Yesterday, all the year five students visited MOTAT to learn about inventions. When we arrived, after a quick morning tea, we were off exploring every corner of MOTAT!
My group led by Ben’s mum had a list of places we needed to visit and answer questions. First we went to the fire station. The oldest fire truck they have there is the Merryweather which was built in 1907, over 100 years ago! All the trucks there had totally different engines, shape and roofs. If I could add anything to the trucks I would add a water tank, a ladder and more seats for fire fighters.
At the school house the classroom was so tiny that in our classroom now we could fit at least two of them! Instead of a whiteboard we have today, in the olden days they used a blackboard. Their desks were really small and they could not open. On the corner of the desks was a hole for their ink pens. They had really strict rules like you couldn’t speak in Maori, you couldn’t write with your left hand and a you couldn’t speak on the mat.
Then our group went to the cottage. I learnt that they didn’t have a stove or oven so instead they used fire to cook! Another unusual thing was the only toys in sight were wooden ones.
The blacksmiths were extremely important people in the olden days because a village without them wouldn’t have any metal. Black smiths can make weapons, tools and just about anything made out of metal!
Lastly, Room 3 went to a tram that was built in 1907. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take a ride, only ask questions. The tram had a top deck and a lower deck, both with seats. I learnt that it took 74 people a couple of months to build the Wellington tram.
After lunch we were free to go and explore all the exhibitions. We went to the body exhibition. I learnt that in the olden days they had artificial eyes, so if you lost an eye you could replace it! After an hour or so Room 3 went to the classroom with Abby, our educator, to learn about inventions and innovations. Inventions are things that are new, and innovations are things that have already been invented, but you’re making an improvement to the product. I saw all the cameras developed over time. The first camera, dated back almost 400 years ago, was just a big, black box!
It was a magical day, I wish I could go back again.
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