Karekare Mini School visited Stardome this term as part of their Term 2 Inquiry learning around Matariki and the Solar System.

Room 20’s EOTC to Stardome By Vidhusha Room 20

Everyone was excited for our first school trip; we hoped that Stardome wouldn’t let us down.Thrilled, my whole class formed multiple groups of four while Mrs Nand hurried to get us organized. Once everyone was situated into a group, Mrs Nand sent Vivaan and me to check if the bus had arrived. To our horror, it was late! Fortunately, after a few back and forth trips to the office, a big navy blue bus appeared in the distance and we were on our way.

Once we arrived at Stardome, we were escorted by our instructor, Josh, to a small room. A huge screen, lot’s of seats, and controllable lights caught our attention. A small lesson based around Matariki followed. After gaining some new knowledge, we were assigned a seven question quiz. Rapidly, my group zoomed through the quiz and we were done in a matter of minutes. Soon enough, the other groups were also finished.

Heading into the planetarium, I was exhilarated to enjoy our last activity. We were met by a pitch dark room with barely enough light to see ourselves. Above us, was a blue screen and right below lay a sea of leather seats. As I sat down next to Vivaan and Tom, the huge screen displayed many famous Maori myths. Surprisingly, it felt realistic as we adventured through space and searched for constellations. Sadly, after some time we had to leave. While exiting, we thanked the kind people at Stardome and showed our gratitude towards the parent helpers. This definitely was a journey I will never forget.

Room 20’s ETOC to Stardome

By An, Room 20

Sighing, I glanced at the splattering rain on the sidewalk. I exhaled loudly. Today was supposed to be a fun day wasn't it? Hanging my head downwards, the rest of the class impatiently paced back and forth, waiting for the bus to arrive. “10:19” my watch blared brightly. Looking down once again, no bus could be seen in the distance or anywhere. Eventually, Mrs Nand started to become confused too, and sent two kids down to the office, to ask what was taking so long. “Since it is past 10:15, we might as well eat our morning tea,” said Mrs Nand, her voice sounding a bit droopy.

Staring down at my wrist, the seconds of time passed by almost in slow motion. Groaning, I wondered what if the trip gets canceled.. Suddenly, loud cheering broke out amongst the children, and I sprung up my head in confusion. My eyes widened. The bus had arrived!

Everyone stumbled and clambered onto the bus, loud excited voices rose, as we raced for the back seats. Once everyone had settled in, the 45 minute ride started. Talking amongst my friends, the boys' voices overpowered everyone's as they yelled at passing randoms on the street. Everyone burst into laughter, and continued their conversations. With 15 minutes left of the bus ride, I started feeling a bit queasy, so I took a break from talking so much. Nearly falling asleep, suddenly, a dome shaped building came into sight. Everyone started cheering and gasping. As we formed 2 lines outside the space observatory our guide; Josh, led everyone to a room with several rows of chairs. He asked everyone to take a seat for the lesson to start. Over the course of around half an hour, he explained many different things about space, important elements that make up galaxies and our solar system. Afterward, we had to get into groups of 4, to complete an ipad activity. The activity was for groups to have a total of 7 questions to answer, and the answer would be on one of the displays at Stardome. An image of the certain displays would be shown for the groups to explore and find. Once everyone had finished, we all entered the planetarium, to watch Maori legends about Matariki, including constellations and children's myths about how Matariki was formed.

We exited the Stardome at around 12:30 pm, and arrived back at school at 1:00. Unfortunately, the trip was shorter than expected, but it was still a unique experience for all of us.