PUBLIC PROGRAMMES

Please note the following public programme was staged around the exhibition in Auckland. Each venue will need to develop it's own programme. The following are offered as examples:.

VAKA MOANA PROGRAMME

Vaka Moana Storytelling and Craft Centre
During the exhibition pacific peoples gathered inside the exhibition to share traditional stories with visitors and gave them a chance to experience first hand the craft and talent that has been passed down from family to family though the ages.

Self Guided Family Trail
Pick up from information desks.
A a new guide-sheet to navigate your way from Te Kakano to the Vaka Moana exhibition via the many artefacts in the Museum which relate directly to this fascinating history of migration. (Completed trails will go into the draw to win a trip on an ocean going waka).

Seven Nations: Church Choirs
Sundays 10, 17 December, 7, 21 January, 4, 18 February, 4 March, 1 April.
1pm
Atrium Staircase
Representatives from the Pacific Island nations brought their blessing through song, stories and performance to the Vaka Moana exhibition. The Museum hosted choirs from the Cook Islands on Sunday 10 December, a Niuean choir on 17 December, Tongan choir on 7 January, Tokelauan choir on 21 January, Tuvaluan choir on 4 February, Fijian choir on 18 February, Samoan choir on 4 March and a Pan Pacific choir on Sunday 1 April.

Vaka Moana - A Journey through the Stars
Wednesdays 20 December, 17 January, Saturday 17 February, and 17 March
3pm – 3.30pm
Auditorium
Stardome Observatory’s Colin James takes you on a voyage using the stars as a guide. The presentation will illustrate how the early migration navigators used the stars, the sun and the moon to find their way.

Matahi Brightwell Tohunga Tarai Waka
Lecture
Wednesday 13 December
4pm
$10 and $5 members

Matahi Brightwell is a Tohunga Tarai Waka and taught at Takapuwahia marae in Toa Rangatira Wananga (1973-1981). He is currently working on the Hawaiki Nui 2 project in Moorea, French Polynesia. This double-hulled canoe will be sailing to Peru to re-enact one of the many great voyages of the ancestors.  Matahi has been instrumental in the revival of traditional methods in building, navigating and sailing and is well regarded for his facilitation of waka ama wananga throughout the Pacific.

Matahi Brightwell traced his lineage directly back to Rakataura, builder of the Tainui waka, and master navigators who explored the Pacific and made the islands home thousands of years ago.

The Way to Tahiti — Ke Ala i Kahiki
Ben Finney Nautical Anthropologist
Lecture
Thursday 14 December 7pm
$10 and $5 members

Nautical anthropologist Ben Finney and his experiences in building vaka moana (voyaging canoes) and sailing them over ancient sea routes.
Professor Emeritus Ben Finney has been teaching at the University of Hawai’i since 1970, and has also taught at the University of French Polynesia, Australian National University, International Space University and the University of California at Santa Barbara. He obtained a M.A. in anthropology at the University of Hawai’i (1959) and a Ph.D. in anthropology at Harvard University (1964).

He has received many prestigious awards for his research on both ancient seafaring and modern spacefaring, which has taken him throughout Polynesia and Micronesia, as well as to more exotic places such as NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Russia’s Star City. In 1985 he built Nalehia, his first ocean sailing canoe, and in 1973 founded the Polynesian Voyaging Society to build the voyaging canoe Hokule’a and sail her to Tahiti to challenge armchair theorists who claimed that Polynesians could not have deliberately made long voyages.  In 1985 he sailed aboard Hokule’a to Aotearoa, where he and his crewmates were welcomed at the Marae Waitangi.

Film Screening and Talk by Hekenukumai Busby
Kupe: Voyaging by the Stars (1993) 50min
Friday 15 December 7.30pm
Saturday 16 December 3pm
APEC Room
$10 and $5 members. $6 entry to exhibition. Bookings essential. Phone 09 306 7048
An opportunity to meet Hector Busby and view the exhibition prior to the documentary screening.

Vaka Building Demonstration
Daily 5 - 19 January
11am – 2pm
Atrium
Master Carver Mike Tavioni demonstrated the carving style of the Cook Islands. Within the Cook Islands there are nine islands that make similar canoes, including the islands of Atiu, Mitiaro and Mauke, which share the same ancestry and dialect. Mike has been instrumental in reviving traditional motifs. Since 1999 Tavioni and his team have made about 15 traditional canoes throughout the Pacific, including The International Festival of Canoes in Hawai’i - A festival which celebrates the importance of the ocean going craft and the voyages of the ancestors. He recently carved a Mangaian vaka for the University of the South Pacifica.

