My last week of school (last Monday), I had the pleasure of exploring the Auckland (War) Museum in downtown Auckland with my students. The museum had plenty of phenomenal exhibits to venture through, but our school took a few hours to:
World War I Hall of Memories
World War II Hall of Memories
Pou Kanohi New Zealand at War
Pou Maumahara Discovery Centre
Scars on the Heart
Spitfire and Zero
Māori performance
Til this day, I knew plenty about the Māori culture from research, Rotorua's village, school performances, cultural traditions, and hanging out with all my kiwi friends. However, not only had I not reflected on WWI or WWII since learning in 4th grade and briefly at university, but definitely not from a culturally different perspective. Woah.
I was astounded by the lack of knowledge and awareness I had for the militaries around the world. For me, I'm always so caught up about how Americans were or are involved and, maybe, how others see us in global events; although I never really considered other points of view for these historical events.
Field trips in elementary school: Yay! No reading!
Field trips in middle school: Eh awesome, no homework or responsibilities today
Field trips as a teacher: Guys, isn't this fascinating? Did you read all the fun facts and details? What about really embracing this cultural experience?
It's crazy how perspectives change.
Since May, I've focused on taking experiences in versus just relying on pictures. There's something about the smell of the ocean, trees on the mountains, and kind "kia ora's" that do not do the pictures or videos any justice...although, I did try a few times for
those "teachable moments" at the museum I thought when the students really did become engaged in the exhibits.
The exhibits had artifacts including badges and awards and suitcases and letters and almost everything you can imagine from the two world wars. I was reflecting on how important and valuable these things might be to me, or what might appear in a museum if we had a world war happening right now...just got pretty deep. Thankfully the kids were respectful and mature about these exhibits and even referred their friends to certain parts, including a few cool recordings of conversations between nurses, soldiers, parents, and officers. There were even a few bunkers and hideouts remade with gunshots going off around the exhibit, basically 5D in movie-terminology. The fun didn't stop there, though...
Matariki:
"name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in mid-winter and for many Māori, it heralds the start of a new year. Matariki literally means the 'eyes of god' (mata ariki) or 'little eyes' (mata riki)" - Te Ara
Our final exhibit was about Matariki. This guide explained how this celebration began with the legends and myths of the six sisters. While there are a few versions today, she told us the long and extensive one I can't exactly remember. However, I can recall there were two parents who were inseparable. They had over 70 kids who all grew up in darkness because they covered the light as it couldn't enter. Once the kids were older, they wanted to find the light; so they each tried using their "power" or "gift" to split them apart. After a few of them tried, one successfully accomplished the goal and there was light. One of the sons sacrificed his eyes and threw them up to the sun becoming the stars. Don't ask me why, that's just what I can remember. You'll just have to come to NZ yourself to find out more (or Google). Below is a video of our guide explaining each of the stars and what their power or gift is...
After three hours of touring and remembering history, we ate lunch followed by a Māori cultural performance. I saw the performance at Whakarewarewa, but this show included more explanations for certain movements, attire, and chanting.
After a long day and a kid's lost phone, we all successfully made it back in one piece. The phone was eventually found and we made it back by the bell. Talk about being quite the field trip.
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