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Puke Ariki, New Plymouth

A Real World Protocol  ·  Field-Based STEM  ·  Puke Ariki  ·  Years 0–13  ·  History · Science · Mātauranga Māori
Puke Ariki in New Plymouth is Taranaki's museum, library, and heritage centre combined — one of the most complete regional collections in Aotearoa. Three connected education programmes give students direct encounter with the living story of Taranaki Maunga, the ground of the 1860 land wars, and the primary sources that document what followed. Each offers something irreducible: a mountain that is ancestor, volcano, and legal person simultaneously; battle sites where the history is still in the soil; and original documents that let students read the events of 1881 in the voices of those who were there.
Puke Ariki Museum and Library — New Plymouth Three school programmes are available, and can be combined across a visit or across a year. Te Kahui Maunga is available for all year levels at the museum. The Taranaki Wars Fieldtrip is a half-day guided experience led by Hoani Eriwata (Te Ātiawa), available Terms 1, 2, and 4, weather dependent — free for Taranaki schools, $5.50 per student for schools outside Taranaki. The Taranaki Research Centre supports senior secondary students in NCEA-linked primary source inquiry.

Book: [email protected]  ·  06 759 6060  ·  1 Ariki Street, New Plymouth
PrepareArrive with a question
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Visit Puke ArikiObserve, walk, examine
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AI as thinking partnerPrompts below
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Trace and actExperience Trace Scale
What to do
1
Arrive with a question

Before the visit, ask students what they already know and what they want to find out. A specific question carried into the experience gives AI something real to extend when students return.

2
At Puke Ariki — observe and record

For each programme: students observe, photograph, and note one thing that surprised them, one question the experience opened that they didn't arrive with, and one thing they could not have encountered on a screen.

3
Back in the classroom — AI as thinking partner

Students bring their notes, photographs, and questions to AI using the prompts below. AI extends the inquiry the experience started. It does not interpret the meaning of what students encountered for the communities whose histories these are.

4
Complete the Experience Trace Scale

The Trace Scale records what the authentic experience produced that no digital resource could. This is the evidence of learning that travels with students beyond the visit.

The three Puke Ariki programmes
Te Kahui Maunga — the maunga as teacher Taranaki Maunga is simultaneously a volcanic landform, an ancestor, and — since 2017 — a legal person. This museum-based programme explores the geological and cultural story of the maunga through the Puke Ariki collection, storytelling, and science. Available for all year levels. The most natural starting point for junior and primary classes.
Taranaki Wars Fieldtrip — walk the ground Guided by Hoani Eriwata (Te Ātiawa), this half-day fieldtrip visits the North Taranaki battle sites of the first land war, beginning at Te Kohia on 7 March 1860. History where it happened, told by someone for whom this history is personal. Pre and post support material provided on booking.
Taranaki Research Centre — primary sources Senior secondary students work directly with diaries, newspapers, photographs, maps, and official documents from the Taranaki collection — including material from the events of 1881. Students learn to access primary sources for NCEA Social Sciences Achievement Standards Levels 1–3. Numbers limited; book in advance.
Before you go
A note on AI and the histories carried here The Taranaki Wars Fieldtrip is led by Hoani Eriwata (Te Ātiawa). The stories of this land belong to the people of this land. The Research Centre holds primary sources about the events of 1881 and the communities who lived through them. AI can support historical research and provide context. It cannot speak for the communities whose histories these are, or interpret what those histories mean for those who carry them. Students approach AI as researchers, not as interpreters of others' experience.
The three programmes work well together across a single visit or across a year. Te Kahui Maunga suits all year levels and stands alone. The Fieldtrip is the most powerful Layer 1 experience for Year 7 and above. The Research Centre is the deepest programme for senior secondary students with a specific NCEA inquiry question already forming.

