Mātauranga Māori Science Fair Applies Traditional Thinking To Modern-Day Problems
Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair is run by Te Arawa Lakes Trust and, this year, it will be held from 23-25 July at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre.
Te Arawa Lakes Trust environment manager William Anaru (Te Arawa) said the fair began as an idea five years ago to engage more tamariki around Rotorua in science.
"The science fair wasn't just aimed at your traditional western science model, we also incorporated mātauranga Māori, sustainable design, we've got an art component and, this year, we are looking at climate resilience."
Since it began, the fair has grown significantly, with a huge variety of projects, from exhibits on rongoā Māori to a camera used to identify invasive catfish, he said.
"Last year, the winner of the science fair, their team actually put in an exhibition that looked at whether or not Hinemoa could hear the flute of Tutanekai, when the sound was going across the lake, so the level of things that kids are testing these days is pretty remarkable."
The team determined that, yes, Hinemoa could have heard Tutanekai's koauau] (flute) across the waters of Rotorua, although Anaru said, these days, there was a lot more background noise.
"It's not just baking soda volcanoes - there's quite a lot of variety," he said.
Anaru said Te Arawa Lakes Trust had always intended to expand the fair beyond Rotorua. This year, students as far afield as Fielding, Tokoroa, Auckland and Whangārei had entered.
"We just want to continue to grow it and grow it and grow it, because some of the ideas that these kids have, they are pretty awesome to hear.
"It's all about providing a platform for them to showcase their ideas and show it to an audience that is open to soaking up some of that stuff."
Mātauranga Māori has assisted larger projects in the Rotorua, such as uwhi - a large harakeke mat that was used to suppress invasive weeds on the lake beds, he said.
"There are definitely things that our ancestors - not just the ancestors of Māori, but from around the world - there's ideas that have been shared for thousands of years between different groups.
"There's elements of all those ideas that input into modern science, as well as mātauranga, so I do think there are solutions for everything that we've got facing us."
Anaru said people just had to be open and willing to adopt some of those ideas, and that was why they wanted to give children from around the North Island a platform to showcase their ideas.
Whangamarino School principal Rehua Mihaka (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Rongomai) said they have been involved with the fair for the last two years.
Last year, projects among the school students focussed on the water quality of Lake Rotoiti, which was right on the school's doorstep.
"This was really good for our tuākana [older class] to actually monitor the mauri - or the life of our waters - how clean it was, how polluted it was and gauge what can we do as kaitiaki to fix te mauri o te wai."
At this stage, Mihaka said having a hands-on experience might not mean a lot to the kids, but one day, they might look back, and realise the connection between water quality and health.
"Ko te kōrero ka hoatu au ki ngā tamariki, ki te ora te wai ka ora te whenua, ka pērā hoki ki te ora te whenua ka ora te wai, ki te ora te wai me te whenua ka ora te tangata.
"It's all about us giving back to our taiao [environment] and those are the sorts of teachings we want our tamariki to come away with."
The fair definitely improves the tamariki's understanding of the western sciences, as well as mātauranga Māori, he said.
When the kids see mātauranga Māori and western science being treated equally, they get very excited.
"Ka tino harikoa ngā tamariki ki te kite i te tauritetanga o ngā mātauranga Māori ki tō ngā mātauranga pūtaiao.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
7 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Things looking up for Dark Skies group
Protecting the sparkling Hāwea skies has become a priority for one star-struck resident. Danny Mollan moved to Lake Hāwea seven years ago with his wife and quickly fell in love with the dark skies of his new home. Having worked in IT for most of his life, his journey into astronomy began with a pair of binoculars and a clear sky. He soon found himself attending astronomy courses in Alexandra and consulting local astronomers to learn more about the views he was seeing. "It's a sort of new thing for me," he said. "The catalyst was moving here and looking up. It's pretty addictive." About two years ago, Mr Mollan made connections with groups across the region including the The Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary, which was recognised internationally as a dark sky sanctuary earlier this year. This inspired him to set up the Hāwea Dark Skies group a month ago with the help of volunteers and in affiliation with the Hāwea Community Association. The idea behind the group is to achieve recognition from United States-based DarkSky International. The non-profit has different classifications for different locations including dark sky communities, parks, reserves and sanctuaries. Dark sky sanctuaries are considered some of the most remote and darkest locations around the world. Mr Mollan said they were still unsure which classification they would aim for but the overarching goal was to get some recognition and protection for the Hāwea dark sky. The first step in achieving this was generating support from the community, which Mr Mollan was confident about. Last Saturday, Mr Mollan started spreading the word to the wider community by making an appearance at the community connections event. The event was a casual gathering organised by the Hāwea Community Association for residents to meet, chat and connect with one another. He said everyone he spoke to took interest and supported the project, especially those who were invested in protecting Hāwea's environment. "All the people who are sort of working on any aspect of environmental preservation in Hāwea, the stakeholders group, the guardians of the lake, they're all very strongly supportive." As part of the protection for dark skies, it would limit artificial light which can be disorienting to biodiversity such as some birds and insects. Mr Mollan also felt it was great for tourism in the region and would draw like-minded national and international visitors to Hāwea. "It attracts a really nice form of tourism. The kind of people who do dark sky tourism, they're here because they are admiring the beauty of the area.". Once the group had enough community support, the next step was to map out the location that would be part of the protected area and then begin taking measurements to understand how dark the sky actually was, he said. This would be done in consultation with scientists, the Queenstown Lakes District Council and groups such as Winterstellar Charitable Trust who work across New Zealand to foster interest in dark skies. This would then go towards informing a draft proposal to DarkSky International.
