Programme
What is the Science Roadshow?
The Science Roadshow is a mobile science discovery centre. Annually traverses the length of New Zealand in a 15 metre truck and trailer. This initiative brings an array range of captivating interactive science and technology exhibits directly into communities. The Science Roadshow’s mission is to bolster science education in New Zealand schools through science outreach.
Offering an engaging, lively, and interactive learning encounter of science for children, a visit to the Science Roadshow encompasses live shows and hands-on exhibits that expand students’ comprehension of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This endeavor strongly supports the Nature of Science strand and the Five Foundational Science Capabilities.
Each year our shows, themes and exhibits change, so there’s always something new for students to learn and engage with.
A range of over 60 hands-on exhibits grouped under the following six themes:
2023 programme:
- Rocks and minerals — Ngā toka me ngā kohuke
- Helping the senses — Te āwhina i ngā tairongo
- Light properties — Ngā āhuatanga aho
- Movement — Te nekeneke
- Observation and inference — Te mātakitaki me te hīkaro
- Pressure — Te pēhanga
2024 Exhibits themes are:
- The body — Te tinana tangata
- Energy — Te Pūngao
- Materials — Ngā Matū
- Measurement — Te Inenga
- Spinning and whizzing — Te Porotiti me te pūrorohū
- Telling the difference — Te Tautohu ki te rerekētanga
Additionally, two captivating live shows are presented:
Our 2023 shows are:
Mighty Materials — Unveiling physical and chemical properties of substances, such as metals and fabrics, and illustrating their diverse applications in everyday scenarios.
Sounding Out Waves — Delving into the attributes of sound, including pitch, volume, how fast it travels, what substances it travels through, how it travels and the many effects these have on audible and inaudible phenomena.
The shows for 2024 are:
- Hidden Worlds — Te Whakaaturanga Ao Huna
Aspects of the world that cannot be seen without the aid of special equipment - Spectacular Changes — Te Whakaaturanga Panoni Matū Miharo
A look at physical and chemical changes
During your visit to the Science Roadshow the experience is structured as follows:
A school visit to the Roadshow lasts for 70 minutes and is divided into three sections:
First show — As each session begins your students may be joined by those from other schools, depending on numbers. One of our two shows is then presented to the entire group. This takes around 15 minutes.
Interactive exhibit exploration — Each of our exhibits is set up around the hall according to its theme. Your students will have approximately 40 minutes to explore each of the activities. To help them out, each exhibit has a context board which includes information about how to use the exhibit, the science behind it, and where such things occur in everyday life. A number of the exhibits also have student explainers — senior students from the host school, who are there to assist visiting students gain the most from their Roadshow experience.
Second show — The second of our two shows is now presented, then your students return to school.
Free Resources:
All teachers who book and bring students to the Roadshow get comprehensive and complimentary resources that offers stimulating classroom ready activities for pre- and post-visit classroom experiences, including a complete science unit. These experiences and resources will provide support for your learning programme(s).
2024 Resource Book includes a unit plan on Sustainable Energy Te Pūngao toitū.
(This will be available to download early January).
Price
$10 per student, accompanying teachers and adults free.
