Yesterday we went to The Auckland Museum as a part of our Matariki focus.

It was a most successful day. We had a structured lesson run by the museum educators and then plenty of time to explore and satisfy every student’s individual interests.

Below I have copied the list the class put together for parent helpers prior to the trip.

Following that, I have copied the email I received from a wonderful parent helper. 

Room 7 to the Museum:- Ideas from the students:

We’d like to:

• see the fish – Emma
• sit on the gun like Gabby did – Cody
• see the dinosaurs – Zac
• see the Maori displays – Ryan
• see some skeletons – Caesar
• see the tarantulas – Chase
• have a good look around – Megan
• some Egypt things – Kaid
• see things from the Pacific Islands – Owen
• go and look if there are any Tahiti things – Megan

Things we should do:

• Wear our proper school uniform – India
• Don’t whine if we don’t see what we want – Jamie.
• Remember to say “Thank you.” – Emma
• Keep your hands to your own body – Lucia
• Stay with your parent helper and group – Nikhil
• Be polite and use your manners – India
• Eat your lunch with your mouth closed and sitting down – Alyssa
• Walk around quietly because it is very echoy – Cristin
• Remember the parents are doing this to be kind to us, so be kind to them – Lucia
• Have a good lunch with nothing poisonous in it – Annie
• Make sure you say “Have a good day” to the bus driver when you get off – Kaid
• Only get off the bus when Mrs Johnson calls your group, and stay lined up with your group – Gabby
• Use your ‘inside voice’ – Caesar
• Be responsible for your own actions – Alyssa
• Have our lunch in a plastic bag.

Email I received today – so helpful for my follow-up in class – [Thanks Miriam]

The trip today was great, thanks. Here’s a quick summary of what we did and liked, in case it’s useful for discussions and writing. I’ve attached a couple of pictures; hopefully they’re not too big.

Annie, Charles, Megan and Zac all loved the volcano and dinosaur sections and the huge shark models.  We went into the earthquake room after talking through the shaking/noise/lights out that would happen. We sat close together and everyone was brave!  We enjoyed looking at all the toys in the Wild Child Section, and had fun in the old fashioned classroom. We noticed it was pretty bare compared to room 7, with no art, blocks, puzzles or words. Charles, Megan and Zac had a blast sitting on the high stool pretending to be the teacher, while Annie was a model student sitting at the desk.

Annie took a particular interest in eggs. She noticed a kiwi and her egg, and dinosaurs and their eggs, in the Weird and Wonderful section, and penguin, emu and ostrich eggs in the dinosaur section. She noticed Chinese writing in one exhibition, and was keen to go to the Wild Child section, where we climbed the tree and saw the elephant, the lollies and all the toys. 

Charles loved the Spitfire, the weapons and the cannons in the war section. He also loved the stained glass window and roof. He liked the Marae downstairs and said he’d already been to it with his brother. He also liked the seashell fossils in the dinosaur section and the limestone caves.

Megan saw food pounding tools from Tahiti in the Pacific section. She enjoyed putting her hand on the hand shape in the interactive Spitfire display to make the engine go round. She was interested in the mummy in the Ancient Egypt section, and was very keen to go back to the earthquake room but we didn’t have time.

Zac loved the Spitfire and the torpedo in the war section. He also loved the animals in the Weird and Wonderful section, including the hawk (or eagle??!!), whale and brown bear, and the crystals. He loved the mummy in the ancient Egypt section.  

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