As the mercury drops and the wet days set in, finding ways to entertain the kids over winter can be a challenge.
But stormy scenes won't put a dampener on family fun at local stalwart MOTAT, with the recent launch of their new science and technology centre promising a riot of playful learning and hands-on discovery, no matter what the weather brings this season.
Marking the most significant investment in visitor experience at Auckland’s iconic transport and technology museum in more than a decade, Te Puawānanga Science and Technology Centre is radically redefining the way Kiwi kids – and kids at heart – engage with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Exploring everything from light and colour to energy and matter, forces, motion and more, Te Puawānanga creates educational fun with an upright rainbow, multigenerational friction slide and a reflection room as just some of the key interactives.
While 5-10 year-olds have plenty to get hands-on with, under-five-year-olds also have their very own space to explore and play too.
As fun as it is fundamental, this important community addition opens amidst a decline of science achievement in New Zealand schools and a pattern of disengagement with STEM subjects from a young age.
At the helm of the project, lead exhibition developer Esther Tobin says the centre will play a pivotal role in fueling the minds of young people throughout Tāmaki Makaurau and beyond. Under her watch, every interaction and experience in Te Puawānanga is packed full of potential to meet the physical, social and learning needs of visitors of all ages.
“Families are hungry for inviting environments that foster learning and creativity, teachers are eager for science and technology experiences with clear curriculum alignment and universities are concerned about the low number of young people moving into some of these areas at a tertiary level.
"We are addressing these needs with this new centre by hooking our young people, along with their families and educators, in early and nurturing their curiosity and potential.”
Steeped in 60 years of rich history, MOTAT has long been New Zealand’s hallmark of how things work. While heritage steam trains, trams and trucks remain, Te Puawānanga marks the evolution of exploration and inquiry, and New Zealand’s rich cultural identity befitting of the 21st century.
Working with local knowledge holder Pita Turei, the centre offers a museum experience entirely unique to Aotearoa, exploring science and technology that reflects our corner of the world.
“This is a centre distinctively of this place, and when you step inside the centre you truly feel that,” says Tobin.
"Learning is for everyone, and science and technology is all around us – and for our young people in Aotearoa, sharing this knowledge in a way that resonates with their own world view is vital to their engagement.”
Entry into Te Puawānanga Science and Technology Centre is included in general admission at MOTAT. Open 10am-4pm each day.
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