The one-hour virtual lesson on skinks and geckos was presented by Department of Conservation rangers Lesley Judd and Nathan Whitmore, with special help from a duvaucel gecko.
With the aid of video conferencing technology at Kavanagh College in Dunedin, the rangers were able to talk about skinks and geckos to pupils from Mercury Bay Area School, in Whitianga, Solway College, in Masterton and Matapu School, in Hawera.
"It was different from having kids in front of you, and it can never replace that hands-on experience, but it was a good way to learn and the children enjoyed it," Mr Whitmore said.
The pupils were excited to watch the duvaucel gecko, which is privately owned by a local breeder, as it stared at them on the big television screen.
When asked by the pupils what the gecko felt like, Ms Judd described the touch as "an apricot that had been in the fridge".
Found only on predator-free offshore islands, the gecko is the largest still living in New Zealand.
The virtual learning presentation also included information on how to build a skink garden in your back yard, and how the department is trying to save the rare Otago skink.
As part of Conservation Week, the department is holding five other virtual learning presentations, including two based in Wellington, one in Masterton and one in Harihari, South Westland.
Doc education adviser Pam Crisp said the sessions would be watched by hundreds of school children and would help them discover more about conservation.
