New He Tohu Tāmaki educator space opens today

A new learning experience based on the award-winning He Tohu exhibition, was opened at the National Library Auckland today.

He Tohu Tāmaki’s goal is to provide educators and learners with greater knowledge and understanding of the three iconic constitutional documents of the exhibition:

o 1835 He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni – Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand
o 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty of Waitangi
o 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition – Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine

“He Tohu Tāmaki allows teachers and students to explore the history and meaning of these taonga, the events they symbolise, and how they influence current and future events,” says Peter Murray, Deputy Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs.

He Tohu Tāmaki includes a Virtual Reality exploration of the Wellington He Tohu exhibition document room, video content, static images, books, and inquiry-based approaches all designed to support educators and give learners multiple experiences.

When teachers and students visit, these resources will be explored through their school’s local curriculum and the themes of - Documents; People; Living Together; Place; and Our Future.

Because ‘Place’ is a significant theme, Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei is one of the first of local iwi to share their stories.

“It is important to gather more stories relevant to Tāmaki and continue building the Crown Māori partnership, a founding principle of the exhibition,” says Mr Murray,

“The intention of He Tohu Tāmaki is to provide a variety of perspectives, and weave together the national with the local, making the founding documents more relevant for learners. Services to Schools Capability Facilitators from our National Library will look after the learning experiences.”

He Tohu Tāmaki is designed for educators in the greater Auckland area and will not be open to the public at this stage. He Tohu Tāmaki is a collaboration between Archives New Zealand and the National Library of New Zealand, both part of the Department of Internal Affairs. The documents remain under the guardianship and care of the Chief Archivist and Archives New Zealand.

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