Our Outreach

  • Solar Tsunamis on the big… round… screen!

    Solar Tsunamis on the big… round… screen!

    As part of their work on Solar Tsunamis outreach and engagement, the team at Tūhura Otago Museum has been working with artists at Ariki Creative and animation director Oana Jones (University of Canterbury) to develop a planetarium show. It had its first screenings at MOTAT in Auckland last month, and will be heading to Papakura…

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  • Solar Tsunamis roadshow and talks at MOTAT

    Solar Tsunamis roadshow and talks at MOTAT

    The Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland started hosting the Solar Tsunamis roadshow from Saturday 15 June 2024. They also had a “Weather Day” on Sunday 16 June 2024, and Dr Johnny Malone-Leigh and Craig Rodger travelled to MOTAT to give public talks on aurora and space weather. They met up with Marijn Kouwenhoven…

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  • Solar Tsunamis showcase goes on the road

    Solar Tsunamis showcase goes on the road

    At the end of 2023, Tūhura Otago Museum took the Solar Tsunamis showcase on the road, with its first visit at the Dark Sky Project in Takapō. It has now moved to Hokitika for February. Find out about future locations and dates on the Tūhura Otago Museum website, and if you want to get in…

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  • Solar Tsunamis Roadshow launch

    Solar Tsunamis Roadshow launch

    On 27 October, Tūhura Otago Museum held a launch event for the Solar Tsunamis public education roadshow. It is currently on display in Dunedin at Tūhura Otago Museum, but will soon “hit the road” and travel the country for the next 2 years. After a mihi whakatau by Science Engagement Coordinator Te Wharau Walker, there…

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  • Tsunamis: Parawhenua Kōmaru “Sneak Peek”

    Tsunamis: Parawhenua Kōmaru “Sneak Peek”

    A sneak peek of the Solar Tsunamis: Parawhenua Kōmaru showcase was installed in a central shop space in the Meridian Mall from 1-9 July during the NZ International Science Festival. This was an excellent opportunity to see the banners and some of the interactives come together, and will be helpful in informing future set-ups and…

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  • Speaking tour – Aurora: The Science and the Splendour

    Speaking tour – Aurora: The Science and the Splendour

    It’s that time of year when aurora are becoming clearer in our skies and fantastic photo opportunities await. From 26 June to 2 July 2023, Tūhura Otago Museum Director Dr Ian Griffin, Craig Rodger and Toni Hoeta travelled around the South Island to deliver a series of talks about where to find aurora and techniques…

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  • Cook Islands Science Expo

    Cook Islands Science Expo

    The Tūhura Otago Museum engagement programme accompanied the team to Rarotonga for the Cook Islands Science Expo, where students from area schools particularly enjoyed using the solar telescope and exploring the magnetism demonstrations. The Tūhura Otago Museum team engaged around 2000 rangatahi from all across Rarotonga. Read about the Cook Islands Science Expo here

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  • Chatham Islands Festival of Science

    Chatham Islands Festival of Science

    The Chatham Islands Festival of Science brought project members from Dunedin, along with scientists from around New Zealand to the islands in mid August. The outreach team from Tūhura Otago Museum visited schools with help from the scientists as part of a jam-packed week’s worth of science focused activites. The Solar Tsunamis team were busy…

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  • Toni Hoeta talks science communication

    Toni Hoeta talks science communication

    To watch Toni discuss science outreach and the solar tsunamis project with the Department of Science Communication at Otago University, follow the link below. Toni Hoeta – Science communication talk

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  • Fiery experiments demostrate solar tsunamis

    Fiery experiments demostrate solar tsunamis

    Toni Hoeta and Jessa Barder of Tūhura Otago Museum visited Te Wharekura O Arowhenua pupils in Invercargill in mid-November to debut demonstrations to explain the science of solar tsunamis and how solar storms could affect Earth and the electricity grid. Kyra Batchelor-Tata, pictured above, assisted Toni in simulating hydrogen fusion generates energy in a star. …

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  • Toni Hoeta introduces the Solar Tsunami logo 

    Toni Hoeta introduces the Solar Tsunami logo 

    On the 162 year anniversary of the Carrington Event Toni Hoeta introduces the brand new Solar Tsunamis logo. Follow the link below to watch the video. Toni Hoeta – Solar Tsunami logo launch

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  • Logo design competition winner

    Logo design competition winner

    Māikel Terekia is the winner of the logo design competition run by Tūhura Otago Museum with kura kaupapa and wharekura around Aotearoa earlier this year. 13 year old Māikel, a student from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Horouta Wānanga in Gisbourne submitting his winning design. As part of his design being chosen, he was flown…

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