Voyaging to a digital future at kāhui ako STEAM festival

Flat Bush Primary School student eagerly speaks to 1News reporter Kim Baker Wilson.

Te Puke ō Taramainuku Kāhui Ako is a cluster of schools consisting of Tangaroa College, Ferguson Intermediate, Flat Bush Kindergarten, Flat Bush Primary School, Sathya Sai Preschool Rongomai, Rongomai School and Fetu-i-Sasa’e Aoga Amata EFKS East Tamaki.

The core focus of their STEAM festival was “connecting Māori and Pacific learners with the tech sector: navigating through our digital future”.

It provided a unique and exciting opportunity to connect ākonga directly with STEAM providers and help increase their knowledge and interest in STEAM subjects.

There was a buzz of excitement as groups of ākonga started arriving at Ferguson Intermediate School for the festival. Each school was greeted by Te Puke ō Taramainuku Kāhui Ako lead principal, Banapa Avatea and the MCs from Tangaroa College, Sam Matua and Elizabeth Samau. They encouraged ākonga to have fun and take their time exploring each of the learning zone stalls dotted around the school.

“All I want is my children to have the opportunity to lead the best possible life that they can, and school is a real powerful way of making that happen. Now, we know the world is moving and shifting and changing at a speed that, for most of us, is uncomfortable. We need to make sure that our children are comfortable,” says Banapa, who is also the principal of Flat Bush Primary School.

Rongomai School student adds a sticky note next to the prompt “In my dream job, I work with...”

Co-design

The event was designed in partnership with ākonga (Years 6 to 10) so it would reflect their aspirations and help achieve STEAM equity in South Auckland.

Prior to the event, there was a co-design hui with ākonga where they brainstormed what their aspirations for Ōtara were and what challenges the community were facing with possible solutions.

One of these innovators is Ōtara artist-technologist Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi, co-director of I.M-S ARTS and co-founder of creative tech series ŌTARA 4.0.

In the build-up to the festival event, Iokapeta worked with Pacific Kids’ Learning and the Media Design School to deliver primary and secondary school creative tech roadshows. As a trustee of Hillary House Leadership Centre, she also liaised with Antarctica Heritage Trust based in Christchurch to bring their Hillary Hut VR experience.

“As an ex-pupil of Ferguson Intermediate, it’s surreal to be back at my alma mater to support the festival today. I wanted to bring the ‘A’ in STEAM today – Artful thinking!”

Her holographic art installation ‘Oxytocinlessness’ provided the stage setting for the day and she also helped at the ‘Ideas at Work’ hologram station, who are regular sponsors of her artwork. 

Ākonga across the kāhui ako added sticky notes around the prompt “What do I want my future to be like?”

Learning zones

Ākonga eagerly interacted at every learning zone throughout the day. At the Antarctic Heritage Trust stand, ākonga were given a VR headset and were able to use motion controllers that enabled them to have a virtual reality experience of being at Sir Edmund Hillary’s hut.

At MOTAT’s area, ākonga were shown how coding could make their battle bots victorious against each other.

‘Ideas at Work’ brought in New Zealand’s only ‘Holoconnect’ hologram box with motion tracking so that movements the tamariki were doing were replicated by a holographic character in real time. There were also 3D pens and robot soccer with OMGTech and Brain Play, robotics with Kiwibots, Lego with Bricks 4 Kidz, and eSports with Jain Tech. Drone Legends Aotearoa taught ākonga about safe drone flying in a fun way, and how drones can be used to solve community issues.

There were aircraft repair stations using basic tools that ākonga might have seen or used previously with the RNZAF School to Skies station.

Ākonga engaging in the S.H.A.D.E.S and Drone Legends learning zones.

A former Tangaroa College student who now runs S.H.A.D.E.S, a graphic art programme developed for schools, was there helping young learners with their drawing and colouring; this was a magnificent example of ākonga being able to turn their passions into a career. 3D printers were also available showcasing the wide range of items that can be produced.

The Media Design School had a virtual layout of family villages in Samoa and Pacific Kids’ Learning had a stop-motion making station where kids could also learn about the study options available at the design school.

Tangaroa College students and teacher Mafi Tavo designed and created 3D models in partnership with ‘Vaka’, an organisation that creates the next wave of STEAM entrepreneurs.

Cultural visibility

A significant aspect of the event was cultural visibility. With many of the learning zones showing how to integrate culture into the technology and digital world, Banapa reminds us, “It’s no secret that our tīpuna were the original navigators of the Pacific, they were the original proponents of STEAM.”

Ākonga engaging in the S.H.A.D.E.S and Drone Legends learning zones.

Evo Leota-Tupou, founder of Pacific Kids’ Learning, was the third keynote speaker of the day.

“We are in the space to provide culturally relevant digital content. Young Pasifika Animators is one of the workshops that we roll out in schools. Because in the space that we work in, we are hugely underrepresented. So, there’s not enough of us or people that look like us, creating our story. And you would have seen the likes of Disney’s Moana. Are we really going to wait for the next Moana story to come out? Or can we create them ourselves?”

As each school prepared to leave ākonga were invited to return after school with their whānau to share the experience with them.

When asked about the importance of bringing families back to the event, Banapa shares, “It’s to give them a bit of confidence, to demystify what is mystifying by introducing them to some of the technologies that are coming in.”

Diversifying emerging industries

The festival inspired almost 500 ākonga and their whānau to explore cutting-edge technologies and made career pathways in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics more accessible to their community.

ŌTARA 4.0 applied for funding through the Ministry of Education’s Pacific Education Support Fund. The fund helped make this event possible and enabled STEAM providers to attend and connect with ākonga and members of the community.

Ākonga engaging in the S.H.A.D.E.S and Drone Legends learning zones.

Alongside keynote speakers who shared their experiences and knowledge, local community members shared kai and music.

Pacific learners and their whānau were shown how they can be the future of our digital and tech landscape, and events such as this are key to diversifying workers in emerging industries in Aotearoa.

It was a memorable and unique opportunity for Māori and Pacific learners to work with members of New Zealand’s fastest growing and highest paid sector to inspire them to become the next generation of tech innovators.