space for your students
Professional Learning Development for teachers and space education programmes for your students through immersive experiences.
Spaceward Bound New Zealand
OUR AVAILABILITY
We come to you!
Our programmes are delivered nationwide. Check out on the map below the schools and events we’ve already been to.
Last updated: end of term 1 2024.
Immersive experiences
Our programmes are based on hands-on immersive experiences
that we deliver using:
Our own portable PLANETARIUM,
Telescopes, mini Mars Rovers, a unique collection of Astrobiology-relevant rocks,
our own developed Analog Astronauts Programme,
VR, Water Rockets & Field Trips.
We are focused on delivering our programmes in an environment of cultural safety and respect. This means we engage mana whenua and seek opportunities for our work to link strongly with local perspectives.
SPACEWARD BOUND NEW ZEALAND is supplemented by a strong online presence, including mentorship, networking, follow up activities and educational resources for both students, teachers and the communities they are part of.
Planetarium Experience
year 1-13
The Mars Blueberry Astrobiology Dome
Our Planetarium’s name is inspired by the “blueberries” discovered on Mars by the Spirit rover. It is a modern planetarium, wheelchair accessible, that holds 25 students and their teachers comfortably and is used for audio-visual experiences projected on the inside of a dome.
You can visit various environments on Earth and other planets and moons. The software is packed with the latest scientific data which we update regularly. Our lessons are custom-made for you and your students and relatable to your local curriculum.
Look through and learn about telescopes
All ages
One of the best things about space sciences is that we can observe space from the surface of the Earth, day and night. When we come to your event or school we can bring our solar telescope for safely observing the Sun and we also bring our refracting telescope that we use to observe the Moon during the day time, when it’s visible.
Workshops on telescopes, how to operate them and what to buy for your school are also available.
Explore extremophiles and learn about Astrobiology
year 5-13
Your students will handle a unique collection of extremophiles and learn about life in diverse environments.
New Zealand is one of the best places on Earth to study astrobiology.
Learn about our country’s contribution to astrobiology, analog places in New Zealand and elsewhere on Earth and in the Solar System.
Mars Rovers
Ages 5-14
With our six wheeled robotic models of Mars Rovers, students experiment how to control and move around complex terrain. In planning mode, they can simulate how a rover is really driven on Mars by planning a route and then sending the driving commands to the rover and then watching what happens!
Since 2024 we have a new addition – a mini-Perseverance replica.
Field trip
All Ages
Once a year, we hold a field trip to regions of interest for the origin of life and astrobiology in New Zealand.
VR
Ages 13 and above
Explore space with our Virtual Reality headsets. Visit the International Space Station, see what it was like to launch with Apollo 11 or try out some orbital physics with your own asteroids. Go on a tour of the Solar System or even create your own solar system.
AR
Year 1-10
Our augmented reality 3D printed planets are a fantastic way to explore not only for visually impaired students but also for everyone else.
You’ll look at differences in the surface of Mars, Earth and the Moon, and explore the Solar System.
You can further explore them on your smart phone or iPad.
Water rockets
Any age
Learn the basics of physics with our water rockets programmes. With or without calculus – depending on the age of your students.
Learn with us
Up-to-date and innovative technology
Immersive and Interactive
All our activities are hands-on
Professional Space Science Communicators
Field-basedSTEM
We are registered PLD providers with the Ministry of Education and work with Field-based.STEM to deliver PLD to schools across New Zealand.
News & Events
A Stellar Discovery in Our Own Backyard – Gaia BH3
Scientists analysing data from ESA’s Gaia mission have discovered a massive black hole, named Gaia BH3, in the constellation Aquila. It is located less than 2000 light-years from Earth and has a mass of nearly 33 times that of the Sun. This black hole is one of the most massive of stellar origin found within the Milky Way, challenging previous observations that only identified such large black holes in distant galaxies.
NZ’s first Aerospace Summit
Milky-way Kiwi attended New Zealand’s first aerospace summit, on 5th of October 2022.
The conference had more than 300 delegates participation and a programme with keynote addresses from Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck and NASA Deputy Administrator and former astronaut Pamela Melroy. The theme of the conference was “Building an Aerospace Nation”.
