Bringing education to the play

We met with many educators to learn about how the playground could be a space for them to educate.

• CPlay volunteers aimed to align with the New Zealand education curriculum, which emphasizes the inclusion of local content about the world around children.
• They integrated indigenous knowledge, local flora and fauna, and cultural elements into the design of the public playground.
• Interactive signage and exhibits were created to educate children about the natural environment and indigenous culture, in line with curriculum objectives.
• Nature-based play activities were developed to engage children with their surroundings and promote learning through exploration.
• Community engagement initiatives were implemented to involve local residents in the development and maintenance of the playground, ensuring ongoing relevance to the community and its educational goals.
• Overall, the volunteers worked to create a playground experience that not only provided fun and recreation but also enriched children's understanding of their local environment and cultural heritage.

We learnt about the New Zealand Curriculum: https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/

 

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The Explorer Mindset

One of our volunteers did a course on developing the explorer mind set with National Geographic to understand how we could bring education value to play space. https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org/
We learnt from the National Geographic Explorer mindset, that we could integrate natural elements, educational signage, and interactive exhibits to encourage children to explore and appreciate the environment. Sensory experiences and nature-based play activities were incorporated to stimulate curiosity and creativity. Environmental awareness programs were organized, and the community was involved in maintaining and developing the playground. Together, these efforts aimed to foster a deeper connection to nature and inspire future generations of explorers.

 

 

How we are activating the play space

 

We opened the playground in December 2023 and since then have been liasing with groups and offering free guided tours to help people connect to the stories and history that have inspired the playground. We created a free handout the people can print off them selves, as well as created resources that educators can use in their class before visiting the playground so when they arrive, the learning can be even more meaninful through play.

 

Fostering a deep connection to our past while preparing them for a vibrant future.

 

Schools are visiting the playground with local museum educators to facilitate lessons at Caroline Bay's new themed playground.We intertwined local histories and stories into the playground, but this is also intertwined in New Zealands education curriculum. It's not just about teaching from a standard curriculum; it's about embracing our unique identity and responding to the priorities, preferences, and issues of our community and our people. By anchoring our lessons in our local heritage, we can ensure that every child's educational experience is meaningful and relevant. Educators can utilieing the New Zealand curriculum as their framework, to include the strengths of all our learners, fostering a deep connection to our past while preparing them for a vibrant future.

 

The South Canterbury Museum educators visit the playground with a school class to deliver a mahika kai lesson. The whare themes and information panel was perfect location to help student learn about the world around them. - Photo Roselyn Fauth

 

School education lesson in the whare, learning about tuna (eels)  - Photo Roselyn Fauth

 

School class visit and have fun playing, pretending their ship is in trouble with museum educator Keely Kroening. - Photo Roselyn Fauth

 

Waimataitai held a after school meet the teacher event. - Photo Roselyn Fauth

 

Visit with CPlay volunteer Roselyn Fauth to learn about the history of the Bay. 

 

Some of the many students that have visited the playground with the schools. - Supplied by Waimataitai School

 

Artworks made in Mrs Perry's class at Waimataitai School.

 

Students artwork at Waimataitai School as part of their learning about Caroline Bays history in class as preparation for a playground education class visit.

 

Auckland Weekly News:  Wreck Of Sailing Ships Benvenue and City of Perth On May 10, 1882, At Timaru Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection: 19340711-41-02 See original here

 

 

The Tongan Society South Canterbury held their fanau (family) picnic as their last gathering for the 2023 year at CBay Playground. They told us they were proud to have been part of the CPlay design consultation, and appreciate seeing the link to Pacifica Peoples through the tropical flower, the frangipani.

 Photos - Sina Latu, South Canterbury Tongan Society

 

A group group of 43 Year 10 students from Timaru Boys High School having a great day out from the class room at the new playground at Caroline Bay - Photo Phil Robertshaw

 

 

 

CPlay volunteer Roselyn Fauth giving a guided tour to Timaru's Rotarians - Feb 2024 - Photo Lynette Wilson

 

Now that the playground has opened we are turning our focus to activating the play space and helping people connect to the stories and histories that inspired the playground. We have hosted many guided tours, hand outs, signage, website, and created education resources to help share the information

 

South Canterbury Museum Staff and Educators on a Guided Tour Around Playground with CPlay volunteer Roselyn Fauth - Photo Keely Kroening

 

South Canterbury Museum Educator Keely Kroening giving a playground history tour. - Photo Roselyn Fauth

 

"Empowering Education through Playground-Based Learning Success"

"The curriculum refresh for primary and secondary schools has a local focus, this includes Te Ao Māori, local history and natural history. For us in South Canterbury topics that are of great interest are the natural environment (geology), migration (Māori and European), mahika kai (food trails) and how the town developed and why. All of these topics are covered by the playground.

Play based learning is also something schools are interested in as research shows that this helps with everything from reading and writing to math's. Our approach in using the playground to run education sessions is to let the children play, tell them some of the history/knowledge behind the playground construction and then let them play again including the new knowledge that they have gained.

We have a number of schools that book in each year for an amazing race at Caroline Bay where they find clues about Timaru’s history. We are planning to extend this to included parts of the playground so that Māori history in also included.

At this stage we have two schools booked in to trial our new programme based at the playground. They are Waimataitai School (5 classes of new entrance to year 2 students approx. 80 students) and Beaconsfield school (approx. 100 students), the juniors are based at the playground and the seniors will visit the playground and then complete a historic walk in the CBD to link our early history with our more modern history. The plan is to use these trials to advertise to other schools how C-Play can be used as a teaching tool." - Keely Kroening South Canterbury Museum Educator

 

Roselyn Fauth and Owen Jackson show Karl Te Raki and MP James Megar around the new playground

 

CPlay volunteers Owen Jackson (OJ) and Roselyn Fauth gave Timaru Districts visitor promotion agency team Venture Timaru, a tour through the playground to help devise a communication and marketing plan to promote the playground nationally as a destination.  - Photo Roselyn Fauth

 

Sport South Canterbury filming in the playground to share stories about the new space - Photo Roselyn Fauth