Echoes of the giants
Moa bones, eagle claws and ancient wonders are sparking young minds in the Bay.
WORDS JO-MARIE BAKER
Photos courtesy of the Tauranga Museum collection.
Peter Jackson’s Jurassic Park-like plan to resurrect the moa is still a long way from reality but Tauranga students can literally get their hands on the giant bird’s bones, a replica moa egg and even a life- size Haast’s Eagle claw right now.
The objects are among the most popular items in Tauranga Museum’s Hands On Collection available for local teachers to borrow, free of charge.
“We have a set of real moa bones that were found in Te Puke and they’re some of our most popular objects,” explains museum educator Megan Hoskin. “We have 14 bones in all – three huge leg bones, ribs and vertebrae. It’s incredible that children can have these in their classroom and are allowed to handle them.”
The recent addition of a replica Haast's Eagle claw (which was big and powerful enough to kill an adult moa) is also grabbing attention. “The Haast’s Eagle is something children just have an innate curiosity about. We have roughly 250 objects in our education collection that teachers can borrow. It gives a zing to a classroom and sparks excitement, enthusiasm and curiosity. If a class is learning about space, for example, we have meteorites that are four and a half billion years old. Allowing children to hold objects and pass them around is a great way to hook them into a topic.”
The collection is available to schools within Tauranga City Council’s boundary. Teachers simply book objects online and Tauranga Museum will deliver and collect them. “It could not be an easier service for busy teachers.”
Megan, a former primary school teacher, is also available to run classroom lessons on topics such as The Elms, the Battle of Pukehinahina Gate Pa, the Rena disaster, kiwi, penguins and Tauranga-related aspects of World War One. She believes it’s more important than ever to put physical objects in our children’s hands to help balance learning off digital screens.
While two generations of children have grown up without a museum in Tauranga, the wait is almost over. The city’s new museum will open in 2028 and will feature two purpose-built education spaces along with a Discovery Centre that will focus on Tauranga’s marine environment. “It’s going to be all about the ocean, islands and marine life we have here in Tauranga, so very much a science and environmental Discovery Centre. It will be a very exciting, interactive play space.”