Latest News Blog

September 2014


Mararoa Enjoy a day trip to Arrowtown

Friday, 12th September 2014

Mararoa Enjoy a day trip to Arrowtown

Eager gold panners!  

  • Mararoa Enjoy a day trip to ArrowtownEager gold panners!
  • Mararoa Enjoy a day trip to ArrowtownExploring the huts at the Chinese settlement
  • Mararoa Enjoy a day trip to ArrowtownViewing St Patrick's Catholic Church during the Historic Walk

Year 1 through to year 8 students visited us from Mararoa as they have been learning about houses and construction! These students already had some knowledge of present day houses and construction as well as knowledge of traditional Maori buildings, so we planned an itinerary around their specific learning goals which involved:

  • Gold panning
  • A tour of the Chinese settlement
  • A historic walk of Arrowtown
  • And a museum visit which included handling artefacts

These activities linked to these learning goals:

  • Looking at building materials of early houses and buildings
  • Discuss reasons for positions of houses and shops
  • Compare early household conveniences with today's
  • Look at how the influence of climate, occupation, and cultural background had on these early buildings

We all had a lot of fun and some students were even lucky enough to find gold! Wendy and I were very impressed with the enthusiasm Mararoa School had for learning.

What type of stone was used to build the Chinese settlers huts?

Why were the houses so small?

What household conveniences were these early homes missing (think about electricity and plumbing)?

Why was the Chinese settlement built away from the European settlers?

Did you enjoy your visit?

Answer my questions and  comment about your visit below!

Thanks for visiting Mararoa school, we hope you had a safe trip home!


John McGlashan Men Explore Arrowtown History

Wednesday, 10th September 2014

John McGlashan Men Explore Arrowtown History

Having a break at the local skate park between activities  

  • John McGlashan Men Explore Arrowtown HistoryHaving a break at the local skate park between activities
  • John McGlashan Men Explore Arrowtown HistoryOne student managed to find three specks of gold! WOW!
  • John McGlashan Men Explore Arrowtown HistoryVisiting the Old Gaol - why is the spelling different?
  • John McGlashan Men Explore Arrowtown HistoryStudents read the plaque at the base of Mary Cotter's Tree - why is it a lucky tree?

Warmer weather in Arrowtown means one thing - more gold panning! During the winter months, the Arrow River is too cold for students to try their hand at finding gold, but now that spring is here we have plenty of schools scheduled to visit and explore Arrowtown history and to find gold, just like the John McGlashan gentlemen did today.

The students included a full day visit to the museum as part of their focus for learning about early settlers in New Zealand. The activities for the day included:

  • A museum visit which included handling artefacts
  • A tour of the Chinese settlement
  • A historic walk of Arrowtown
  • And GOLD PANNING!

What did you most enjoy about your visit to the Museum?

What was something interesting you learned at the Chinese settlement?

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

Do you think living conditions for the early settlers was easy or difficult? Why?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!

Enjoy the rest of your camp John McGlashan, come and visit again soon!


Verdon Visit the Museum!

Tuesday, 9th September 2014

Verdon Visit the Museum!

Transcripts from the Shadows of Shoah exhibition  

  • Verdon Visit the Museum!Transcripts from the Shadows of Shoah exhibition
  • Verdon Visit the Museum!The entrance into the Shadows of Shoah exhibition

Verdon College hit the road at 6.30am this morning to visit our Shadows of Shoah exhibition, which tied in well with their History study of WWII.

The LEOTC programme focused on the Remember, Reflect, Respond, Resolve formula. The sessions involved discussing expectations of the exhibition and prior knowledge on WWII and the Holocaust, viewing the exhibition, then debriefing and analyzing transcripts from the exhibition.

Themes of choiceless choices, loss of identity, dehumanization, the role of propaganda, and the role of onlookers were discussed. Many of the students found viewing the exhibition a confronting experience as they all felt they had more questions than answers after viewing Shadows of Shoah.

The students were also impressed with examples of human kindness within the survivors stories.

What was the most memorable part of the exhibition for you?

Did you find viewing the exhibition a valuable experience?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit to the museum below!

Thanks for visiting Verdon!


Dunstan High Discover History!

Monday, 8th September 2014

Dunstan High Discover History!

The entrance into the Shadows of Shoah exhibition  

  • Dunstan High Discover History!The entrance into the Shadows of Shoah exhibition
  • Dunstan High Discover History!Researching in our conference room
  • Dunstan High Discover History!Examining evidence

Dunstan High School students visited the Lakes District Museum & Gallery for 2 LEOTC programmes today; The Shadows of Shoah Exhibition, and Senior History Research.

The Shadows of Shoah exhibition focused on the Remember, Reflect, Respond, and Resolve formula as students viewed short clips about 7 holocaust survivors experiences.

