Marine Education

In Native Animals, your tamariki will be engaged in an interactive educational session, learning about some of New Zealand's incredible animal taonga.  We focus on kiwi, penguins and tuatara and the environments they live in.  This session includes hands on activities, puppets and a story.

Duration: 30 minutes (please allow yourself time after your session to explore the Aquarium)

Capacity: 30 students

This programme is only available to book on Tuesday and Thursday mornings

Tamariki learn that animals are grouped in different ways, and how to identify which group an animal belongs to.  This session includes hands on activities, puppets and a story.

Duration: 30 minutes (please allow yourself time after your session to explore the Aquarium)

Capacity: 30 students

This programme is only available to book on Tuesday and Thursday mornings

Education sessions designed just for 3-5 year olds. We're inviting friends and caregivers to bring along their little-ones to enjoy ocean themed activities, nature play, stories and crafts.  Your little explorers will be immersed in nature and the world around them with changing themes such as learning about our wetlands, coral reefs, Antarctica, and a range of animals, reptiles and sea life.

When: 10.30am-11:30am, Monday's & Wednesday's during term time

Where: Oceanarium main hall

Cost: Part of general admission / free for Friends of Aquarium members

In The Plastic Problem, students explore the impact plastic and rubbish have on aquatic environments. The interdependence of living things, food chains and pollution are also covered and examined by students during this unit.

Age Group: Year 1-8 (Level 1-5)

Duration: 1 hour* (30-minute lesson and 30-minute hands-on lab session).
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the programme.

Capacity: 40

Learning Spaces: Education Room and Mad Scientist Lab at the Aquarium.

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living World, Planet Earth and Beyond.

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Develop an understanding that water, air, rocks and soil, and life forms, make up our planet and recognise that these are also Earth’s resources.
• Appreciate that humans can affect interconnecting systems and processes of the Earth in both positive and negative ways.

Learn all about our cartilaginous friends, sharks and stingrays.  Should we be afraid or them….or should they be afraid of US?

Discover the fascinating biodiversity of the worlds shark species and handle real stingray barbs and shark teeth (live shark not attached!)

Age Group: Year 1-6 (Level 1-4)

Duration: 30 minutes 
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the programme.

Capacity: 30

Learning Space: Education Room at the Aquarium.

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living World, Life processes, Ecology.

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Extend their experiences and personal explanations of the natural world through exploration, play, asking questions, and discussing simple models.
• Recognise that all living things have certain requirements so they can stay alive.
• Recognise that living things are suited to their particular habitat.

Life for animals on Hardinge Road's Rocky Shore in Napier is never easy! Every day these animals are battered by the tides, changes in temperature and salinity, and predators.  

In the Rocky Shore Lesson, students will discover how crabs, sea snails, starfish, sea anemones and fish adapt to protect themselves in this ever-changing rocky shore tide-pool habitat.  

Age Group:  Year 1-8 (Level 1-5)  

Duration: 1 hour* (30-minute lesson and 30-minute activity session).
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the programme.  

Capacity:  40  

Learning Space: Education Room at the Aquarium.

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living World, Life Processes, Ecology  

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Extend their experiences and personal explanations of the natural world through exploration, play, asking questions, and discussing simple models. 
• Recognise that all living things have certain requirements so they can stay alive.  
• Recognise that living things are suited to their particular habitat.

Our Aquarium educators can meet your class at Hardinge Road in Napier for a Rocky Shore Visit. While there they'll help with identification of the rocky shore's residents while discussing the adaptations, food chains, tidal zones and conservation of the rocky shore environment.  

The Rocky Shore visit has a minimal charge to cover our transportation and time, starting at $50 per class with discounts for larger groups.

If you wish you can also visit the National Aquarium for follow-up activities either on the same day, or at a later date (normal school rates apply).  

The best times to visit Hardinge Road's Rocky Shore are up to two hours before low tide and up to one hour after low tide. Check out our Rocky Shore Tide Calendar here.

Age Group:  Year 1-8 (Level 1-5)  

Duration: 1.5 hours    

Capacity:  100+  

Learning Space: Hardinge Road's Rocky Shore by the playground.

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living World, Life Processes, Ecology

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Extend their experiences and personal explanations of the natural world through exploration, play, asking questions, and discussing simple models. 
• Recognise that all living things have certain requirements so they can stay alive.  
• Recognise that living things are suited to their particular habitat.

 Put your senses to the test as we learn about the incredible adaptations of our largest freshwater fish, the longfin eel.
Sniff, taste and feel your way through our hands-on activities illustrating the way eels sense the world as they journey through their lifecycle.

