history of science

Farming is a way of life in New Zealand. Farms cover about half of the country’s land and are important to our economy. Agriculture has shaped...

The Earth’s continents have not always been where they are at present. If you look at a map of the world, you might notice what Alfred...

Roberta Farrell has been working in huts since 1997. Not just any old huts – Roberta is one of a multinational team (K021) who has conducted...

Cheese, initially handmade on the farm, is now a major export for New Zealand. So how has the cheese and the manufacturing changed, and why is...

In this activity, students read a legend of Kupe. They compare this with modern-day voyaging without navigational instruments to work out what might have happened during...

There has been renewed interest in the ancient art of wayfinding over the last 30–40 years. Wayfinding or navigating without instruments is about ocean voyaging using...

Wayfinding is about all of the ways in which people and animals orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place. Traditionally, wayfinding referred...

The Waka Tapu journey from Aotearoa to Rapanui (Easter Island) and back, which closed the Polynesian triangle, was navigated without instruments. The three main techniques that...

Navigator Jack Thatcher commanded the two waka hourua that sailed from Aotearoa (New Zealand) to Rapanui (Easter Island) and back. Te Aurere and its supporting vessel...

There has been renewed interest in understanding how Polynesian peoples navigated the Pacific. Teams of people have built waka (canoes) using traditional designs and sailed them...

Microbiology started with Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1676. Microbiology is the study of microorganisms and includes the fields of bacteriology, virology and mycology. Van...

Without the vitamin C available from eating fruit and vegetables, we could not survive. Although isolated in the 1930s, it was a team of New Zealand...

A microscope is something that uses a lens or lenses to make small objects look bigger and to show more detail. This means that a magnifying...

Pure lime, or quicklime, is calcium oxide. Its ease of manufacture and chemical properties make it an important industrial chemical. Lime has a long history dating...

In this recorded professional learning webinar, educational experts Dr Rosemary Hipkins and Pauline Waiti provide provocations about the purpose of Mana ōrite mō te mātauranga Māori...

After a heated contest, New Zealand’s Bird of the Century was named in November 2023 – the puking and pompadoured pūteketeke. The victory isn’t just for...

In this recorded webinar Pauline Waiti and Rosemary Hipkins explore the idea of knowledge systems with examples from science and mātauranga Māori. The report Enduring Competencies...

Infectious diseases have been a feature of life and death throughout history. Humans have been treating infections for millennia, including use of materials with antimicrobial properties...

Discovery, science and heritage Antarctica has long been a location of intrigue and adventure – even before humans were sure it actually existed. People predicted the...

In this recorded professional learning session Dr Rosemary Hipkins joins us to discuss the concept of enduring competencies – competencies that focus on what students can...

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...

In this activity, students explore how flight has developed over time with discussion about trends and future possibilities. By the end of this activity, students should...

On 20 July 1969, around 600 million people stopped to watch humans first set foot on the Moon. The words, “That’s one small step for man,...

In this activity, students will learn about some kite history and how kites fly before making and flying a kite themselves. By the end of this...