The remainder of the day was spent on historical research in our archives facility as students learned how to use archives appropriately and effectively, as well as examine sources of information and then drawing conclusions based on the evidence.

The historical research also included a tour of the Chinese settlement which helped students answer their key questions:

  • How did the Chinese get to Arrowtown?
  • How did they live?
  • How were they treated in Arrowtown?

Are you able to answer the key questions?

What was the most valuable part of your trip to the museum?

What was the most memorable part of the Shadows of Shoah exhibtion?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below.

Thanks for visiting Dunstan High!


Science Expo!

Friday, 5th September 2014

Science Expo!

The Hands on History display  

  • Science Expo!The Hands on History display
  • Science Expo!Pamphlets, folders, business cards - the works!
  • Science Expo!Other science providers and teachers at the expo!

The Lakes District Museum and Gallery was part of the Royal Society Pilot which focused on Science Providers in the Otago region.

Part of the pilot was attending a Science Expo at Balmacewen Intermediate in Dunedin.

It was fantastic opportunity for meeting the teachers of Dunedin, who may have never heard about our Museum and it's LEOTC programmes.


Winton Work on Learning

Thursday, 4th September 2014

Winton Work on Learning

Checking out the different building materials used for the Old Gaol  

  • Winton Work on LearningChecking out the different building materials used for the Old Gaol
  • Winton Work on LearningVisiting Saint Mary MacKillops cottage
  • Winton Work on LearningStudents read the plaque at the base of Mary Cotter's Tree
  • Winton Work on LearningExploring the huts at the Chinese settlement
  • Winton Work on LearningRacing to the last hut at the Chinese settlement!
  • Winton Work on LearningGold panning at the Arrow River!

Winton students visited the Lakes District Museum & Gallery to discover our history!

Here were some of their learning goals:

  • To gain an appreciation of the difficulties the early settlers faced
  • To understand what life was like in the 1800's

These goals directly linked to the New Zealand curriculum's Social Sciences strand for L3:

How people record and remember the past, view and use resources differently

How the movement of people affects cultural diversity.

To help the students accomplish so much learning, we had a busy day scheduled with these activities:

  • An 1800's lesson with Scary Miss Gray
  • A museum visit which included handling artefacts
  • A historic walk of Arrowtown
  • A tour of the Chinese settlement
  • Gold panning!

What was your favourite part of the visit?

Do you think life was difficult during the 1800's? Why?

What were some of the hardships these early settlers faced?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below.

Thanks for visiting Winton School!


Central Southland College Congregate at the Museum for Knowledge!

Wednesday, 3rd September 2014

Central Southland College Congregate at the Museum for Knowledge!

One of the maps showing spatial patterns from the 1940s through to the 1970s  

  • Central Southland College Congregate at the Museum for Knowledge!One of the maps showing spatial patterns from the 1940s through to the 1970s
  • Central Southland College Congregate at the Museum for Knowledge!Skiing made tourists keen to visit in the winter as well as the summer
  • Central Southland College Congregate at the Museum for Knowledge!Examples of activities developed 1940s - 1970s. During this time 85% of Queenstowns working population became involved in tourism!

Central Southland College sent 5 of their keenest geography students to a day trip to Queenstown. Their first stop was the development of tourism presentation at the Lakes District Museum and Gallery!

Students took notes throughout the presentation in our specifically designed worksheets so that they could gain more knowledge in:

  • How the Queenstown region developed as a tourist destination
  • Spatial patterns apparent in the region
  • How the environment and the people have been affected by tourism in the region

The talk was an information overload, and the points we discussed which linked the students learning goals included:

  • Queenstown began as an agricultural area which then transitioned to mining during the gold rush. Technology and improved transport links during the Victorian era and the early 1900's helped improve accessibility to this region which consequently led onto towards visiting this region.
  • From the 1890's until the 1930's there was minimal spatial variation in the region as tourists only visited during the summer. The 1940's until the 1970's saw more spatial variation as improvements in technology created a variety in attractions made available. The 1980's until present day still continue to see increasing spatial variation as well as many of the attractions are based outside of Queenstown.
  • There have both been positive and negative effects of tourism developing in Queenstown. Since the Treaty of Waitangi settlements and the Resources Management Act, local Maori have become more positively engaged with tourism in Queenstown. However, locals are affected by a high cost of living, and are concerned about protecting our environment, heritage, culture, and history as building developments continue to occur to help accommodate our growing visitor numbers.

Did you find the presentation valuable?

Why did tourists originally only visit in the summer?

Why are many of our attractions based outside of Queenstown?

Why is the cost of living so high in Queenstown?

Answer my questions and comment about your visit below.

Thanks for visiting Central Southland College - enjoy the rest of your visit to Queenstown!