As part of a learning programme about Matariki, stars and constallations, on June 8 students in Y5/6 became real astronomers. The group headed off to the Stargazers rotating observatory in Kuaotunu to see first hand what these celestial bodies looked like viewed through a large research telescope. The observatory is owned and run by local astronomer, Alistair Brickell and he generously gave us his time and shared his expertise. The weather was on our side and we were able to see stars, the moon and planets not normally visible to the naked eye. It was a fantatstic opportunity for our students to add to their understanding of the night sky and make sense of what they can see.
- My first favourite part was Saturn. It was cool with the ring on it and the little dot under Saturn. Katheryn
- I think it was an amazing experience to see the moon, Saturn, Scorpio and heaps more. Jamie.
- My favourite part of the evening was when you showed us “the Million Stars”. It was fascinating to see how many stars there are in just a blurry dot. Ashlynne
- Thank you for letting me hold the asteroid. It was very heavy. Cameron
- The Southern Cross was cool. Seeing the Southern Cross in real life was like a dream with all the stars. Alpha, Betta, Gama, and Delta. Paige
- I enjoyed seeing that the craters on the moon. Kaya
- I loved the BIG telescope. We even got to see Saturn and the moon. I was amazed. Isabella
- When I saw the million stars I was amazed. It was cool. Brandon
- The craters on the moon were cool. Ethan.
