NASA’s aircraft SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) is in Christchurch and is offering you one chance to tour., between 11am and 3pm on Saturday July 20. The last boarding time is 2:30pm.
Saturday, 20 July 2019
11am – 3pm
Across the road from International Antarctic Centre
41 Orchard Road
Christchurch, Canterbury
Free
Registration and Terms and Conditions
Information on the SOFIA aircraft
We know a lot about the plants we grow but what’s hiding in between the roots and stems? Help us uncover the garden’s secrets.
This 24-hour Bioblitz offers the opportunity for children and families to look into the diversity of plants and animals that live at the Wellington Botanic Garden. Scientists from around the country, Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden and individual volunteers will help analyse the secrets of the garden. The results of the Bioblitz will be made publicly available.
We’re in a race to snapshot as many different species in the Botanic Garden as we can within 24-hours. As a super science sleuth, you’ll use iNaturalist, the latest mobile phone technology so that you can make solo discoveries. If you prefer to work in a team, our field trips will give you the upper hand with an expert leading the pack.
Join our special 150th anniversary BioBlitz and help us discover what’s really living and growing in the garden in 2019.
3pm, 5 April – 3pm, 6 April 2019
Wellington Botanic Garden
Friday 5 April 2019
2.25pm Opening Ceremony at Soundshell Lawn.
3pm – 7pm: Official start and public picnic at Soundshell Lawn.
3pm – 8pm: Bioblitz HQ is open at Treehouse Visitor Centre.
8.30pm: Bioblitz Guided Walk: Titiwai – New Zealand’s Glow Worm. (More about this walk at bottom of page)
Saturday 6 April 2019
8.30am – 3.15pm: Bioblitz HQ is open at Treehouse Visitor Centre.
11am-3pm: Video Booth at Treehouse Visitor Centre Carpark.
10am – 11am: Bioblitz Guided Walk: Tiny plants that are everywhere.
12.30pm – 1:45pm: Bioblitz Guided Walk: From ground level to tree tops.
1.45pm – 2:45pm : Bioblitz Guided Walk: The Wonderful World of Weeds.
3pm: Close of the Bioblitz
Free.
Bookings are required for free guided walks. Book your spot on a FREE tour by clicking on the guided walk links in the public programme above.
You may participate in the Bioblitz without joining the walks.
You need to have a smartphone with camera and ability to upload photos and information using the iNaturalist app.
Wellington Gardens event page.
Eventfinda event page.
iNaturalistNZ event page.
iNaturalistNZ website and twitter @inaturalistnz
Download and install the iNaturalist app on your smartphone
Bioblitz Guided Walk: Titiwai – New Zealand’s Glow Worm
This is the only walk sold out when this page was created. A guided walk called “Glow in the dark titiwai tours – New Zealand glow worms” is also by Wellington’s Botanic Gardens on other Fridays. $6 per person and Free for children under 12. Eventfinda event with dates and tickets.
The IDEAS Festival is a fun day of learning and exploration through self-selected interactive sessions in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths (STEAM).
We partner with local tertiary institutions to give students access to a campus with world class facilities for thrilling sessions and learning outside the classroom.
The event inspires future generations by providing high-quality workshops that challenge, excite, and spark ideas. These hands-on, state of the art experiences are led by enthusiastic experts and offer students the opportunity to examine the concepts that challenge and shape their futures.
The
IDEAS Festival creates Eureka moments – when an idea resonates,
aspirations are nurtured and a potential future pathway is visualised.
9am – 3pm
Thursday, 11 April 2019 ( Primary, Year 5-6 )
Friday, 12 April 2019 ( Intermediate, Year 7-8 )
NMIT – Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology – Nelson
322 Hardy st
Nelson
$54.07
IDEAS Festival Website
Timetable and list of events for Primary / Intermediate
Registration for Primary Students
Registration for Intermediate Students
SuperDaughter Day (SDD) is coming to Auckland! Join us as we explore the exciting world of STEM through a range of activities.
About SuperDaughter Day
SuperDaughter
Day is an annual International Women’s Day Event hosted by WORK180.
Since 2016, over 3000 girls aged 5-12 years old became superheroes along
with the parents, exploring the exciting world of STEM (science,
technology, engineering, maths).
The girls participated in a wide range of hands-on activities, including:
Apart from participating in engaging workshops, the girls also have an opportunity to meet inspiring female role models, enjoy cupcakes and receive a goodie bag to take home. The event is held in capital cities in Australia and New Zealand. We are 100% not-for-profit.
This event is for Girls aged 5-12
9 March 2019
Session 1: 10am – 1pm
Session 2: 2pm – 5pm
Conference Centre
Spark City
167 Victoria Street West
Auckland CBD
$25 for girls (plus booking fee)
Adults come free (you MUST book an adult ticket with your girl’s ticket)
WiDS Wellington is an independent event organised by Victoria University of Wellington to coincide with the annual Global Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference held at Stanford University and an estimated 150+ locations worldwide. All genders are invited to attend WiDS regional events, which features outstanding women doing outstanding work.