Discover the mystery of how these unique New Zealand fish journey thousands of kilometers across the Pacific ocean to find their home.

(Note for food allergies - This lesson involves tasting a low concentration of sugar and food colouring in water)

Age Group: Year 1-8  (Level 1-4)  

Duration: 1 hour

*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the aquarium at your own pace after the programme.  

Capacity:  30  

Learning Space: Education Room at the Aquarium and on gallery at the Shortfin eel tank

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living world, Ecology.

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Explain how living things are suited to their particular habitat and how they respond to environmental changes, both natural and human-induced.  
• Extend their experiences and personal explanations of the natural world through exploration, play, asking questions, and discussing simple models.

Dive into dinosaurs and learn about ancient life in Aotearoa. Discover what makes a dinosaur different from other reptiles, and how a fossil forms.

Become a paleontologist as you handle real fossils from the amazing Joan Wiffen fossil collection, and then create your own plaster cast fossil to take home and extract yourself!   

Age Group: Year 1-6 (Level 1-4)  

Duration: 1 hour* (30-minute hands on lesson and 30-minute fossil making session)
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the programme.  

Capacity: 30

Learning Space: Education Room at the Aquarium.   

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living World, Evolution, Planet Earth and Beyond.  

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Explain how we know that some living things from the past are now extinct.  
• Appreciate that water, air, rocks and soil, and life forms make up our planet and recognise that these are also Earth’s resources.

By listening to the local Māori legend Pania of the Reef, students learn about the local taonga that is Pania Reef. Discover the multitude of species that call the reef home, and how the use of the reef has changed over time.   Pania also faces her share of challenges – learn about some of the sustainability issues of the ocean.

Age Group:  Year 1-10 (Level 1-6)

Duration: 30 – 45 mins (age dependent)
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the programme.  

Capacity:  30

Learning Space: Education Room at the Aquarium.

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living world, Ecology, Planet Earth and Beyond, Social Studies.   

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Understand how cultural practices reflect and express people’s customs, traditions, and values.  
• Explain how living things are suited to their particular habitat and how they respond to environmental changes, both natural and human-induced. 
• Recognise that living things are suited to their particular habitat.

Adaptations – all fish have them! In this session students discover how diverse ranges of aquatic animals adapt to survive in their environment. Learn how to tell instantly if a fish is fast or slow, predator or prey, and where they might live in an environment.   

Students will observe examples of fish defences including camouflage, schooling, fish communication and body design.  

Age Group:  Year 1-6 (Level 1-4)

Duration: 1 hour* (30-minute lesson and 30-minute activity session).
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the programme.   

Capacity: 40  

Learning Space: Education Room at the Aquarium. 

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living world, Evolution, Ecology. 

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Recognise that all living things have certain requirements so they can stay alive.  
• Explain how living things are suited to their particular habitat and how they respond to environmental changes, both natural and human-induced.

In Primo Penguins students get to brush up close with these captivating little birds. They'll discover how penguins survive in the incredibly harsh environments they inhabit and learn about what really makes them who they are and live the way they do.

Also covered in this unit are conservation issues and what we as humans can do to help protect penguins.  

Age Group:  Year 1-6 (Level 1-4) 

Duration: 1 hour* (30-minute lesson and 30-minute activity session)
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the programme.  

Capacity:  40  

Learning Space: Education Room at the Aquarium.

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living world, Ecology.

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Explain how living things are suited to their particular habitat and how they respond to environmental changes, both natural and human-induced.  
• Extend their experiences and personal explanations of the natural world through exploration, play, asking questions, and discussing simple models.

Ever wondered what it takes to operate the National Aquarium's Oceanarium? In Technology at the Aquarium, students will get a behind-the-scenes look at the technology that keeps the Aquarium running. They'll also get to test the salinity, pH and temperature of the water from the Aquarium's tanks to solve a mystery water puzzle.     

Age Group:  Year 4-8 (Level 2-5)  

Duration: 1 hour* (30-minute lab testing session and 30-minute tour activity)
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the programme.   

Capacity:  40  

Learning Spaces: Education Room and Mad Scientist Lab at the Aquarium.

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living World, Life processes, Ecology  

Intended Learning Outcomes ...

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Ask questions, find evidence, explore simple models, and carry out appropriate investigations to develop simple explanations.

This session is also available on-site at your school for Napier, Hastings and Central Hawkes Bay schools.

In the Life at the Boundary lesson, your students will uncover more about how the Hikurangi Plate boundary shapes Hawke's Bay’s relationship to earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions. 

Learn about the cutting edge science used to study patterns and risks for natural hazards. Hands-on and engaging activities will set a solid framework for their learning with mini sessions focusing on liquefaction and tsunami.