Filipe Tohi: Lalava: Lashing Demonstration:
Wednesday 10, Saturday 13 January
10am -12pm and 1pm – 3pm 
Vaka Moana Exhibition Activity Centre. Exhibition entry fee applies.
Lalava is the sennit/coconut lashing that was used around the Pacific to bind items such as canoes, adzes, fishhooks, houses and accessories; it was also used for navigation and exploration.  These lalava lashings were more than functional; they provided a decorative and meaningful embellishment, a type of aesthetic cultural language.  Despite encroachment from the modern world, the art of lalava survives in the Pacific, most notably in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. Tufunga Lalava (Master Artisan) Filipe Tohi will demonstrate the art of sennit lashing in the Vaka Moana Gallery.  His lalava is a traditional Tongan art that deals not only with the practical aspects of architectural and sculptural lashing and binding, but with larger metaphorical representations of time and space. Tohi has transformed the existing structure of lalava into a number of new forms (e.g. mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, religion, architecture, sculpture and painting) in substantive creative endeavours.  His current research and work holds huge theoretical and practical implications on scientific, philosophical, technological, commercial and therapeutic levels. 

Soifua Village Polynesia
Introduction to Drumming
Saturdays 13, 27 January
10.30am -10.45am
Demonstration in Atrium foyer
11.00 -12.00pm
Workshop in Learning Centre
Free with entry ticket to Vaka Moana exhibition.

Storytelling: The Great Fish of Maui
Mondays 15, 22 January
10.30am
Te Kakano
All welcome
Across the Pacific similarities between stories and names of heroes are apparent.  From Melanesia to Hawai’i and Aotearoa, tales are told of the hero Maui who fished up land from the sea. Maui is known as Mo-tik-e-tik, Maui-ki’iki’i and Maui Tikitiki-aTaranga amongst many others.

Voyages into the South Pacific
Tuesday 16 January
11am
Te Ao Turoa Gallery
Educator Maori Kipa Rangiheuea taking tours of the Te Ao Turoa (Maori Natural History) gallery.  Learn about Kupe’s discovery of Aotearoa (NZ) and of early Maori South Pacific voyages. Gather an understanding about early Maori settlement and their knowledge of the natural world.

Protecting and Preserving your Pacific Treasures
Thursday 1 February
11am
Te Kakano
Senior Conservator, Julia Gresson giving a visual presentation illustrating the straightforward ways to look after your tapa mats and other fibre-based treasures.

Pacific Jewellery Tours: Colleen Williams
Tuesdays 13, 20 February
11am
Meet in Foyer
$10 and $5 members
Colleen Williams offers an informed and passionate tour of the Pacific Jewellery in the collection.

Waka Taua – The Maori War Canoe
Saturday 24 February
12pm – 2pm
Maori Court
Maori war canoes described in a talk delivered by the Museum’s Maori Educator.  Learn about the process of waka taua construction, decoration and their importance in times of old and now.

Sail Making Demonstration
Friday 2, Saturday 3, and Sunday 4 February
10am – 2pm
Vaka Moana Exhibition Activity Centre. Exhibition entry fee applies.          
A collective of women weavers from the Pacific nations demonstrating weaving techniques required to make sails with traditional fibres.

Film Screening: 'Pasifika On Film'
Friday 16 February 7pm
Auditorium
Saturday 17 February 3pm
APEC Room
$10 and $5 members. $6 entry to exhibition.
Some of the best footage of the Pacific that the NZ film archive holds. It contains material on most of the South Pacific nations including the very special footage of the coronation of the recently departed King of Tonga. This programme is courtesy of The NZ Film Archive.

Taiwanese Indigenous Performance
Saturday 24 February 10:00am
Atrium
The Taiwan Yuan-Yuan Indigenous Culture & Art Troupe was founded in December 1990. All members of the troupe are experts from different tribes in Taiwan. Come and experience the spirit of traditional songs and dance. Yuan -Yuan has been invited to perform in more than 20 countries, including Europe, America, Africa, Middle East, South East Asia, including performing at the Sydney Opera House during the 2000 Olympics Games, more recently they performed at the Sai Kong Carnival organised by the Hong Kong Government in 2006.

Polynesian Plant Introductions
Illustrated talk with Ewen Cameron, Curator Botany
Sunday 25 February
11am - 12pm
Te Kakano
This talk covers not only the food plants that Polynesians intentionally would have brought with them, but also some suspected weed species.

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME: JANUARY 8 - FEBRUARY 6

Around the World in 40 Minutes
Tuesday 16, Thursday 18, Wednesday 24 and Friday 26 January.1.45pm
Treasures & Tales
An interactive show transporting children and their adults around the world on a journey of fun and cultural discovery.

