the importance of harakeke as a resource for practical needs, exchange, interconnection and as a vital component of economic activity.
This programme was developed by external experts with knowledge of mātauranga Rangitāne and active embodied learning.
Year 3-8
Max group size: ~ 30
Total time 1 – 1.5 hrs
Hands On Science
Choose a topic that suits your needs or get a taste of two or three with our hands-on science experiments. Discuss your needs with us and we will provide an awesome learning experience.
This programme can focus on either Fizzing & Foaming (FF) or Nano-technology (NT). All students partake in each experiment.
1: Experiment 1- Dancing popcorn (FF) or Behaviour of Liquid Crystals (NT)
2: Experiment 2- Super-cold bag (FF) or Never-wet sand (NT)
3: Experiment 3: Pop make the flame go out (FF) or Exploring nano-fabric (NT)
Year 3-8
Max group size: ~30
Total time: 1.5 hrs