Latest news with #NewZealandInternationalScienceFestival
Otago Daily Times
06-07-2025
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Art, science meld in workshop
Dunedin artist Jess Nicholson holds one of her clay tiles after her workshop at New Zealand International Science Festival in the Meridian Mall yesterday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH Māori stories about the night sky help weave art and science together, a Dunedin potter says. Jess Nicholson (Kāi Tahu) delivered an Aurora (Te Tahu-Nui-ā-Rangi) clay tile-making workshop at the last day of the New Zealand International Science Festival at Meridian Mall yesterday. She said she aimed to show the harmonious relationship between art and science as well as Māori stories about the night sky. "I'm really not a scientist but I really enjoy giving the people the opportunity to chill out with a simple mindful activity." She said it was nice to hear about people's experiences of the night sky including their cultural understandings. "I get so much out of it just getting to hear other people's perspectives. "I feel quite privileged to be in a position where I can share local and national te ao Māori history and ideas." She said Purākau Māori (traditional Māori narratives) and western science could often be held in conflict with one another but there was a lot of harmony between them. During the 45-minute session people sat around a table and painted small square tiles with acrylic paint and chatted. "I think people have found it easy to access." Ms Nicholson taught a beginners' pottery course at the Otago Potters Club as well as made her own pottery. She only used clay she found herself at places such as beaches around Dunedin rather than using imported, commercial and pre-made products.
Otago Daily Times
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Hope festival will be starting point for lasting curiosity
The directors of the New Zealand International Science Festival are urging attendees to remain curious, as the festival wraps up for another year. Director Jerome Cousins said while they would not know the official attendance of this year's festival until later this week, early indications were "hugely promising". "We're very happy with the attendance. "I guess across the board, there's lots of different types of events, and the different events sort of have different expectations and hopes and dreams for the attendance. "We found that pretty much all the activities for families that have 20 people per session, all of those were pretty much sold out or very close to it." Establishing a "festival hub" and "Imagination Playground" in the Meridian Mall proved to be a godsend, he said. "We look really closely at groups, what interests them, what's accessible to them, what gets them coming, what gets them coming back, etc. "For the youngest kids, obviously it can be hard to explain scientific concepts when you're trying to explain what a concept is. "But that hands-on play is really what they engage with — so that's where the Imagination Playground came in. "In fact, you'll see the kids are playing with it in oftentimes way more complex ways than the adults do, because we've sort of lost that level of creative play that they still have." The Meridian Mall site on the top floor, which in the past had hosted Smiths City and Kmart stores, was a "fabulous space", Dr Cousins said. "We'd love to be here next year, but if this space is tenanted by something else, then we'll see what's available. "We can always make use of empty shops, empty locations. "It's been really great working with this space and being able to create all our zones, so to speak." The variety of keynote speakers at the festival had led to good attendance at events held in the evening, and geared towards an older audience, such as Nasa astronomer Michelle Thaller. "Having these keynote events helps support all of the other events, regardless of size." Dr Cousins said he was pleased with the interaction across age groups, and he urged people not to "switch off the lights" and wait until next year's festival to be inspired. "Never stop being curious. "So if you found anything that slightly piques your interest during the festival, don't just think 'oh, I'll wait until next festival to engage with that again'. "Look online, different tutorials for doing things, reach out."
