Students from Macandrew Bay School visited our museum. It was a nice warm day, after having some rain earlier in the week.

When the Macandrew Bay kids came to visit us at the museum they got to experience a whole lot of fun! Our day was filled with:

• A museum visit where students explored our different exhibits, including our infamous Long Drop display! Students also got to check out our current Sign of the Times exhibition which features autographed memorabilia from celebrities like Taylor Swift, Niki Minaj, Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Selena Gomez, Tiger Woods... and many more!
• A scary experience with Miss Gray, in an 1800's schoolroom. Dressed up in full costume, and using slate boards, students really learned how difficult school used to be over 100 years ago.
• A historic walk of Arrowtown to check out the Old Gaol, St Patricks church, Saint Mary Mackillops cottage,Old Miners Cottages, and Mary Cotters tree!
• And some gold panning!! We learned about different methods for gold panning and about Jack Tewa - William Rees shepherd who discovered gold in the Arrow river.

How do we spell "Gaol" today?

What was the type of gold we found in the Arrow river?

What did students used to get the cane for in the 1800's?

What was something new you learned in the Museum?

Do you think learning was harder over 100 years ago? Why?

Why were the Miners cottages so small?

Did you skip around Mary Cotters tree? Did the good luck help you find gold?

Answer my questions and comment below about your visit to the Lakes District Museum & Gallery!

Denise our educator worked with students from Warrington School on the 28th November. To explore the past this is what these students got up to:

• A museum visit which included handling artefacts and exploring the museum. Students got to handle a Moa bone and they also got to check out our infamous long drop display!
• A historic walk of Arrowtown, where Denise took students inside the Old Gaol and taught them different old fashioned school games to play at the Catholic Church.
• A tour of the Chinese settlement, where students went inside Ah Lums store and learned about the different building materials these huts used.
• Gold Panning at the Arrow river! Denise taught the students different methods of gold panning, and helped some lucky students even find gold!

What was your favourite part of your visit to Arrowtown?

What was the type of gold that was found in the Arrow river?

What was something new you learned during your museum visit?

Who was Ah Lum?

What did Ah Lum do in New Zealand?

What was your favourite old fashioned school game you played?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

Students from Taieri College visited us twice during the month of November! Different camps with different Taieri students visited us on the 12th November and again on the 26th November.

Both times these students visited, they had a MASSIVE day! These are the activities all the students did with us here at the Lakes District Museum & Gallery:

• A frightening lesson in an 1800's school room with Miss Gray (we learned about how technology has made learning a lot easier)
• A historic walk of Arrowtown which included a visit to the Old Gaol (we learned how buildings used roof lanterns to get light before electricity)
• A museum visit which included handling artefacts (objects like the Moa bone and pounamu mere explained to us how people used to live)
• A tour of the Chinese settlement where we heard about a scary ghost story! (The Chinese huts were made out of Schist stone and wood)
• And gold panning!! One girl found a HUGE piece of gold - it was the biggest I had ever seen come out of the Arrow river whilst I have been working here! (we learned different methods of panning to help us find gold)

Phew - what a busy month!

Who found gold?

Do you think gold panning is easy or hard? Why?

Do you think learning in an 1800's school room is easy or hard? Why?

Who was Marry Cotters tree named after?

Who was the first person to discover gold in the Arrow river?

Why did the Chinese settlers come to Central Otago?

What was a pounamu mere used for?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

45 junior students from Holy Family Wanaka visited us this morning to learn about the past. It was very busy as the students split into two smaller groups so they could have an 1800's school room experience with Miss Gray and so they could also explore the museum.

In Miss Grays classroom, students were frightened out of their wits by grumpy Miss Gray. Miss Gray had a cane on her which she used to cane naughty children. The schoolroom was very bare, with the desks and chairs made out of wood and a chalk board that Miss Gray wrote on.

In the Museum, students got to handle artefacts such as a Moa bone and pounamu mere! It was amazing to think about how old some of these artefacts were. Afterwards, everyone explored the Museum. Everyone saw the long drop (the lavatory), and the blacksmiths. The streetscape of the Museum was everyone's favourite place to visit.

We finished the day with gold panning. Students learned about different methods for gold panning, and about Jack Tewa who found the gold in the Arrow river. Some kids even gold! Were YOU luck enough to find gold?

Why don't we have a blacksmith anymore?

How big was a Moa's skull?

What did you use for handwriting in Miss Gray's classroom?

Do you think learning was harder 150 years ago? Why?

