Pou Kanohi New Zealand at War

By Education Gazette editors

Issue: Volume 96, Number 18

Posted: 16 October 2017

Reference #: 1H9fQf

Pou Kanohi New Zealand at War is a new gallery at Auckland Museum designed as a learning resource for students and teachers.

Auckland Museum’s newest gallery Pou Kanohi New Zealand at War opens on 10 October, and offers unique experiences for teachers and their students. It’s the museum’s first dedicated war memorial space aimed at educating young people about World War I and contemplating why 100 years on, it’s still relevant.

The interactive gallery is a public learning resource aligned with The New Zealand Curriculum, aiming to make this significant event in New Zealand history relevant for young people today.

Rich with collections, the gallery shares New Zealanders’ experiences of World War I from multiple perspectives, and presents the key events of the war through an illustrated multimedia timeline, enhanced with objects and immersive interactive experiences.

Alongside short films, artworks and illustrations is an aerial reconnaissance table that allows visitors to get hands-on and undertake a mission piloting planes above the trenches.

A virtual reality headset gets visitors up close to a 3D-rendered artillery gun. Collectable content enables students and visitors to explore pivotal World War I events through letters, photographs, and diaries in greater depth online, back in school or at home.

Auckland Museum director Dr David Gaimster says, “This museum is Auckland’s War Memorial, built by the people of Auckland to honour those who lost their lives. Pou Kanohi New Zealand at War shares that experience with the next generation, making sure the memory and lessons of the First World War, which affected so many New Zealanders, are never lost.”

School tours and more

Pou Kanohi is free of charge for Aucklanders. Visitors from outside Auckland are asked to make a donation.

The gallery will be open for self-guided school visits, and is also set up for secondary school students to collect primary source material that can be emailed back to teachers and students to be explored further at home or at school.

Free tours of the new gallery are also being offered to secondary school teachers to help them prepare students to use the gallery resources effectively.