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New Zealand’s National Science Challenges

As New Zealanders looking to the future, we are faced with many opportunities – and challenges. These include improving the health of all our people, advancing our economic growth, protecting our ...

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ARTICLE

Earth system

Trying to understand how this planet we call home works can seem confusing – there are so many things going on at once! Scientists break down the way the Earth system works to a number of ...

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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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ACTIVITY

Precipitation and cloud formation

In this activity, students watch a short slide show presentation explaining what precipitation is and how clouds form. By the end of this activity, students should be able to: explain what ...

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ACTIVITY

Water run-off

In this activity, students construct models that resemble rain falling on a hillside to observe factors affecting soil erosion and ground stability. By the end of this activity, students should ...

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ACTIVITY

Building a water cycle

In this activity, students observe the processes of evaporation and precipitation by creating a model that simulates the water cycle. By the end of this activity, students should be able to ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Global Earth Challenge

Be part of a worldwide movement and use Global Earth Challenge to submit or classify photos to help our planet’s environment and human health. Global Earth Challenge is a citizen science campaign ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Globe at Night

Globe at Night is an international citizen science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen scientists to measure and submit their night sky ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Litterati

Litter is everywhere – but how much is there, and why does it matter? Litterati is an online citizen science (OCS) project that allows participants to photograph, upload and tag litter in their ...

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TEACHER PLD

H0 on the go – unit plan

About 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by water. It is found just about everywhere and is the only naturally occurring substance on Earth existing in solid, liquid and gas states. Water is ...

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TEACHER PLD

Harnessing the Sun – unit plan

Long ago, according to the legend of Māui, the Sun was the focus of attention. People wanted more daylight and warmth to get their jobs done. Māui schemed to harness the Sun. Rights: Tim Tripp ...

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TEACHER PLD

Linking ideas, activities and lessons

In the primary classroom, even though teachers and students generally spend the day together, it cannot be assumed that students will experience their learning as coherent, connected or ...

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VIDEO

Earth’s system

In this video, 4 New Zealand scientists – Dave Campbell, Louis Schipper, David Hamilton and Keith Hunter – talk about how the water cycle is part of Earth’s system. They point out that Earth’s ...

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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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INTERACTIVE

Measuring the weather – a timeline

This timeline lets you see the historical developments in technology related to weather monitoring, measuring and forecasting. It also shows how scientific thinking changed over the centuries as ...

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SLIDESHOW

Precipitation and clouds – slideshow

This slideshow explains what precipitation is and how clouds form. Use the Slideshow menu for further options, including view full screen, and go here for the download option.

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INTERACTIVE

Dynamic and complex: the global water cycle

Water in the Earth system is influencing all aspects of life on Earth. Pathways, storage, transfers and transformations have an effect on the global climate and human welfare. Within this ...

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