Those "extra miles" have recently taken museum educators not only to the Chatham Islands, but also to Pitt Island, a particularly remote part of the Chathams.
For much of the year Chatham Islanders could be forgiven for believing they are living largely alone, in the most easterly part of New Zealand, more than 800km from the South Island. But in July last year, a high-powered team of science outreach educators from the museum and the University of Otago arrived in a "mini-expedition" that included museum director Dr Ian Griffin and Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonics and Quantum Technologies (DWC) director Prof David Hutchinson.
Educational science equipment was given to Te One school, and Prof Hutchinson pledged this was "the start of a long relationship".
Te One is the largest school on the Chathams and has about 60 pupils up to year 8. Further study is pursued on the mainland. Last week’s return visit was a joint effort by the DWC and the museum.
Team participants included museum staff and DWC members Drs Frederique Vanholsbeeck and Stephane Coen, both of Auckland University.
The trip included another visit to Te One School, which museum programmes and science engagement director Craig Grant said aimed to "keep the enthusiasm and momentum we’re building with the kids".
"We’re trying to infuse a passion for science, so they pursue this into high school," Mr Grant said.