Is it easy or hard to go gold panning? Why?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

Lochiel students had a blast learning about the past!

All the schools have been enjoying a full day primary programme at the Lakes District Museum & Gallery, and Lochiel was no exception! This is what we got up to:

• A historic walk around Arrowtown checking out old Miners cottages - they were all very small! Why were they so small?
• A tour of the Chinese settlement where we learned about the difficult learning conditions they experienced. Why did the Chinese settlers come to New Zealand?
• A terrifying 1800's lesson with Miss Gray. she was very strict and used a cane to punish naughty children. What were the differences between your classroom and her classroom? Was anything the same?
• Learning how to go gold panning at the Arrow river! Did any of you find gold? Can you remember the different methods of gold panning?

I had a fantastic day learning with you all! I hope you enjoy the rest of your camp Lochiel kids!

Try answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

A class of Clutha Valley kids visited the Museum on Thursday. They were all very inquisitive and asked fantastic questions!

When the Clutha kids came to visit us at the museum they got to experience a whole lot of fun! Our day was filled with:

• A museum visit
• A tour of the Chinese settlement
• A scary experience with Miss Gray, and a naughty young student called Isobel!
• A historic walk of Arrowtown to check out the Old Gaol
• And some gold panning!!

What did the New Zealand Govt. do to the Chinese settlers to stop them immigrating into the country?

How do we spell "Gaol" today?

What was the type of gold we found in the Arrow river?

What did students used to get the cane for in the 1800's?

What was your favourite artefact that you got to handle?

Answer my questions and comment below about your visit to the Lakes District Museum & Gallery!

Its been such a busy month here in Arrowtown - by the end of November we would've had over 1000 students visit the Museum during term 4!!!

We had a lovely day with Arthur Street School on Tuesday the 19th November. It was a full day primary programme with these activities:

• A frightening lesson with Miss Gray in a Victorian 1880's school room - technology definitely has made learning easier since 150 years ago!
• Exploring the museum and handling artefacts - the Wakatipu region has had lots of different uses for different people such as hunting Moa and gold mining!
• A historic walk of Arrowtown - All of the miners cottages were so small because everyone needed to get their building materials from out of Arrowtown.
• A tour of the Chinese Settlement - the Chinese settlers had a difficult time living by the river in the winter as it was very cold and the river would flood.
• Searching for gold at the Arrow river - we learned different methods of panning and some students even found gold!

We hope you enjoy the rest of your camp Arthur Street School - you were all fantastic learners asking very insightful questions!

What were the Chinese huts made out of?

Is gold panning easy or hard? Why?

What was your favourite artefact that you got to handle? What was it used for?

How did Miss Gray punish naughty students?

Why did it take Arrowtown so long to build an Old Gaol?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

Year 9 students from James Hargest visited us for the day to learn about the Chinese miners in the central Otago region.

Arriving at 11, these students had an information overload as they experienced a museum visit which specifically focused on the Chinese and Gold Mining exhibits. During that session students learned how the Chinese settlers were invited but weren't welcomed by the Europeans. They also studied Chinese artefacts which had been excavated from the Chinese settlement.

A trip to the Chinese settlement was the next thing on the students agenda. At the Chinese settlement, students discovered the difficult learning conditions the Chinese endured during cold Arrowtown winters and heavy flooding. Students also got to see what the huts were made out of, and typical design quirks of these houses in the settlement.

The day came to an end with gold panning at the Arrow river, where students learned about the different methods of panning and about the properties of alluvial gold which is commonly found in the Arrow river. Some students were even fortunate enough to find gold!

Why did the Chinese come to New Zealand?

Why were they not welcomed by the Europeans?

What were their huts made from?

What did the Chinese settlers do for recreation?

Answer my questions and comment below about your visit!

Intermediate students from Oamaru visited the Museum last Friday afternoon.

What a full on day! The sun was out, which made it a perfect day for exploring Arrowtowns history. This is what we got up to:

• A Historic walk of Arrowtown which included being locked up in the Old Gaol, viewing old miners cottages, exploring Saint Mary MacKillops school house, and skipping around Mary Cotters tree! Ont the walk we leaned about the difficult the settlers faced in building their homes as they had to source building material from outside Arrowtown and sometimes from overseas!
• A tour of the Chinese settlement, where we all got to explore inside the huts! We learned how the Chinese had been invited to Central Otago but not welcomed, the difficult living conditions they endured along the Arrow river, and about Ah Lums ghost!!!
• We finished the day with gold panning, where students learned different panning methods and some were even lucky enough to find gold!