The Global WiDS Conference aims to inspire and educate data scientists worldwide, regardless of gender, and to support women in the field.
This one-day conference provides an opportunity to hear about the latest data science related research and applications in a number of domains, and connect with others in the field.
Please save the date (all day) for a stimulating day of talks for practicing data scientists (and professionals in related fields) as well as those considering a career in data science.
Saturday 9 March 2019
8:30am – 6:16pm
Rutherford House
23 Lambton Quay
Pipitea campus, Victoria University
Wellington
Free
A talk by Duncan Steel
In this talk I will outline the activities of CSST, which was founded last year in Alexandra as one of the government’s Regional Research Institutes. Fundamentally the role of CSST is to provide expertise in the utilisation of satellite-derived imagery for the good of New Zealand: to plug the gap that exists between the torrent of Earth observation data streaming down from orbit and the potential end-users who are largely unaware of what ‘space can do for them’. Applications include the identification of illegal fishing by vessels in the Antarctic Ocean, the early detection of cyanobacteria blooms in NZ’s thousands of lakes, the mapping of how the country is changing shape under seismic and volcanic shifts, right through to the monitoring of the growth and health of crops ranging from grass to grapes.
About the speaker:
Over the past thirty years Duncan has worked on space projects in the US, UK, Australia, Sweden, Canada and NZ. His research has focussed largely on asteroids, comets and meteors, but he has also been involved in planning missions to Mars and the search for life elsewhere. Additionally he is an expert on the history and astronomical basis of calendars.
Duncan is the author of four books, over 140 research papers, and more than a thousand articles in newspapers and magazines published around the globe. He has appeared in dozens of TV documentaries, and hundreds of radio interviews.
Asteroid 4713 Steel is named for him, as is a lunar-roving robot in one of Arthur C. Clarke’s science-fiction novels.
Space Enthusiasts & Professionals Meetup (Wellington)
This is for anyone interested in creating a space ecosystem, industry and community in New Zealand in light of a new resurgence of interest in space technologies, capabilities and exploration. The intent is to find like-minded enthusiasts (no space background required!) and professionals interested in making this happen in New Zealand through informal gatherings to share ideas, network and potentially collaborate in space projects.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
5:30pm – 7pm
Level 10
BNZ Partner Center
1 Victoria Street
Wellington
Free
Meetup page for the talk by Duncan Steel
Meetup page for the Space Enthusiasts & Professionals Meetup Group
Facebook page for the Space Enthusiasts & Professionals Meetup Group
Who says you can’t star gaze during the day?
The Sun is the star at the centre of our solar system; but, because of the harm it can do to your eyes, you should never look directly at the Sun without the proper solar gear. The Wellington Astronomical Society will set up special solar telescopes for you to view the Sun safely. Come and see if you can find sunspots and solar flares!
This event is part of the International Astronomical Union’s 100 Hours of Astronomy.
11 January 2019
1pm – 2pm
War Memorial Library,
Cnr Queens Drive and Woburn Road, Lower Hutt, Wellington
Free
Event on Hutt City Library‘s What’s on page, Facebook event and Eventfinda.
Backed by the Ministry for the Environment, and working alongside Department of Conservation and Statistics New Zealand, our multi-award winning charity Sustainable Coastlines is delivering a project to create grassroots solutions to litter in Aotearoa.
As part of this project, we are offering free training workshops for individuals and groups who would like to take part in ongoing litter data collection on their local coastline. The workshop will pass on the skills in surveying, data collection, and Health & Safety that will allow you to play an important part in this long-term effort.
This “Citizen Science” project will allow you to contribute data to New Zealand’s first national beach litter database, meaning that the information collected reaches those that need it for decision-making.
In terms of the level of commitment required from your group, the project is ongoing and ideally each of the monitoring sites will be surveyed a minimum of 4 times per year, for at least the next 3 years. We are setting up 108 sites like these around Aotearoa and this long-term data will play a critical role in proving the litter problem and helping to prioritise solutions.
We will be working around the following towns and regions during the dates listed below, and would love to organise a free Citizen Science workshop specifically for your group during these dates. Simply click ‘Book workshop’ to email our friendly team with a date that works for you. Find out more about the project and the workshops in the sections below.
Workshop details
Date: We’ll arrange a workshop specifically for your group. Just let us know the date and time that suits best within the dates that we’re in your region.
Timing: 3-4 hours.