Back in the classroom: AI as thinking partner (Real World Ready Layer 2)

Years 0–6
The maungaAsk AI: "What kind of mountain is Taranaki Maunga? When did it last erupt?" After visiting Puke Ariki, what did you learn that AI didn't tell you about what the maunga means to people?
A mountain that is a personAsk AI: "What does it mean for a mountain to be a legal person? Which mountains in New Zealand have this status?" Compare AI's answer with what you heard at Te Kahui Maunga.
What we sawShow AI a photograph you took at Puke Ariki and ask what it shows. Is AI right? What would you add from being there?
Our questionAsk each student to share the one question their visit gave them. Type it into AI together. Is AI's answer complete? What would you need to go back and find out?
Years 7–10
What happened at Te KohiaAsk AI: "What happened at Te Kohia on 7 March 1860 and what caused it?" Compare AI's account with what you heard at the battle sites. Whose perspective does each centre?
Raupatu and the landAsk AI: "What was raupatu in Taranaki and what were its long-term effects?" Apply this to the specific land your fieldtrip walked across. Does standing on that ground change how the history feels?
Multiple perspectivesAsk AI for the perspectives of both Māori and the Crown on the events of 1860. Where do they agree? Where do they diverge? Which perspective was most present at the sites you visited?
Legal personhoodAsk AI: "Taranaki Maunga was granted legal personhood in 2017. What does this recognise about the relationship between the mountain and its people?" Does AI's answer match what you understand after Te Kahui Maunga?
Years 11–13
Primary source analysisBring a primary source from the Research Centre to AI: "This is [description of source, date, creator]. What is the historical context for this document?" Evaluate AI's response against what Puke Ariki educators told you and what you know from other sources.
Newspaper accounts of 1881Ask AI: "What perspectives were represented in newspaper accounts of the Parihaka invasion in November 1881?" Use AI to locate examples, then compare those accounts against the primary sources you examined at Puke Ariki. Whose voices are present? Whose are absent?
The 2017 apologyAsk AI: "What is the historical significance of the Crown's 2017 apology to Parihaka?" Then consider: what does a formal apology do, and what can it not undo? What would the primary sources you read at the Research Centre add to AI's answer?
Historiographical debatesAsk AI: "What are the main historiographical debates around the Taranaki land wars?" Evaluate AI's account against the primary sources you found at the Research Centre. Where does the documentary evidence complicate or confirm the historical consensus?
Experience Trace Scale — Taranaki landscape and history
Level Years 0–6 Years 7–10 Years 11–13
1 I can describe one thing I experienced at Puke Ariki that I couldn't have encountered on a screen. I can describe what each Puke Ariki programme offered that a digital or classroom-only experience could not replicate. I can analyse why direct encounter with Taranaki's landscapes and primary sources produces qualitatively different historical understanding from digital or AI-mediated access.
2 I can say something I learned about Taranaki Maunga that genuinely surprised me. I can explain the connection between the Taranaki land wars and the specific land I walked on during the fieldtrip. I can situate a specific primary source from the Research Centre within its broader historical context and identify its perspective, authority, and limits.
3 I can say one thing AI told me about Taranaki Maunga and whether it matched what I learned at Puke Ariki. I can identify where AI's historical account matched what I heard at the battle sites or museum and where it simplified, omitted, or centred a different perspective. I can critically evaluate AI's account of a specific Taranaki historical event against the primary sources I examined at the Research Centre and the perspectives of those who led the programmes.
4 I can say why being at Puke Ariki gave me something I could not have got from a screen or from AI. I can explain what walking the battle sites or studying primary sources at the Research Centre adds to historical understanding that no digital resource provides. I can articulate the difference between encountering original primary sources, reading secondary accounts, and querying AI — and explain what each produces that the others cannot.
5 I can say one question my visit gave me that I still want answered. I can identify a question raised by the fieldtrip or Research Centre and propose what source, experience, or person would help me answer it. I can develop a research question arising from my work at the Research Centre, identify appropriate sources and knowledge-holders, and explain what additional evidence would be needed for a well-founded NCEA response.
Puke Ariki Museum and Library, New Plymouth  ·  pukeariki.com/schools  ·  Real World Ready methodology by Field-Based STEM
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