It was a truly fantastic day with these students - and it was an information overload with all the new information these kids took in.

What was your favourite part of your visit?

What was the type of rock found in the Arrow river that the European and Chinese settlers used for building?

Why did the Catholic Church have a 4 leaf clover in its stained glass window?

Why was it so difficult to build houses in Arrowtown during the 1800's?

Did you find gold?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

Year 7 & 8 students from Craighead School in Timaru visited us today! It was a jam packed day, with a bunch of activities in the Museum and around Arrowtown.

This is what we got up to:

• A museum visit which included handling artefacts such as a Moa bone, Pounamu mere, an ostrich egg, and old miners tools. This helped us understand the different uses the Wakatipu region has had over the years.
• A lesson in an 1800's school room with a horrible teacher called Miss Gray. Miss Gray was really and showed everyone how schools and education have changed over 150 years.
• A historic walk of Arrowtown where we got to check out some old miners cottages, the Old Gaol, and Saint Mary MacKillops cottage. On this walk we discovered how people lived without technology and only a horse and carriage for transport.
• A tour of the Chinese settlement was an enlightening experience for everyone, as the simple schist stone huts that remained really portrayed the difficult living conditions the Chinese experienced.
• Gold panning in the Arrow river was the final fun thing we all did together! Everyone learned the different methods for gold panning and some students even found gold! (I wonder if the good luck from skipping around Mary Cotters tree 3 times had anything to do with it?)

What a fantastic day!

Do you think learning is easier now compared to 150 years ago? Why?

What naughty things would you do to be caned in an 1800's school room?

Why were there marks on Saint Mary Mackillop's cottage roof? What caused them?

Why did one of the cells in the Old Gaol have a fire place?

What were the huts made out of at the Chinese Village?

Why did the Chinese come to central Otago?

What new things did you learn in the Museum?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

East Taieri School sent 51 year 6 students to visit on their camp! It was a big group which meant we had loads of fun! Students were frightened out of their wits by a terrifying lesson with Miss Gray. The session really helped everyone understand how much learning has changed over 150 years. A museum visit in the morning was also on the schedule, during this visit students got to handle artefacts such as a Moa bone, and explore the museum. We ended the visit with gold panning. It was a perfect, hot, summers day for gold panning and lots of kids were really lucky and found some! One boy found about 4 specks of gold!!

Why were long drops built outside?

What did Miss Gray teach you?

What was one difference between Miss Grays classroom and your own classroom?

Why did the Maori travel to the Wakatipu region?

Do you gold panning is easy or hard? Why?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

Imagine our surprise when we saw some amazing stories written about the Lakes District Museum in the Education Gazette's edition of EOTC!

We had some year 10 students from James Hargest visit us in term 3 to learn about the Chinese gold miners. The visit must have made quite an impression, as three very well-written, descriptive pieces came out of it! The quality of the writing is very impressive, and I can see that the students really understood how difficult early mining life was here in Arrowtown!

Did you write any of these stories?

Do you have your own story about your visit that you would like to share with us?

Answer my questions and comments below!

International students from Wakatipu High visited our museum this morning. They learned about the history of the area, going back to when the Maori first arrived and visited the wakatipu region to hunt Moa and collect greenstone! The students also explored the rest of the museum, and checked out our 'Sign of the Times' exhibition. There were a few students from Brazil, and they were impressed to see a signed football top by Pelé, a famous football player!

We finished the morning with gold panning at the Arrow river. It was an overcast warm morning, which was perfect for spotting specks of gold! Everyone learned about Jack Tewa (the first person to find gold in the Arrow river), and the different methods for panning. Some students found gold, and one girl found 3 specks of gold!

What was your favourite part about visiting Arrowtown?

Do you think gold panning is difficult or easy?

Answer my questions and comment below!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your time here in NZ!

35 kids from Bluff School traveled to Arrowtown to visit the Lakes District Museum & Gallery.

Denise and myself ran the visit by splitting the students into 2 small groups. Denise enjoyed the sunshine, by taking the students gold panning. Everyone was sun smart by wearing suncreen, and sunglasses. The Arrow River was a great way to keep everyone's feet cool on such a hot afternoon! During the gold panning session, the students learned how to pan for gold, and about Jack Tewa who was the first person to find gold in the Arrow river. Some kids were lucky enough to find gold!

