nature of science

The nature of science is the overarching and unifying strand in the New Zealand science curriculum document. Our nature of...

When trying to describe the nature of science, it can be useful to think of science as a culture in...

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...

Our atmosphere and climate 2023 – an environmental report produced by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ – begins with this whakatauākī: Tiakina te...

Hiwa-i-te-rangi, a whetū in the Matariki cluster, is the youngest child of Rehua and Matariki. Hiwa-i-te-rangi represents our aspirations for a prosperous season ahead. She is...

Tupuānuku is a whetū in the Matariki cluster. It is the star connected to anything associated within the soil, including cultivated and uncultivated foods grown in...

Pōhutukawa is a whetū in the Matariki cluster. It is connected to those who have passed since Matariki the previous year. Pōhutukawa prompts us to reflect...

He taiao tōnui mō ngā reanga katoa – a flourishing environment for every generation. Aotearoa New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ report on...

What are extremophilic microorganisms? Let’s start by looking closer at microorganisms. All the organisms we know about on Earth are either cellular (by far the majority)...

Mātauranga Māori and science are helping to solve a few questions in Ōhiwa Harbour: What has caused the mussel beds to disappear? Can we restore the...

This Connected article is based on an interview by Susan Paris with environmental scientist Dr James Ataria (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa). James’s work focuses on...

This Connected article, written and illustrated by Adele Jackson, looks at the discovery that fish and eels are using Wellington’s stormwater system as access between streams...

We all know that New Zealand – and the world – has a plastic pollution problem. It’s estimated that 4.8–12.7 million metric tonnes of plastic end...

The world we live in and the society we’re a part of is increasingly underpinned and informed by science and technology. This can include many products...

This Connected article is about a class project that 7–8-year-old students conducted after their teacher challenged them to find out how the smell gets into a...

Our world faces a growing number of complex issues. As citizens, we have a responsibility to make informed decisions on issues like sustainability, health and wellbeing...

Aotearoa New Zealand’s natural environment has been shaped by climate. It has influenced both the physical environment and the plants and animals that have adapted to...

When fake news, misreporting and alternative facts are everywhere, reading the news can be a challenge. Not only is there plenty of misinformation about the coronavirus...

Humans are now developing machines (robots) that imitate human emotion and thought. This Connected article explores the development of artificial intelligence (AI) from a social and...

This article defines misinformation, malinformation and disinformation – how they are used in online media, with examples of each. It also delves into the human brain...

This article tells how Grace uses diagrams, photographs, tables, graphs, infographics and clear science writing to present data for a science fair project. The article is...

The late 19th and early 20th centuries shared some of the same environmental issues that also concern us today: air and water pollution, power generation from...

Our planet has life on it, and for that reason, it may be unique in the universe. Ironically enough, we know much more about some of...

In 2017, Sue Fergus and her students at Toko School in Taranaki began a Curious Minds Participatory Science Platform (PSP) project to distil oils and hydrosols...

The term ‘electricity’ comes from ‘elektron’, which is the Greek word for amber. The ancient Greeks discovered that small threads and dust tended to stick to...

In 1880, Alice McKenzie saw a large blue bird in a remote part of Fiordland. Alice and her family made careful observations of the bird and...