Children's 10-minute Craft Activities
Weird and Wonderful
Celebrate Summer and New Zealand’s wonderful location in the Pacific, with fantastic  craft activities in Weird & Wonderful.
Tuesday 26 December – Tuesday 6 February
10am – 12pm and 1.30pm - 3pm Daily
$2 (or $1 for Dinomite members)

Saturdays: Luscious Lei
Sundays: Pacific Badges
Mondays: Rainbow Fish
Tuesdays: Luscious Lei
Wednesdays: Pacific Badges
Thursdays: Kupesi Rubbings
Fridays: Terrific Turtles

HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS FOR CHILDREN

Marine Myths – Junior Workshop
Wednesday 10 January
10.30am - 11.15am & 11.30am - 12.15pm
Learning Centre
Suitable for ages 4 – 6 years
$8 (or $6 for Dinomite members)
Make up a marine myth with the weird and wonderful Glenys Stace and construct a marine creature in to tell the story.

Hoe Decorations - Workshop
Saturday 20 January
2.30pm
Learning Centre
Suitable for Children of all ages
$10 (or $7.50 Dinomite members)
Paint a Hoe (paddle) with Maori designs. Learn about the meaning of some Maori patterns (kowhaiwhai), then study the Hoe on display, and finally paint your own ‘miniature hoe’ to keep.

Pack and Paddle – Senior Workshop
Tuesday 23, Friday 26 January
10.30am - 11.30am
Learning Centre
Suitable for ages 7 – 10 years
$12 (or $9 for Dinomite members)
The Pacific is vast and dangerous. What do you need to take on this journey? Join Alice Meredith in Treasures & Tales to hunt and gather your provisions.  Vaka Moana exhibition included.

LATE NIGHT WEDNESDAYS

Vaka Moana Lecture Series

Pitcairn Islands: A Visual History with Leslie Jaques
Wednesday 24 January
7.30pm
Auditorium
$10 Full price: and $5 members. $6 entry to exhibition. Bookings essential:, phone 306 7048
Leslie Jaques OBE, Commissioner for Pitcairn Islands gives a visual presentation outlining the fascinating history of the Pitcairn Islands from its Polynesian pre-history and its important role in Polynesian migration to the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty.

DNA across the Pacific Waves
Lecture with David Penny Research Director
Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution
Wednesday 31 January
7.30pm
Auditorium
$10 Full price: and $5 members. $6 entry to exhibition. Bookings essential:, phone 306 7048

Information about Polynesian ancestors and their move into the Pacific has traditionally come from a wide range of sources. These include anthropology archaeology, history, language comparisons and oral history. DNA sequences are a new, powerful source of information that is both independent of earlier data. However, the recent focus of interest is on the classic question whether the early Polynesian explorers managed to cross the Pacific to South America, and return. There are then the possibilities of leaving Polynesian chickens in South America and/or bringing back the gourd and the kumara from South America. DNA is ideally suited to answering such a question and some very recent results will be discussed.

CENTRE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION LECTURE SERIES

In conjunction with Auckland Museum, The Centre for Continuing Education, brings you three lectures. Prof Kerry Howe from Massey University, Auckland, opens the series with a comprehensive introduction into the evidence of the great migration from west to east, from Southeast Asia to Aotearoa, Dr Haillie Buckley presents fascinating archaeological evidence of the lifestyle of the Lapita people in Vanuatu, and Dr Ross Clark’s lecture focuses on comparative linguistics of the Polynesian people.

The Last and Greatest Migration: The Human Discovery and Settlement of the Pacific
Prof Kerry Howe MA Auck, PhD ANU
Wednesday 7 February
7.30pm
Auditorium

Lifestyles of the Lapita People from Vanuatu
Dr Hallie Buckley Otago University
Wednesday 14 February
7.30pm
Auditorium

Voices of the Islands: Linguistics and the Austronesian Migrations
Dr Ross Clark Phd Head of Linguistic Study University of Auckland
Wednesday 21 February
7.30pm
Auditorium

Setting out on their great migrations, the sailors of the Vaka Moana took with them a mother tongue which, over the millennia, spread more than half way around the earth, and diversified into over 1,000 languages – the Austronesian family. Striking resemblances between common words in widely separated places were one of the first clues which led scholars to search for the origins of their speakers. In the past century, as linguists have learned to ‘read’ the relations among this vast network of languages with increasing precision, language has continued to contribute new insights to the larger picture – most recently in pointing to Taiwan as a likely starting point for this amazing movement of peoples. Dr Ross Clark is Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Auckland. His research interests are in comparative linguistics of Polynesian and the languages of Vanuatu.

Upland plants of Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Illustrated talk with Ewen Cameron, Curator Botany
Wednesday 28 February
7.30pm
$10 and $5 members. $6 entry to exhibition Bookings essential, phone 306 7048
Rarotonga is the only high island of the Cook Island group; it is biologically remote, botanically intact and also unique - being home to several endemic species. After a visit there in 1899 Thomas Cheeseman was the first person to document its botanical importance.

MEMBERS MONDAYS

Monday 22 January 2pm
Vaka Moana
After a presentation by Professor Kerry Howe, History Dept Massey University, members will have the opportunity to experience this exhibition firsthand.