Visiting the playground with your students? Make your play at the bay even more meaningful and fun, with the Museum’s educators! They tailor their lessons to your curriculum free of charge, so you can help your students learn about the Bay and Timaru District’s stories, history, and environment through storytelling and play, to foster a deeper understanding of our local people and place. Book your playground visit with the South Canterbury Museum... 687 7212 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The stories that inspired CPlay...
One of the most meaningful types of play is when children engage their imaginations, leading the story while a trusted adult joins in the fun with them. Therefore, it was important for CPlay to ensure that people of all ages, abilities, and sizes could play together and be encouraged to use their imaginations. An added bonus was if their imaginations were sparked by the stories and history of our area. It helps us learn about where we have come from, gain a better understanding of ourselves. A strong sense of self, helps foster self-confidence, resilience, and the ability to make healthy decisions while navigating life's challenges. Here are some of the stories that have inspired the CPlay playground.
Check out our draft of our A3 free guided tour
Feel free to print off our map. If you wish to use this for commercial use, please contact CPlay for permission. CPlay-playground-Map.pdf
CPLay-Slideshow-HowWeBuiltThePlayground-240322-ByRoselynFauth.pdf
A few schools have asked for information to share with their students about the project, so here is an overview for you.
View the art in the playground. Read the artist's statements and explore the art with your students
Art from the Aigantighe's permanent collection was incorporated into the playground. The signs are part of a wider art history trail along the Timaru coastline. This painting is by local artist Sue Tennant - Photo Roselyn Fauth
Educating at the Caroline Bay playground can foster a holistic learning experience that integrates physical activity, nature exploration, and hands-on discovery, ultimately promoting engagement, curiosity, and a lifelong love of learning. Here are some suggestions on enhancing learning at the playground for educators:
Timaru’s Caroline Bay used to be known as the Riviera of the South. A wide, sandy beach, it was where Cantabrians would flock (by train) to swim, sunbathe and attend carnivals and concerts. Though it doesn’t quite draw the crowds of ‘Riviera’ times these days, it’s still a beautiful bay, enjoyed by Timaru locals. But it wasn’t always a place of peace, nor of fine golden sand. Rather, Caroline Bay was a place of heaving southerly swells and many a shipwreck. According to Timaru researcher Roselyn Fauth, the story is a good one - and she’s helping plan a new playground to pay tribute to it. “The natural basin of the area provided some shelter for ships,” Roselyn tells Frank Film of Caroline Bay, referring back to the 1800’s.
Read more: Timaru’s Caroline Bay: remembering a stormy history - Frank - Stories from the South
How could you pretend you’re hunting for kai (food) at the playground?
Mahika kai (to work the food) is about the traditional ways of growing, gathering, and safeguarding food. Our reefs were abundant in marine life and an important food source for Māori.
There was a long established cycle of gathering, traveling, and trading endured until the late 1800s. The trails and settlements extended into the lakes, rivers, and corridors of native bush where there were many areas to hunt and gather on the way. Māori used Mōkihi rafts made of flax or raupō to cross rivers and wetlands. They planted Te Kouka Cabbage trees along these trails as a source of food and fibre on their journey, and made kete (woven baskets) from the Harekeke flax.
How could you pretend you’re hunting for kai (food) at the playground?
Learn about who lives in and around the bay by studying the artwork by Francine Spencer
At the ground level of the Whare you will find a information sign that can inspire imaginative play based on mahika kai themes. Here are some resources that you could print off an use in the classroom.
We've hidden symbols for mahika kai around the whare (house) logs. See you if you can find them at the Caroline Bay Playground. Are they all there? Or are some missing?
What can you see in the Tukutuku panel designs created by artists Francine Spencer and Roselyn Fauth, inspired by Mahika Kai in the whare at the Caroline Bay Playground?
