Article
Dr Kimiora Hēnare
Kimiora Hēnare (Ngāti Hauā, Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa) is a cancer researcher who studies the complex biology of tumours in efforts to harness the immune system...
Article
The Three Rs of animal ethics
The Three Rs are fundamental animal welfare principles that provide useful strategies regarding the treatment of animals for research, testing and teaching. The following text is...
Activity
Using Magma Pop – a virtual magma chamber
Magma Pop is a virtual game that helps students learn about Earth’s most common minerals and the processes that happen in a magma chamber. The science...
Article
Magma Pop – gamifying volcano geology
Magma Pop is a serious game that enables users to experience volcanic processes that are usually hidden from view. Go underground in an interactive magma chamber...
Article
Plastic pollution and marine microbes
Plastic and microplastic pollution of oceans is a wicked problem. Using bioinformatics and statistical analysis, scientist Victor Gambarini looked to correlate marine microbes that could degrade...
Article
Milly Grant-Mackie
Milly Grant-Mackie is a coastal geomorphologist. Her work includes climate change impacts such as sea-level rise and whānau-level research. He mihi Ko Milly tōku ingoa Nō...
Activity
Modelling stalactite and stalagmite formations
Stalactites and stalagmites are geological formations that occur when water dissolves limestone and other minerals. The mineral-rich water seeps through cracks and into a cave. In...
Activity
Tsunamis in the sandpit
Stratovolcanoes are steep-sided, cone-shaped volcanoes. If the magma chamber within the volcano grows, the expansion can break the flanks of the volcano and cause it to...
Article
Bots vs Beings – the impacts of AI on life and work
Discussions of artificial intelligence (AI) are inseparable from questions of ethics. In 1942, Isaac Asimov famously popularised the idea that intelligent machines should adhere to a...
Activity
Game design for viruses and vaccines
Game design is a creative and innovative way to build understanding of science concepts and express them within a meaningful context. It combines aspects of science,...
Article
Gaming and medicine – D-Bug Game Design Challenge
Antonia Hoeta is part of The Science of Medicines – Whakatere Waka – an innovative, hands-on education programme that uses te ao Māori perspectives to build...
Article
Data and how we use it
Data is the precursor to information. It’s an unorganised collection of values expressed as numbers, text or symbols. That may seem quite abstract – and raw...
Article
Exploring enduring competencies with Kiwi Kai
Kiwi Kai is an online learning tool that is an ideal context to learn about science capabilities and enduring competencies. Scenarios in this virtual farm encourage...
Article
Amazing algorithms
This Connected article by Caitlin Duncan, introduces and explains the concept of algorithms. Algorithms are everywhere working behind the scenes – suggesting the next movie to...
Article
Refining dates for human habitation in the South Pacific
Associate Professor Fiona Petchey, Deputy Director of the University of Waikato Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, is researching ways to refine the marine calibration curve used for converting...
Article
Radiocarbon calibration curves
Radiocarbon dating, also known as carbon-14 dating, is one of several methods referred to as absolute dating – but here’s an interesting fact. There is nothing...
Article
Ancestral Māori adapted quickly in the face of rapid climate change
A more precise timeline now shows Aotearoa was first settled in the North Island before the settlers expanded south and then retreated again when the climate...
Article
A sinking feeling
This Connected article by Ken Benn, looks at a class investigation into why they lost the boat float competition. It starts when student Meihanna asks “How...
Teacher PLD
Building Science Concepts: Floating and sinking
Floating and sinking provides opportunities for students to observe how everyday objects behave in water and to investigate the factors that determine whether an object will...
Activity
Build a satellite for a mission
Satellites are incredibly useful tools, and they’ve changed the way we monitor and track things on Earth and in space. Satellites are built to perform specific...
Activity
Interpreting observations from satellite images
Satellite images are an excellent way to support and practise the science capabilities ‘Gather and interpret data’ and ‘Interpret representations’. The images are often vibrant and...
Activity
Hearing sounds
In this set of activities, students use play and exploration to learn about movement, vibrations and hearing sounds. This resource is designed for students working at...
Teacher PLD
Investigating in science
Both science and mātauranga pūtaiao build knowledge and understanding about our world. Often, we start with curiosity about something we’ve noticed and we want to find...
Article
More than a box
This Connected article describes the processes and practices used when planning, designing and building a large indoor sports centre. It outlines the science and technology behind...