holiday programme

Art Through the Ages | Toi Puta Noa i Ngā Tau​ – School Holidays Wrap-Up!

Joseph Robinson

As we get back into the swing of things in term four at school, let’s look back on some of the brilliant artistic experiments and creations that you made during our September—October school holiday programme,  Art Through the Ages | Toi Puta Noa i Ngā Tau​.

Flip through this photo gallery to see tamariki repeat the feats of Michelangelo, create miniature masterpieces, learn about traditional Chinese painting and much more!

  • Tradtional Chinese painting workshop at Karori Library!
  • Special guest, Courtney Johnston, the Chief Executive of Te Papa, and librarian Mary, open the exhibition of Miniature Masterpieces created by tamariki. You can check it out in the Waitohi link space!
  • Tamariki made miniature masterpieces at Miramar Library, check out the exhibition!
  • Playdough sculpture spectacular at Te Awe Library!
  • Painting vertically like Michelangelo, at Miramar Library
  • Under the tables at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library – more painting like Michelangelo!
  • Tamariki at Johnsonville Library share their artwork after a tradtional Chinese painting workshop
  • Japanese woodblock print inspired colourful creations at Karori Library
  • Steve Mushin leads a brilliant workshop at Johnsonville Library as part of the Festival of Ultrawild Design!
  • Our heritage & history specialist librarian Gábor shows tamariki an ancient tome at our illuminating Medieval manuscripts​ event at Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library!
  • Miniature masterpieces on display at Te Awe Library!
  • Just a couple of the beautiful popsicle frames made by tamariki at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library!


Wellington City Libraries and Community Spaces would like to give a massive thanks to Qianxiang Liu for leading three traditional Chinese painting workshops, and to our wonderful community librarian June for helping organise these! Thanks also to Gábor, our heritage & history specialist librarian for running workshops about manuscript illumination at two lucky library branches!

We are grateful to maverick inventor Steve Mushin for leading hilarious design and drawing workshops which explored ludicrous sounding, scientifically possible ideas to rewild the world! Keep an eye out for Steve’s upcoming book Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan for Rewilding Every City on Earth, published by Allen & Unwin NZ.

Thanks to everyone who came along and helped make our programme so special! We hope to see you all again next holidays, or hopefully before then at your local library branch! To find out about our regular programmes, special events, and holiday happenings, make sure to keep an eye-out on the kids’ blog, and our Facebook page, or our events calendar.

Mā te wā!

Whakanuia a Matariki: July School Holiday Programme

Isabel Echeverria 2 Comments

Whakanuia a Matariki!

July School Holidays: 1- 16 July 2023

Kia ora koutou young adventurers, and all your creative minds!

Get ready to dive into the magic of Matariki at your local library’s incredible holiday events. Discover the wonder of Matariki and Puānga while learning about tikanga. Hunt for hidden Matariki stars, make gratitude-themed whetū (stars), cozy up for stories and song and unleash your creativity with nature-inspired art. Check the list of events prepared to celebrate together and let’s create wonderful memories with our friends and whānau.

Star Navigator: A Matariki treasure hunt

Pick up a map and join us on a celestial treasure hunt throughout your local library! Follow clues to find hidden Matariki stars, discover the secrets of Matariki constellation and learn about the wonder of the sky night. Label the whetū on your own map and learn about their meanings. Decorate your map with the themes and meanings of each whetū!

Suitable for tamariki of all ages with their caregivers.


Purapura Whetū: Star Webs

Make your gratitude shine by crafting beautiful stars. Use colourful paper and makers to create your unique star that will be part of our collaborative constellation. Recommended for tamariki aged 3+ with their caregivers.

All library branches will have a craft station for you to use, but we also have collaborative creative sessions on the following dates:

You can also help us build our collaborative constellation during these other events:


Matariki by Firelight:

Join us at the library for a cosy session of Matariki and Aotearoa themed stories and waiata. We will create an indoor campfire, you come along with your PJs ready for some Matariki tales and heart-warming bedtime stories and songs.

Recommended for tamariki aged 3+ with their caregivers. No registration required.

 


Kōhatu Matariki: Whakapaipaitia te Taiao

Discover the power of Art and Nature! Engage in a hands-on adventure gathering rocks and other natural resources. We will decorate them with paint and markers to express remembrance and hope. Learn about tikanga and how art can honour Pūanga and the Matariki stars.

Recommended aged 5+ with whānau or caregivers.