Scoop
20 hours ago
- Scoop
Mātauranga Māori Science Fair Applies Traditional Thinking To Modern-Day Problems
A Rotorua-based science fair engaging tamariki in mātauranga Māori is expanding its registrations to the entire country for the first time. Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair is run by Te Arawa Lakes Trust and, this year, it will be held from 23-25 July at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre. Te Arawa Lakes Trust environment manager William Anaru (Te Arawa) said the fair began as an idea five years ago to engage more tamariki around Rotorua in science. "The science fair wasn't just aimed at your traditional western science model, we also incorporated mātauranga Māori, sustainable design, we've got an art component and, this year, we are looking at climate resilience." Since it began, the fair has grown significantly, with a huge variety of projects, from exhibits on rongoā Māori to a camera used to identify invasive catfish, he said. "Last year, the winner of the science fair, their team actually put in an exhibition that looked at whether or not Hinemoa could hear the flute of Tutanekai, when the sound was going across the lake, so the level of things that kids are testing these days is pretty remarkable." The team determined that, yes, Hinemoa could have heard Tutanekai's koauau] (flute) across the waters of Rotorua, although Anaru said, these days, there was a lot more background noise. "It's not just baking soda volcanoes - there's quite a lot of variety," he said. Anaru said Te Arawa Lakes Trust had always intended to expand the fair beyond Rotorua. This year, students as far afield as Fielding, Tokoroa, Auckland and Whangārei had entered. "We just want to continue to grow it and grow it and grow it, because some of the ideas that these kids have, they are pretty awesome to hear. "It's all about providing a platform for them to showcase their ideas and show it to an audience that is open to soaking up some of that stuff." Mātauranga Māori has assisted larger projects in the Rotorua, such as uwhi - a large harakeke mat that was used to suppress invasive weeds on the lake beds, he said. "There are definitely things that our ancestors - not just the ancestors of Māori, but from around the world - there's ideas that have been shared for thousands of years between different groups. "There's elements of all those ideas that input into modern science, as well as mātauranga, so I do think there are solutions for everything that we've got facing us." Anaru said people just had to be open and willing to adopt some of those ideas, and that was why they wanted to give children from around the North Island a platform to showcase their ideas. Whangamarino School principal Rehua Mihaka (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Rongomai) said they have been involved with the fair for the last two years. Last year, projects among the school students focussed on the water quality of Lake Rotoiti, which was right on the school's doorstep. "This was really good for our tuākana [older class] to actually monitor the mauri - or the life of our waters - how clean it was, how polluted it was and gauge what can we do as kaitiaki to fix te mauri o te wai." At this stage, Mihaka said having a hands-on experience might not mean a lot to the kids, but one day, they might look back, and realise the connection between water quality and health. "Ko te kōrero ka hoatu au ki ngā tamariki, ki te ora te wai ka ora te whenua, ka pērā hoki ki te ora te whenua ka ora te wai, ki te ora te wai me te whenua ka ora te tangata. "It's all about us giving back to our taiao [environment] and those are the sorts of teachings we want our tamariki to come away with." The fair definitely improves the tamariki's understanding of the western sciences, as well as mātauranga Māori, he said. When the kids see mātauranga Māori and western science being treated equally, they get very excited. "Ka tino harikoa ngā tamariki ki te kite i te tauritetanga o ngā mātauranga Māori ki tō ngā mātauranga pūtaiao.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Environment-centred approach best for health: scholar
Maori scholar Dr Ihirangi Heke at Te Whare o Rukutia yesterday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Putting the environment first is a better way to approach health, a Maori scholar says. Dr Ihirangi Heke has developed Atua Matua, a unique framework that is grounded in mātauranga Māori, which is the process of gathering ancient, indigenous, environmental knowledge and repurposing it for use today. He said last night's talk for the New Zealand International Science Festival in Dunedin was about an environment-centred approach rather than a people-centred approach to wellbeing. An environment-centred approach attended to things such as climate change rather than just being about a person. "What it does, essentially, is put the environment as the main driver for any activities we do whether they are physical, intellectual or spiritual." Dr Heke had trained rugby teams using the interval spaces between waves at a beach. When a wave crashed the players started sprinting and when another wave crashed they stopped. The steepness of the beach was also a factor in determining the length of the workout. He said the environment-based approach could also apply to other health issues such as terminal illnesses including cancer. Polluted water had mauri (life essence) removed from it so it drew it out of human beings to find balance. "That's why polluted water is dangerous to humans, from a Maori perspective." Dr Heke was consulting directly to Google. The data-collection giant had contracted Dr Heke to ensure indigenous knowledge was included in the development of artificial intelligence.
