Explore related articles

Squishy rocks and earthquakes

Earthquakes are a fact of life in New Zealand, but we still don’t understand exactly what triggers them. Microscopes are some of the many tools that scientists are using to get a better ...

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ARTICLE

Restoring Rotorua’s natural geothermal taonga

The haukāinga (local residents) of the Rotorua area – Te Arawa, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Wāhiao – have lived in this highly active geothermal region for generations. The unique geology of the area ...

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ARTICLE

Developing the New Zealand geological timescale

Many of us are familiar with some names for parts of Earth’s distant past. There’s the Jurassic, made famous in the movie Jurassic Park, and the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs roamed New Zealand, but ...

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Explore related activities

ACTIVITY

Minerals present in granite

In this activity, students identify the main minerals present in granite and investigate some of their properties. By the end of this activity, students should be able to: identify the rock known ...

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ACTIVITY

Fossil correlation

In this activity, students date fossils from one site by matching them to fossils already dated somewhere else. They use real data from Mangahouanga, made famous by paleontologist Joan Wiffen. By ...

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ACTIVITY

Earthquakes New Zealand

The series of activities described below was designed to help students develop an understanding about earthquakes in New Zealand, including why we get them and how we measure them. The world of ...

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Explore related citizen science projects

CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Planet Four

The Planet Four online citizen science project is designed to assist planetary scientists to identify and measure features on the surface of Mars that don’t exist on Earth. Help is needed to ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Etch a Cell – Zooniverse

In this online citizen science (OCS) project, participants analyse electron microscope images taken of a range of biological samples, helping scientists better understand cancer, infectious ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Fossil Atmospheres – Zooniverse

By comparing some features of fossilised plants with the same features of plants living today, scientists hope to be able to learn more about the effect of changing carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in ...

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Explore related PLD

TEACHER PLD

Earthquakes – unit plan

About 14,000 earthquakes are recorded in and around Aotearoa New Zealand every year. Canterbury’s 7.1 and Kaikōura's 7.8 magnitude earthquakes and subsequent aftershocks show the constant threat ...

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TEACHER PLD

Exploring natural hazards

In this recorded professional learning session, Lyn Rogers and guest Aliki Weststrate from GNS Science explore some of the science involved in building our understandings of natural hazards ...

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TEACHER PLD

Planet Earth and Beyond – The night sky

The Science Learning Hub has lots of resources for primary teachers related to the night sky in the Planet Earth and Beyond strand of the New Zealand Curriculum. The night sky is fascinating to ...

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Explore related videos

VIDEO

Rotorua geothermal field: protecting a taonga

Rotorua is world famous for its geothermal features. For generations, local Māori used the hot pools with little impact on the natural system. As Rotorua’s population grew, unsustainable amounts ...

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VIDEO

Building an aquifer model

In this video, educator Angela Schipper demonstrates how to build a model of an aquifer – a layer of rock or other material that carries water underground. This is an excellent activity that ...

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VIDEO

New Zealand geological timescale

Dr James Crampton explains that all geologists need to know the age of the rocks they work with. At GNS Science, important research continues to make the New Zealand geological timescale more ...

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Explore related interactives

INTERACTIVE

From mountains to microscopes

In this interactive follow a core sample as it makes its journey from the Alpine Fault to microscopic examination. Click on the labels for more information. Select here to view the full ...

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SLIDESHOW

Exploring natural hazards – slideshow

This is the slideshow that supports the Exploring natural hazards PLD webinar. Use the Slideshow menu for further options, including view full screen, and go here for the download option.

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INTERACTIVE

Magma Drillers Save Planet Earth – resources

This interactive introduces and houses resources developed by Magma Drillers Save Planet Earth – a University of Canterbury project funded by Curious Minds. Select here to view the full ...

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