A yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed structure used by nomads of Central Asia for housing and storage.
The school purchased three yurts, through a contact in Australia, from Mongolia at a cost of about $20,000 each, administrator Claire Ridout said.
She described them as an affordable and attractive solution to the problem of an expanding school roll, now at 54, and lack of space.
To get to Dunedin, the yurts crossed China, where the aftermath of the May earthquakes slowed their progress, before arriving at Port Chalmers in August.
About 60 people helped erect one of the yurts, which is 10m in diameter, over the course of a day; the other two are expected to go up during the next few months.
The classroom is being used by pupils aged 6-8, but it is hoped the three yurts will form a new kindergarten area for the school.
"It's a lovely environment to teach in, with so much natural light," Ms Ridout said.
The children had also enjoyed learning about where their classroom had come from.
Because of the unusual nature of the construction, obtaining building consent involved a fair amount of discussion.
However, it had been obtained for five years, she said.
It was hoped further consent would be gained at the end of this period, as the yurts have a lifespan of about 15 years.
The Otago Community Trust was supporting a project to provide sustainable power systems, such as solar panels, for the new classrooms.
Further funding was being sought for the zero carbon footprint project.
The yurt's lack of power was highlighted yesterday when members of Dunedin's Southern Sinfonia were unable to plug in a keyboard and so played in the school building instead.
Ms Ridout believed the Ministry of Education would have no concern about the classroom because it had a building consent.
The ministry could not be reached for comment yesterday.