I ran the 1800's school room with Miss Gray. Students wrote with chalk and slate boards whilst wearing 1800's costumes. It was a great way for everyone to learn about how much education has changed over 150 years!

Did you find gold?

Do you think it is easy or hard to find gold? Why?

Do you think it was fair that students used to be caned at school?

Were you scared of Miss Gray?

Answer my questions and comment below about your visit to Arrowtown!

Grantlea Downs school kids had a great time at the Museum this morning!!

This group of about 40 students got split into 2 smaller groups with Denise and I running different programmes. I was in charge of running the Miss Gray 1800's schoolroom. Student were frightened into memorizing a poem and at the end of the lesson one poor student got picked on for a caning! Lots was learned during this session, as students discovered how difficult learning was 150 years ago.

Denise gave the students a tour of historic Arrowtown. On the tour everyone got to see old miners cottages, the Old Gaol, St Patricks Church, and Mary Cotters tree! In the old Gaol, Denise locked up the students and told them a bit of Arrowtown history.

Look at the photos at the top of the blog post - How is your town different from Arrowtown?

What did students get caned for during the 1800's?

Was learning harder back then? Why?

Why were the miners cottages so small?

What did you think of the Old Gaol?

Answer my questions and comment below about your trip to Arrowtown!

46 year 7 girls from Columba College visited us at the Museum today! We were very busy with myself, and Wendy our other educator running the activities for these enthusiastic students!

The whole day was an information overload as students experienced a museum visit which included handling artefacts! The girls also had a historic walk around Arrowtown where we checked out the Old Gaol. The afternoon was spent with a tour of the Chinese settlement and some gold panning!!

It was a pretty special day, as during the historic walk I made sure students skipped around Mary Cotters tree 3 times for good luck so that it could help them find gold when we were gold panning... and I think it worked!

Why is Jail spelt 'Gaol' in Arrowtown?

What was Ah Lums hut made out of?

Do you think it is easy or hard to find gold?

What was one thing you learned about during your museum visit?

Answer my questions and comment below about your visit to the Lakes District Museum & Gallery!

Year 4, 5, and 6 kids from Balfour School had a blast at the Museum today!

We had a terrifying lesson with Miss Gray where you learned how difficult school was 150 years ago. Before lunch we also squeezed in a historic walk of Arrowtown where students got to see the Old Gaol, and skip around Mary Cotter's tree 3 times for good luck. In the afternoon we explored the museum and got to handle some artefacts! We finished off the day with a tour of the Chinese settlement where we discovered how difficult the living conditions for the Chinese were.

Did you see the man on the Long Drop in the Museum?

What was something new you learned during your visit?

What did Arrowtown use to light the town over 100 years ago?

What were the Chinese settlers huts made out of?

Answer my questions and comment below!

Year 7 & 8 students from Diamond Harbour had a great time at the Museum today!

They started off their visit with a self directed exploration of the Museum. This was then followed by a scary lesson with Miss Gray! One poor boy even got the cane!!! (It was just pretend though)! This was followed with a historic walk of Arrowtown, where everyone got to see the old Miners Cottages, the Old Gaol, and St Patrick's Church. At St Patrick's church we talked about Saint Mary MacKillop - there was even a tourist at the church who shared a great story with us about a family friend who experienced a miracle which everyone though Saint Mary MacKillop caused! At the end of the walk everyone skipped around Mary Cotter's tree 3 times, which is said to bring good luck. The skipping must have worked, because after a tour of the Chinese Settlement we went gold panning, where a few students found gold!!!

What was your favourite part of your visit?

Did you find gold?

What were the Chinese settlers huts made out of?

Why is Gaol spelt differently? (It's usually spelt jail)!

Do you have a parent or grandparent who has been caned?

Answer my questions and comment below!

This Friday has been very busy with the installation of our new exhibition "Sign of the Times" which features autographed memorabilia from numerous celebrities, actors, sports people, authors, politicians, singers, models, inventors, and pioneers in flights and space travel!

Some these big names include:

• Tigers Woods
• Mark Twain
• Tolstoy
• J K Rowling
• Sir Donald Bradman
• The All Blacks
• Buzz Aldrin
• Gene Cernan
• Beyonce
• Taylor Swift
• Peter Dinklage
• Michael Jackson
• Sir Paul McCartney
• George Clooney

Exhibition entry is just a gold coin entry - so come check it out this summer!

Read this article about the exhibition which featured in the Queenstown Times!

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/279683/every-item-touched-famous