Planning support for term
Our January pānui helps you make use of outdoor settings to explore physics, chemistry, technology and the marine environment. Whether you are looking for in-depth units or one-off experiences, the Hub has it covered.
Planning support for term 1
It’s a new year and the Hub team is ready to help with planning! Take advantage of the golden summer weather to kick start your science for the year. Whether you are looking for in-depth units or one-off experiences, the Hub has it covered.
Long ago, Māui harnessed the Sun to make the best use of its light and heat. Our solar energy resources explore the science of energy transformations with simple articles and hands-on activities, including cooking pizzas in solar ovens. Challenge students to explore energy use and actions they can take to reduce the school’s energy footprint.
Objects and shadows
The shape of the object determines the shape of the shadow. By looking carefully at the shadow, we can observe that the person on the right is dressed in shorts and is standing on one foot.
Shadows are another way to take advantage of sunny days. We’ve curated science concepts and resources in this interactive. Shadows help us avoid direct exposure to UV, but sunlight and UV also has lots of benefits. A small pack of UV beads makes for excellent STEAM investigations. And when it gets too hot – mix up the physics with some chemistry and make ice cream.
Seaweek, Love rimurimu and tidal communities
Beach visits are another common term 1 experience. Celebrate Seaweek – Kaupapa Moana in March – we’ve curated unit plans and other teacher support materials into marine-related teaching topics.
Collecting seaweed for pressing
Students visit local marine habitats to make observations and collect seaweed species. They use a simple protocol to press and preserve the samples.
Photo by Joe Warmington.
Love Rimurimu – an ocean of potential for seaweed is a year-long inquiry supported by Mountains to Sea – with exploration in the classroom and in the field. You can also dip into resources covering biodiversity, human impacts and restoration for short-term studies. Several resources are in te reo Māori, courtesy of Te Aho Tū Roa.
Life between the tides and Tidal communities are one-stop-shops for key concepts, te ao Māori connections, alternative conceptions and superb marine diagrams.
Science support at your fingertips – free PLD webinar
Join Greta in this webinar as she demonstrates new developments on the Hub, including the new Google classroom accessibility and updates to the collections tool and glossary. Greta will explain how our social media platforms can support your teaching and make time to answer your questions.
Thursday 17 February 2022, 4:00–4:45 pm
Register here
Our team is staffed by experienced teachers from ECE to high school. We are ardent supporters of science education, so please get in touch and we will be happy to help.
Science Learning Hub home page
The Science Learning Hub home page is your starting point for discovering quality New Zealand science education resources and teaching support.
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Your feedback
We hope you enjoy using the Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao in your teaching and would love to hear from you. Any comments, ideas and/or feedback can be emailed to enquiries@sciencelearn.org.nz.
Noho ora mai
Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao
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