Location(s): We will run a 2-hour workshop session at a nearby indoor space of your choosing, eg surf club, community centre, marae etc, followed by a Litter Survey at a local beach / coast that you would like to collect data from on an ongoing basis. This will be your “Monitoring Site”. Sustainable Coastlines will assist you with your monitoring site selection. Please let us know your beach and indoor location preference(s) so we can make arrangements.
Capacity: 3-10 ‘Citizen Scientists’. We highly recommended that a minimum of 3 people from your organisation / community group attend so that leadership and knowledge can be spread.
Northland: Mon 28 Jan to Fri 1 Feb. Book workshop.
Auckland: Tue 12 Feb to Thu 21 Feb. Book workshop.
Coromandel: Mon 4 Feb to Fri 8 Feb. Book workshop.
Waikato West Coast: Tue 19 Mar to Thu 28 Mar. Book a workshop.
Taranaki (New Plymouth & North): Tue 16 Apr to Thu 25 Apr. Book workshop.
Taranaki (South of New Plymouth): Tue 2 Apr to Thu 11 Apr. Book workshop.
Manawatu-Whanganui: Tue 5 Mar to Thu 14 Mar. Book workshop.
Wairarapa: Tue 30 Apr to Thu 9 May. Book workshop.
Wellington: Tue 5 Feb to Thu 14 Feb. Book workshop.
Can’t see your town or region above?! Never fear. We’ll be in touch again in the next few months as we confirm dates for our next roadshow from May 2019. Eventually we will set-up at least 108 long-term Monitoring Sites all around Aotearoa, so there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved.
Free
Your space rocket has crash landed on an alien planet – how will you survive? What will you eat and how will you breathe? Life on an alien planet is tenuous, and the answer to surviving in this harsh environment is plants.
Plants are life!
Join us for family fun at Gardeners of the galaxy this summer and find out how plants are essential for life in space. Take one small step into life as an astronaut as you discover the tools needed for survival on an alien planet.
? Start your space mission at our Visitor Centre – pick up a Mission Sheet for kids, visit our crash-landed rocket and take an astronaut selfie!
? Check out the experiments and live plants being grown in the Science Lab.
? Play fun games in our kids International Space Station and get creative with our Future Plants colouring wall.
? Head outside to try MOTAT rocket power activities and take our Solar System Walk.
? Join us for free special events and activities including star-gazing in the Gardens, solar-gazing and more! Keep an eye on our website or Facebook to find out what’s on (please note some events have limited spaces and will require advance booking).
? Get extra fun facts and videos on your space mission using the STQRY app on your phone – see below for links to download the STQRY app.
Brought to you by the Auckland Botanic Gardens and Auckland Council in association with Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, MOTAT, Hyalite and the Auckland Astronomical Society.
1 December 2018 to 10 March 2019
Hours:
Gardens open 8am to 8pm every day.
Visitor centre is open daily from 8am – 4.30pm (closed Christmas Day).
Auckland Botanical Gardens
102 Hill Road, Manurewa, Auckland 2105.
Free.
Event information including links to apps on Auckland Botanic Gardens site and Facebook event.
JOIN US UNDER THE STARS FOR A NIGHT OF STARGAZING.
The first session starts before the sunset in order to explain very basic concepts about astronomy, telescopes, and photography. After that, you will have opportunities to observe the craters and mountains on the Moon, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and the rings of Saturn.
You will also have a chance to observe deep sky objects like star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies.
The sessions will target different objects and topics every day. Since these events are weather dependent, on occasions we may need to postpone the event at short notice. If this happens, you will receive a txt message in your mobile, one hour prior to the event, and your booking will be transferred to the next available session.
Even though the sessions end late, these activities are family friendly and ideal for kids. You will have a nice opportunity to learn more about the solar system and the Universe, and also to motivate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in young minds. Some telescopes and additional resources will be available for use. Including telescopes that can be operated by kids.
We will help you to identify bright stars and major constellations. During each observing session, we will teach participants to find those elusive patterns in the sky with a simple monthly star map and a green laser pointer that projects a visible beam into the sky. Just like at a planetarium but under the real night sky!
In order to insure safety, protect equipment and to enhance everyone enjoyment, we ask that you follow the Code of Conduct:
22 December 2018
9:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Maraetai Beach,
Maraetai Coast Rd, Maraetai, Auckland
Stargazing Labs are taking place from Maraetai Beach, Maraetai, at just 40 minutes from the Auckland CBD. This beautiful location offers stunning views of the night sky and low light pollution coming from the city. This is key to allow long-term expositions to capture amazing pictures of the deep sky objects like nebulae and galaxies.
There are four public parking (free) available (+40 cars capacity) and public toilets close to the observation area.
$0 – $16.09
Under 5 yrs: free
Child (5 – 15 yrs): $10+fees.
General Admission: $15 + fees.
Please book here.
Stargazing Lab, Eventbrite event and Facebook event.
Organised by Skylabs http://skylabs.co.nz/