Register online:

  • Karori Library, 5 July 11 am -12pm Sign Up
  • Miramar Library, 5 July 3pm-4pm Sign Up
  • Newtown Library, Monday, 10 July, 2 – 3pm Sign Up
  • Island Bay Library, Thursday, 13 July, 2 – 3pm Sign Up
  • Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library, Thursday, 13 July, 2 – 3pm Sign Up


A Wayward Star: An Introduction to D&D

Embark on an epic celestial-themed Dungeons and Dragons- no experience required. We will provide the Dungeon Master, pre-made characters, dice, books, gear, and knowledge- all you need is enthusiasm!

For ages 9-12 years.

Registrations are required for this event, sign-up here!

Notes: Each individual attending will need a separate registration form filled in. Intermediate and experienced players may find this one-shot too simplistic and undemanding.

Register online:


String Bean Puppets: The Penguin and the Sea Monster 

Come along and celebrate Matariki with amazing puppeteer Anna Bailey and her String Bean Puppets! Anna’s puppets will be helping her perform the magical, starry-eyed tale of The Penguin and the Sea Monster, in which a little blue penguin seeks help from the night sky when his friend is captured by a sea monster. 

Recommended for tamariki of all ages with their caregivers. 

Waitohi Hub Matariki Day

Waitohi Community Hub, Saturday, 15 July, 10am – 3pm

Bring your whole whānau to the Waitohi Hub for a day of fun activities to celebrate Matariki! Across the day, there will be a range of wonderful events, exhibitions, and competitions, taking place across Keith Spry Pool, Johnsonville Library and the Link Space. Click the link above for a full schedule!

We also have a range of other Whakanuia a Matariki July holiday events including:

Nohinohi Reorua: Pakiwaitara Matariki 

Whakarongo mai, tamariki mā, pākeke mā! Join us at your local whare pukapuka for these special bilingual storytimes in celebration of Matariki! He korero paki i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ēnei; these stories are in te reo Māori and English. All are welcome. 

Recommended for tamariki aged 2-6 with their caregivers.

Pakiwaitara Matariki 

Come along and celebrate Matariki at your local whare pukapuka, or library, with Matariki-themed stories and waiata with our librarians. He korero paki i te reo Pākehā ēnei; these stories are mainly in English, but we’re looking forward to sharing some kupu and waiata in te reo Māori as well. Our storytimes are family-friendly and fun for all ages. 

Recommended for tamariki aged 2-6 with their caregivers.

Toi Matariki: Matariki Crafts 

Newlands Community Centre, Tuesday, 4 July 2023, 10am – 12pm

Join us for this special morning-time Matariki craft session! Make your very own Matariki constellation using one of our designs, or let your creative juices flow and create your own! Recommended for tamariki aged 4+ with their caregivers.

Fly to the Matariki Stars 

Island Bay Community Centre, Thursday, 6 July 2023, 10:30am – 12pm

Build your own spaceship from boxes and fly to the Matariki Stars!

Combining storytelling and building box forts, you will have lift off to greet the Matariki stars. Find out what secrets they hold and let your imagination do the rest.

Recommended for ages 5-12

Whānau Storybooks

Te Awe Library, Wednesday, 5 July, 2:30 – 3:30pm

Come and celebrate your whānau this Matariki and create your own whānau storybook at Te Awe!

Bring along some photos of your family members (or draw your own) and add them to your book along with fun facts and stories about your family.

Recommended for tamariki aged 5-10.

CodeQuest: Star Explorers 

Come along to this free coding workshop and learn how to make your own celestial-themed video game for Matariki in Scratch 3.0. No prior coding knowledge is necessary. Places are limited, so make sure you register quickly! 

Suitable for tamariki aged 9-13 with their caregivers. Registrations are required. Details coming soon!

Baby Rock and Rhyme: Matariki Special 

 A fun and educational programme for parents and carers to interact with their babies through songs and stories. Rhyme, rhythm, repetition and music are the building blocks of language for babies. At these special Matariki sessions we will be enjoying stories and songs all about Matariki and the night sky. Kuhu mai, join us!  

Recommended for tamariki aged 0 – 2 years with their caregivers.

Matariki LEGO® Creations 

 Let’s build – let’s explore – let’s create! Come along to your library to create your LEGO® masterpiece. These sessions all feature special Matariki-themed activities as we celebrate this festive time with our friends and whānau. 

Recommended for tamariki aged 5+ with their caregivers.

Nō reira, nau mai, haere mai ki ōu tātou whare pukapuka ki te whakanui i tēnēi wā tino hirahira! So come on down to your library to celebrate this special time!

Beyond the Page: Week One Round-up!

Stephen Clothier

Kia ora folks! It’s been a wonderful Week One of Beyond the Page, our fantastic literary festival for tamariki and their whānau.

