Blow-up planetarium teaching Hawke's Bay primary schoolkids Māori astronomy

Izaiah Auvae, 10, from Peterhead School, Flaxmere, with other pupils in the Atea a Rangi trust whare whetu/travelling stardome. Photo / Paul Taylor

A portable blow-up planetarium owned by the Ātea a Rangi Educational Trust has been visiting primary schools and kura in Hawke's Bay, teaching pupils how to navigate using the stars.

Administrator Michelle Smith said the trust was visiting schools with a whare whetū/stardome.

The trust was in Peterhead School, Flaxmere on Wednesday to teach pupils traditional Maori celestial navigation.

Unison sponsors the trust, subsidising costs for schools, so it can deliver Māori astronomy and star folklore to primary school children, Smith said.

"Our trust is the only NGO that has a portable planetarium in Hawke's Bay it can take into schools or the community.

"We got the stardome in May and at the moment we are teaching the kids how to find Matariki."

The trust will be going back to Peterhead School four times during the next three weeks, she said.

"We were teaching the students all about how ancestors navigated and what stars to use."

Smith said Matariki comes out very early in the morning, so the stardome was a great teaching tool.

The legend of Matariki explains the culmination of stars, with each star representing different forms of the natural environment and how each form will flourish depending on the brightness of the stars.

For example, one star called Waipa represents sea water and if the star shines bright it will resemble an abundance of good fishing and seafood.

"Going into August Matariki comes out at 4am.

"When we go to the schools we recreate the sky while they were sleeping.

"It's great to be able to go into Flaxmere and offer it to the kids who would not have had an opportunity otherwise."

The Ātea a Rangi Educational Trust (Ātea Trust) is a registered charitable trust based in Hawke's Bay, Aotearoa-New Zealand.

It was established to run educational programmes, events and tours for mainly schools and the community based on traditional Māori and environmental kaupapa.

They run education programmes, events and tours around the Ātea a Rangi - Celestial Star Compass at Waitangi Regional Park and around other areas of traditional Māori knowledge.