Room 28 - Discovery Day

During Ōtūmoetai Intermediate’s year 7 Discovery day, the students of Room 28 learnt all about their native bush near McLarens falls and how to set rat traps. Van, the Guidance Counsellor for Discovery day, explained all of the safety precautions we should take and showed us first hand how to set and refill the rat traps he used. Next, we were all shown a map of the area, marking out all of the traps, and which trails to take to get to them. When Dan finished explaining how to replenish the traps and read the maps, we were divided into groups of 4, each group was supervised by an adult. Inside the groups, each student had a job such as reading the map, checking if the rats were caught, putting peanut butter in the traps as bait, or marking off the traps that rats were in on a sheet. 

Overall, Room 28 found over 13 dead rats, many empty bait capsules, and learnt how to refill and set rat traps safely. Discovery day was a fun filled experience where students pushed themselves to try new things and go out of their comfort zones. The students in Room 28 all found it very educational and will use the knowledge that they gained in their everyday lives.

Scarlett Minshall