Hastings: Frimley School students 'travel' to Sir Edmund Hillary's Antarctic hut

Frimley School student's Evanaleeigh Collier, Evie Peterson and Antarctic Heritage Trust's Sarah Bouckoms using the VR set to walk through of Sir Edmund Hillary's Antarctic hut.Photo / Warren Buckland

Scott Base's oldest building, a hut built by a Sir Edmund Hillary-led team to Antarctica, was at Frimley School in Hastings on Tuesday – virtually.

The Antarctic Heritage Trust's roadshow has been traveling around Hawke's Bay visiting Taradale Library, Hastings Library and Frimley School with Hillary's hut.

Developed in partnership with Auckland University of Technology, the virtual reality (VR) experience allowed Frimley's year 5 and 6 students to explore Sir Edmund Hillary's hut in Antarctica.

The experience provides insight into how the 23 men of Sir Ed's team lived and worked in the world's most extreme environment more than 60 years ago.

Year six student Alethea Currie trying out one of the VR sets, transporting her to Scott Base in Antarctica. Photo / Warren Buckland

Roaming trust worker Sarah Bouckoms said the experience can be so immersive that the children genuinely feel they're in Antarctica.

"Sometimes they're a bit shell-shocked and not quite sure what to do because it seems as though they've been transported to Antarctica, then they take off their headsets and they're back in their school hall," she said.

"They don't really know that they're learning, they think they're just playing a game."

Students were also able to try on sheep fleece-lined mittens and snowsuits to gauge how many layers are needed to stay warm on the icy continent.

Users can tour the five rooms of the building, viewing hundreds of artefacts from the early years of New Zealand's Antarctic programme.

Trust general manager operations and communications Francesca Eathorne, who oversaw the project, said she hopes the VR tour inspires people to learn more about Antarctica and the nation's most famous son.

"Sir Ed's hut is part of the rich history of Antarctic exploration and we will be taking this experience to as many students around New Zealand as we can," she said.

Hillary's hut was Scott Base's first building and was built by a team led by Sir Ed to support the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and the International Geophysical Year.

The trust cares for this hut and four other historic expedition bases in Antarctica.