Tukutuku panels was used to adorn the inside walls of whare (meeting house) at the Caroline Bay playground, designed by artists Francine Spencer and Roselyn Fauth using modern art techniques used to tell traditional stories. Photo Roselyn Fauth. The project sought guidance from Mana Whenua, Arowhenua, with Francine Spencer, a representative from Mana Whenua, joining the volunteers as a cultural advisor and an artist. It is important to not reproduce this art without permission. Respecting indigenous art is paramount, as it carries the mana (spiritual power and authority) of its creators and communities. Seeking permission for reproduction is essential to honor and uphold the cultural significance of the artwork.
Here is a great resource on the the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, (NATO phonetic alphabet or the ICAO phonetic alphabet). It's the most widely used spelling alphabet for communication via radio or telephone.
- Telephone spelling alphabets originated during World War I to enhance communication.
- The first internationally recognized non-military spelling alphabet was established by the CCIR in 1927.
- During World War II, various nations utilized their own versions of a spelling alphabet.
- In 1947, the IATA proposed a draft universal alphabet to the ICAO, encompassing sounds common to English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
- Between 1948 and 1949, Jean-Paul Vinay collaborated with the ICAO to develop a new spelling alphabet with words similar in English, French, and Spanish.
- The NATO alphabet was adopted in 1956, becoming the universal phonetic alphabet for military, civilian, and amateur radio communications.
- The name "NATO phonetic alphabet" gained prominence due to NATO Allies leading the final revision and the widespread use of signals for naval communications and tactics globally
Learn more here: isesassociation.com/do-you-know-what-nato-phonetic-alphabet-is
By: Roselyn Fauth
How CPlay Utilized AI to Craft an Interactive Adventure Tailored to some of the Playground's Features and Themes, and how you can too!
The excitement to make the new playground come alive is building up. Ever wondered how you could unleash the magic when it opens to make your play even more meaningful and fun? Here's a an example of how you, too, can utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create imaginative and interactive fun games. In this article we show how the CPlay team has used AI's potential to craft a game that uses the playground's distinct features. Collaborating with AI technology can inspire us to reimagine play and immersive adventures. This is an easy way to tailor creativity with free online tools. Imagine creating your own games for school visits, parties, corporate events, etc... The playground is nearly ready... read on to see how you can make it even more fun!
This presentation was put together for a school visit themed around why people chose to live in Timaru. It was prepared by CPlay volunteer Roselyn Fauth
Rock art reproduction on the wall of the shelter at the Caroline Bay Playground in Timaru. - Photo Francine Spencer. It is important to not reproduce this rock art image without permission. Respecting indigenous art is paramount, as it carries the mana (spiritual power and authority) of its creators and communities. Seeking permission for reproduction is essential to honor and uphold the cultural significance of the artwork.
Māori rock art, such as that found in Timaru's Caroline Bay Playground and displayed at the Te Ana Māori Rock Art Centre, provides insight into ancient cultures and traditions. Over 500 Māori rock art images exist in South Canterbury and North Otago, but their original meanings have been lost over time, leaving modern viewers to interpret them.
Interpretation of Rock Art:
- Viewers interpret rock art differently, with some seeing depictions of creation stories, like that of the ancestral waka Ārai-te-uru sailing past Timaru and capsizing near Matakaea.
- The Ārai-te-uru story suggests that many passengers from the waka became prominent landmarks in the South Island, including mountains like Aoraki (Mount Cook) and Tarahaoa (Mount Peel).
Cultural Significance:
- Aoraki/Mount Cook holds significance in Ngāi Tahu creation traditions, with stories of Aoraki and his brothers transforming into the Southern Alps after their waka crashed into the ocean.
- Other landmarks, such as Pātītī Point and Hua-te-kerekere (Big and Little Mount Peel), are believed to be named after passengers from the Ārai-te-uru waka.
Preservation and Education:
- Efforts are made to preserve and educate about Māori rock art, with sites like Te Ana Māori Rock Art Centre displaying and interpreting these ancient artworks.
- Visitors, including members of the Caroline Bay Playground committee, seek inspiration from places like Te Ana to incorporate Māori rock art and cultural stories into public spaces.
Māori rock art serves as a link to ancient cultures and traditions, with interpretations offering insights into creation stories and ancestral journeys. Efforts to preserve and educate about these artworks ensure their cultural significance is recognized and celebrated for generations to come.