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Spaceward Bound New Zealand (SBNZ) is an astrobiology educational programme developed by the New Zealand Astrobiology Network in collaboration with New Zealand teachers, NASA, ESA, JAXA and New Zealand Universities since 2015, using a mātauranga Māori approach and with information specifically tailored for New Zealand teachers and students and based on New Zealand resources and conditions. We work with the New Zealand Astrobiology Network to deliver this programme to schools.
Our programmes are based around: planetarium shows, Mars rovers, Analog Astronauts, Online learning modules, Access to Remote Telescope and 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.
The programme 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.
We provide Teachers PLD and work with:
We provide our PLD through Field-basedSTEM where we work with an amazing team.
Astrobiology is an umbrella discipline that seeks answers to three questions: What is life?, allowing students to get a unique perspective on life on Earth and how it might have formed; Where else in the Universe can we find life?, as we look for other life beyond Earth, we learn about our own uniqueness and fragility, and how lucky we are to exist here on Earth where so many things had to happen for us to be here, and What is the future of humankind?, which brings agency to our students and teachers as they are learning how everyone can contribute to co-creating a better future for humankind. Astrobiology includes ethics of future exploration and encourages people to think for the future.
The Mars Blueberry Astrobiology Dome is our amazing portable planetarium.
We take you wherever you want to go in the Universe. Our lessons cover all space and astronomy aspects of the NZC.
Learn about Planet Earth, the Moon, Mars and what’s in the sky, and take a journey through the Universe.
We feature live presentations and the movie Nga Tohunga Whakatere – the Navigators, for which Hari was the Creative Producer and Concept Lead.
We can tailor the programme to match where you are in the curriculum for any astronomy, astrobiology or planetary sciences enquiry.
With our portable planetarium we can travel throughout the Universe, whether that’s around the Solar System or out to the edge of the Universe is up to you!
Our modern planetarium is large enough to comfortably fit one class at the time. We project in the night sky in 4K and our presenters, Hari and Sam, are highly skilled science communicators and can easily fly the planetarium view to anywhere in the Universe.
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Learn about Mars from Hari and Sam who have the best connections to Mars through the New Zealand Astrobiology Network and its relationship with NASA, the European Space Agency and JAXA.
Furthermore, Hari is an analogue astronaut who trained for Mars since 2011. Hari shares about her experiences and her internship at NASA Ames where she looked at the planetary protection of Mars from contamination with life that might come from Earth. Hari has also been a guest lecturer on astrobiology at Massey and Victoria Universities and supported the creation of the astrobiology course at University of Auckland where she lectures about Planetary Protection.
Together with Sam and with support from Curious Minds and NASA scientists Hari created a school programme called Synergies in Space, which is a simulated Mars Mission in schools.
Sam is teaching Critical Thinking, a workshop based on his experience as an intelligence practitioner.
During a critical thinking session we look at our sources of information, how they can be graded and how we can gauge their credibility. We encourage students to question what they read and see on social media and show them that by just running a few simple checks and answering a few simple questions, which can help with checking credibility of a source.
We have a look at some of the common biases which can often lead us into believing suspect information. In particular we discuss expertise bias, anchoring and “the sample size of one” as some of the more common traps. Then we have a look at a couple of really useful analytical techniques, usually critical path analysis and the 5 Ws (and one H, Who, What, When, Where, Why and How), which covers it pretty well.
The way Sams cover these and the bias discussion is by going through some real examples he experienced and then we have a couple of exercises the students can do. If the students are familiar with these techniques then we also cover Cone of plausibility, analysis of competing hypothesis, centre of gravity analysis and many more.
Hari is the Creative Producer and the Concept Lead of the movie Ngā Tohunga Whakatere – The Navigators.
Sam learned navigation first hand as a pilot in the airforce.
New Zealand is one of the best places on Earth to study astrobiology. Learn about it and our country’s contribution to space exploration.
Milky-Way.Kiwi supports the New Zealand Astrobiology Network (NZAN) with education services infrastructure and expertise. Beyond our school visit, through NZAN, your students can benefit from mentorship, astrobiology school holiday programmes, such as Spaceward Bound New Zealand, Seeds in Space, and exclusive talks from our Mars and Planetary sciences experts.
Every school is different and we want to get the best outcomes for you from each visit. We like to connect in person first, to understand what your needs are. Please get in touch, we can either have a short phone call or a Zoom meeting. We look forward to hearing from you.
Hari is a TEDx-featured astrobiologist who interned at NASA and trained for Mars.
Sam is an astrophysicist and former pilot and public servant.
Milky-Way.Kiwi is a social enterprise for quality and affordable access to the night sky run by professional space science communicators. We provide educational services for teachers and schools – Spaceward Bound NZ, stargazing and astronomy and space courses and programmes for the public – Star Safari and we write about space and astronomy with a New Zealand perspective.
At Star Safari, everyone 15 and younger is FREE because we believe that young people should not pay for inspiration.
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