Beyond the page is running during the July school holidays, and from the 9th to the 24th of July, our libraries are hosting a huge array of totally free events for kids and families, from sculpture workshops to VR experiences, and everything in between!

Rather than bore you with descriptions of all the fabulous stuff that’s been happening, we thought we’d share with you some of our favourite photos from events around the city. Here goes!

Before the Page: Creative Workshops with VIVITA

Before the official kick-off of the festival, on the opening weekend of the holidays we hosted our friends at VIVITA Aotearoa for two wonderful workshops at Miramar and Te Awe Libraries — Cardboard Costumes and Serious Sculpting:

A young person wearing a blue sweatshirt draws on the pommel of a stylised sword made from cardboard

A young creator inscribes something (magical runes, perhaps?) on the blade of a cardboard sword they have made at Cardboard Costumes at Miramar Library.


Four small sculpted figurines sit on a green cutting mat. From left to right, they appear to be a sentient brick wall, a one-legged, one-eyed monster, a white block-like creature with tentacle-like arms, and a frog-like creature with tentacles coming out of its mouth

Meeting new friends at Serious Sculpting at Te Awe Library!


Beyond the Page: Bricks, Boxes, Stop Motion, and More!

The first ‘official’ days of Beyond the Page saw a whole bunch of awesome events. Some highlights for us were Bricks and Giggles at Brooklyn Library; Zine Machine at Arapaki Library, Box Bonanza at Wadestown and Te Awe Libraries, and Stop Motion Stories at Karori and Kilbirnie Libraries:

Several colourful LEGO constructions sitting on a table. Among them are several blue-and-green landscapes, a house, a fire engine, and a garden.

A selection of wonderful LEGO® creations from Bricks and Giggles at Brooklyn Library

A large group of children gathered around a table. On the table are a range of craft resources, magazines, pens and pencils.

A cluster of keen zine-makers at Arapaki Library

Learning to animate some aquatic friends at Kilbirnie Library

Karori Library becomes a film studio for a day!

 

Spotlight on: Stories From Our Place

A big highlight for us all was being visited by the wonderful Sophie from Zealandia | Te Māra a Tāne for Stories From Our Place at Cummings Park Library. The torrential rain didn’t stop our intrepid explorers from venturing out into the bush behind the library for an awesome (if slightly damp) experience!

We started in the library…

…met some cuddly new friends…

…ventured out into the wild weather…

…and enjoyed the beautiful sights of Cummings Park in the rain!

We can’t wait to share with you more Beyond the Page goodness once Week Two is done and dusted as well! Find out more at the official Beyond the Page website.

Slimy Science School Holiday Activities at Tawa Library

admin

Approximately 100 adults and children crowded into Tawa Library on Monday 18th of April for the Slimy Science School Holiday Programme.

The kids loved the fake severed arm!

The kids loved the fake severed arm!

Susannah recited a rhyme from The Slimy Book by Babette Cole, and ate some “worms” in front of the children. Sharyn showed the children how to make all different kinds of slime. The enthusiastic audience loved it!

Susannah eating some "worms."

Susannah eating some "worms."

Here are the recipes for slime that Sharyn used. Make sure you get your parents to help you make them.

Flubber

In a glass or ceramic bowl, add 1/2 cup water and 1 cup white glue.

Stir in 4 drops of food coloring if desired.

In another bowl, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon borax in 1/2 cup water.

Slowly add the dissolved borax mixture to the glue mixture. Stir well.

When not in use, store in a tightly sealed jar.

Susannah and Sharyn making some slime.

Susannah and Sharyn making some slime.

Make your own slime (from Suzy’s World)

What you need:

  • A large bowl
  • ½ cup of soap flakes (like Lux flakes)
  • ½ cup hot water
  • Wooden spoon
  • The help of an adult

What you do:

Put the soap flakes in the bowl and pour the hot water over it. Mix the soap flakes and water with the wooden spoon until the soap flakes have dissolved. Leave it to cool then get stuck in and see how slimy your slime is. It will keep for a couple of days – just keep it in a container with a lid.

Experiment with half a cup of your slime adding more water to it – how does it compare with the original slime? Add more soap flakes to another half cup of slime and stir it until the flakes are dissolved. Do the flakes dissolve as easily as they did in the hot water? What does it do to the slime?

You can also beat your slime with an eggbeater until it’s frothy. How does it compare to the original slime? How long does it stay frothy for? Is it just as slimy?

Cornflour Slime

Put equal amounts of pva and cornflour & water in a sealable bag or bowl, and mix together. (The more cornflour you use the thicker it will become).

Sharyn holding a shrunken "head." Really it's an apple!

Sharyn holding a shrunken "head." Really it's an apple!