Age Group: Years 9-11 (Level 4-6)    

Duration: 1 hour 
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the lesson. 

Learning Space: Education Room at the National Aquarium 

Capacity: 30  

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Investigating in Science and Communicating in Science, Planet Earth and Beyond, Interacting Systems, Earth Systems, Social Studies, Physical World.

Intended Learning Outcomes

After the programme, students will be able to:

• Describe how natural features are changed and resources affected by natural events and human actions.

Who eats who out there in the ocean? Food webs are central to understanding how aquatic ecosystems work. In the Food Webs & Adaptations students examine marine food webs to develop an appreciation of the interactions between life forms beneath the surface.

Students will also handle biofacts that show the adaptations that animals have to help them feed (or avoid being food!). Students identify examples of structural, behavioural and physiological adaptations in the Aquarium's animals to further develop their understanding and knowledge.

Duration: 1 hour* (30-minute lesson + 30-minute activity session).
*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the Aquarium at your own pace after the lesson.

Learning Space: Education Room. 

Topics Covered: Science, Living World, Life Processes, Ecology.

The Gas Exchange & Dissection lesson compliments NCEA 2.6 and comprises three activities:    

• Dissection – Focus on the internal and external features of fish, in particular looking at the gill structures and how they work in the respiration process. 
• Dissolved Oxygen Experiment – Students take samples at four different tanks around the Aquarium, and compare dissolved oxygen levels between various temperature levels.  
• Gas Exchange Tour – Did you know there are fish that can drown underwater? Or that some types of turtle can breathe using their bottoms? This guided tour of the Aquarium focuses on the structures and techniques animals use to breathe in the aquatic world.  

Age Group: Year 12 (NCEA Level 2)  

Duration: 1.5 hours 

Capacity: 30   

Learning Space: Education Lab at the Aquarium.

The free Rocky Shore Transects Study lesson compliments Year 12 topics on distribution and zonation. Aquarium experts will meet your class at the Hardinge Road Rocky Shore and provide support as you run your transect studies. 

We can provide thermometers, hydrometers and ID Charts as well as expert knowledge on all of the species you will find in your quadrats.

Check out our Rocky Shore Tide Calendar for low tides within the school day.

The National Aquarium can facilitate your animal responses practical investigations for NCEA AS 91603. You group will be able to self-direct their daphnia response experiments in our well stocked lab, with a range of options for possible tests.

Start with an introduction to daphnia by an aquarium educator and a tour of the lab equipment. Your class can then have the use of the lab and education room for the rest of the day to conduct your experiments.

Age Group: Year 13 (NCEA Level 3)

Duration: All day

Capacity: 20

Learning Space: Education Lab at the Aquarium.

Cost: Secondary admission rate plus an additional one-off $65.00 for the daphnia.

This hands-on session introduces learners to the many specialised adaptations of native New Zealand tuna. 

Discover how these eels navigate their way across vast oceanic distances to find their freshwater habitats using super senses.  Put your own senses to the test as you sniff, feel and taste your way through hands-on activities illustrating the biology of tuna.

This session compliments freshwater studies as part of NCEA level 1 AS91920.

(Note for food allergies - This lesson involves tasting a low concentration of sugar and food colouring in water)

Age Group: Year 9-11 

Duration: 1 hour

*We suggest allowing at least 30 minutes to self-guide through the aquarium at your own pace after the programme.  

Capacity:  30  

Learning Space: Education Room at the Aquarium and on gallery at the Shortfin eel tank

Topics Covered: Nature of Science, Living world, Ecology.

Te Kawa O Tangaroa is an ocean-centred learning programme from the Marine Stewardship Council. Partnering with National Aquarium of New Zealand, the programme is focussed on solutions to overfishing and how we can ensure oceans teeming with life.  The resource is aligned to the New Zealand National Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (Maori Curriculum) and designed for learners in Years 7-10 of the New Zealand education system.

Free teacher workshops, virtual classroom events and the full resource can be found on the Marine Stewardship Council's website, or feel free to contact a member of our education team to learn more and incorporate this programme as part of your curriculum.

Learn more or contact our education team

Introduce your international students to four of our NZ native superstar species that they will see at the National Aquarium.

This 30 minute chat sets the scene for international students to see our nationally and culturally significant species: kiwi, little penguins, tuatara and tuna - our native eels.  This session includes some hands-on exploration of biofacts such as kiwi feathers and a tuatara skull!

After the talk, feel free to explore the Aquarium at your own pace or catch a feeding time or diver show.

Age Group: Year 0 – 13

Duration: 30 minutes, then explore the Aquarium for as long as you like.

Capacity: 30

Learning Space: Education room