You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Ambassador Māia
Kia ora,
I'm Māia the kea. My name means bold in Māori. Like most kea I love to give things a go and am often curious and a little mischievous. I am the ambassador that travels all over the place with Shelley the LEARNZ field trip teacher.
I love getting out and about on adventures. Even though I'm more at home in the mountains, I am looking forward to heading to towns and cities in the South Island for the Land, Sky and Space field trip.
See you around,
Māia.
Monday 21 May
Kia ora,
I love flying and today was a fantastic day to fly, I didn’t even have to flap my wings! It only took an hour to fly from Dunedin to Christchurch and it was so good to look out over my home range – Ka Tiritiri o te Moana/The Southern Alps.
A fresh layer of snow made the mountains look even more inviting. Tomorrow we begin out Techie Tour with a ride in a self-driving car – I can’t wait!
See you then,
Māia.
Tuesday 22 May
Kia ora,
We started the day with a ride in a self-driving electric vehicle. It felt strange not seeing anyone driving but I soon got used to it. Because these vehicles are electric they make no noise, so you had to keep an eye out for them. Luckily self-driving cars have sensors and cameras on them so they can detect what is around them and avoid obstacles.
We also learned about the technology that planes use to navigate. I prefer to use my natural instincts and great inbuilt sense of direction, but I can see that GPS would be useful too! I’m going to catch up on some sleep now.
Bye for now,
Māia.
Wednesday 23 May
Kia ora,
We have had such a busy day today. We met lots of different experts and school students from Verdon College. I learned that you need a station on the ground to collect information from satellites and track things in space. These stations use huge satellite antennas or dishes to send and receive information.
A highlight of the day was launching the drone. It did not fly as well as me but it could carry a camera and was better at following instructions than I am. We are now heading back to Dunedin for the final day of our Techy Tour during Tech Week.
See you there,
Māia.
Thursday 24 May
Kia ora,
After all our travelling around this week I was feeling pretty tired today. At least it was a lot warmer than yesterday! Our mission for the day was to find out more about what surveyors do. I discovered that surveyors are experts in measuring and they have to be very accurate. Surveyors use different tools to help them measure. I helped Richard the surveyor find boundary pegs so he could map property boundaries. It was cool to see a wetland that had been surveyed out at Karitane so it could be protected.
Well it has been a very busy Tech Week so I’m looking forward to a rest.
See you on another field trip soon,
Māia.
Māia the LEARNZ ambassador is looking forward to the Land, Sky and Space field trip. Image: LEARNZ.
Māia has a look around Cathedral Square in Christchurch where there are still reminders of the 2011 earthquakes. Image: LEARNZ.
Māia prepares for a ride in a self-driving vehicle. Image: LEARNZ.
Māia takes a look inside the cockpit of a plane and sees that even aeronautical charts are digital now. Image: LEARNZ.
Māia checks out the satellite antennas at the Awarua Satellite Ground Station that receive information from satellites in space. Image: LEARNZ.
Māia visits a wetland which has been surveyed and mapped so it can be protected. Image: LEARNZ.