Otago Daily Times
04-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Environment-centred approach best for health: scholar
Maori scholar Dr Ihirangi Heke at Te Whare o Rukutia yesterday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Putting the environment first is a better way to approach health, a Maori scholar says. Dr Ihirangi Heke has developed Atua Matua, a unique framework that is grounded in mātauranga Māori, which is the process of gathering ancient, indigenous, environmental knowledge and repurposing it for use today. He said last night's talk for the New Zealand International Science Festival in Dunedin was about an environment-centred approach rather than a people-centred approach to wellbeing. An environment-centred approach attended to things such as climate change rather than just being about a person. "What it does, essentially, is put the environment as the main driver for any activities we do whether they are physical, intellectual or spiritual." Dr Heke had trained rugby teams using the interval spaces between waves at a beach. When a wave crashed the players started sprinting and when another wave crashed they stopped. The steepness of the beach was also a factor in determining the length of the workout. He said the environment-based approach could also apply to other health issues such as terminal illnesses including cancer. Polluted water had mauri (life essence) removed from it so it drew it out of human beings to find balance. "That's why polluted water is dangerous to humans, from a Maori perspective." Dr Heke was consulting directly to Google. The data-collection giant had contracted Dr Heke to ensure indigenous knowledge was included in the development of artificial intelligence.
Otago Daily Times
30-06-2025
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Children buzzed to make own robots at science fest
Clara Stevens, 11, shows off her butterfly robot at the New Zealand International Science Festival at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum yesterday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH There was plenty of whirring and buzzing at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum yesterday. More than a dozen eager children participated in a "make your own robot" workshop at the site as part of the New Zealand International Science Festival. Organiser Dr Mike Paulin said children got the opportunity to first make a small butterfly robot, then move on to something larger with a "bristle bot" made out of toothbrush bristles and hooked up to a small computer. "They learn a little bit of basic electronics, how to build a circuit and enough to fix the robot. "So they make the robot themselves, and then they get to keep it. "They learn enough to fix it if it breaks, and they learn that you can make things move, you can make a little butterfly robot — it's really simple." The butterfly robot would take the children about 20 minutes to make, while the bristle bot or some of the more complicated robots could take over an hour. "We've got transistors and we've got light sensors. We're building up little by little. "So for the larger robots, we've got a motor, we've got a capacitor here, we've got sensors and we've got transistors." He had enjoyed making things from a young age and wanted to pass on that enthusiasm to the children. "What they really like is making them themselves — what we found is that I used to make these things, and then you give it to a kid, and they went, 'well, that's cute'. And then 10 minutes later, they're off doing something else," Dr Paulin said. "But we've been doing this for 10 years, and then sometimes we run into the kids who say 'I've still got my whistle blower'. "Because they make it themselves, and then it becomes their little pet. So, it's just that kind of ownership that comes in, the realisation that you can make it real simple, and within a few minutes, and they learn a bit."
Otago Daily Times
29-06-2025
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Science expo hands-on
More than 1000 people visited New Zealand International Science Festival University of Otago Science Expo on Saturday. PHOTOS: GERARD O'BRIEN From digging up the dead to revealing the secret lives of plants, a variety of science was on display at the University of Otago over the weekend. This year's New Zealand International Science Festival University of Otago Science Expo attracted more than a 1000 visitors. Science festival associate director Andrea Liberatore said the expo was one of her favourite events because of the range of science on display. "A lot of people have a preconceived idea of what science is, but this is the place where you can come and see all the various aspects of science." University of Otago department of anatomy PhD candidate Kirsten Rutten helps Orion Kenny, 7, place bones to make a representation of the human skeleton at the expo. She said young visitors could try a variety of different hands-on activities and see what science might interest them. "I would love to know how many kids come through these doors, get exposed to something here and then end up studying here and going on to careers in science as well." A range of departments from the university had displays at the expo, including the zoology, marine science and anatomy departments. The department of botany was giving people a closer look at various seaweed and fungi its students were researching. Dr Katja Schweikert said she enjoyed talking to the children at the expo about botany. Zoe Te Au, 5, takes a look through the microscope set up by the department of botany. "The kids are just really excited and the parents are quite surprised." She said people were usually not that interested in plants, particularly seaweed, because they did not understand their importance. However, researching them was important because it helped identify what plants could survive the high-stress environments caused by climate change and which ones could provide people with a healthy source of protein. She said events such as the science expo helped to keep children inquisitive about science and think critically about the world.
