The long term exhibition Huringa Kirikiriroa Shaping Hamilton is a chronological exploration of the development of this area using objects and taonga to present our story, from the arrival of the Tainui waka through to current day. 

This educator-led session supports the new Aotearoa NZ Histories curriculum by telling the narratives of our region. Students will explore our objects and taonga, hear some of the puuraakau of our local area, and understand changes over time.

Single class

2 hour programme. Up to 30 students. 

One hour in Huringa Kirikiriroa Shaping Hamilton exhibition with an educator, and one hour with an educator doing a second activity programme of your choosing (or an arts response session), with then time to explore the wider museum with our Eye Spy activity.

Larger groups

2 hour programme. Up to 60 students.

Option 1: One hour in Huringa Kirikiriroa Shaping Hamilton with an educator, and one hour of self-led time (in small, supervised groups) exploring the wider museum with our Eye Spy activity and suggestion cards for adults to engage with students. 

Option 2: One hour in Huringa Kirikiriroa Shaping Hamilton with a n educator, and one hour of self-led time in Exscite.

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences |Tikanga-ā-iwi
• Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories

Learning outcomes

Within the gallery education session, students will be exposed to the concepts of:

E kore au e ngaro; he kaakano i ruia mai i Rangiaatea.

We know who we are and where we come from; therefore we can move forward with confidence.

• Maaori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kaua e uhia te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te kara o Ingarangi. Engari me uhi anō ki tōu kahu Maaori, ki te kahu o tēnei motu ake.

"Do not drape The Treaty of Waitangi with the Union Jack of England, but rather with your Maaori cloak, which is of this country." - Āperahama Taonui, 1863

• Colonisation and settlement have been central to Aotearoa New Zealand’s history for the past 200 years.

Ko te pipi te tuatahi, ko te kaunuku te tuarua.

People use their agency to respond to injustice.

• Access to power and its use and misuse shape life experiences.
• Individuals, groups, and organisations exert and contest power in ways that improve the lives of people and communities, and in ways that lead to exclusion, injustice, and conflict. The course of Aotearoa New Zealand’s history has been shaped by the exercise and effects of power.