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Kelmarna

Activity Centre

Activity Centre

Welcome to our online activity centre, where we bring together in one place a range of fun activities that you can do at home and on your own to learn and explore more about gardening, organics and our environment!

In addition to this collection, you can also access the resources of an amazing variety of other reputable organisations from around New Zealand and across the world by visiting out Links & Resources page.

We hope you find something that excites you, inspires you and leaves you wanting to learn more! Happy learning!
Overview of Activities by Section
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Seeds & Seedlings
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Flowers & Leaves
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Animals & Insects
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Soil & Compost
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Craft-cycling
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Cooking & Tasting
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General Activities
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​Seeds & Seedlings
Create: Origami Newspaper Pot
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With permission, check out this YouTube video that shows you some fun and simply ways of making your own plant pot our of newspaper.

Do you have any old newspaper lying around the house? Give it another life and put it to good use by using it to create origami plant pots for your seeds. 


Once your seed grows into a sturdy seedling, you can plop it straight into the ground because the newspaper will biodegrade into the soil. Nice!
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Materials
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  • headphones (optional)
  • newspaper
  • jar or cup
  • potting mix
  • seeds
Investigate: Egg Carton Seed Tray
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With permission, collect empty egg trays once you and your family have eaten up all the eggs.

These cardboard cartons make excellent seed trays! They already have perfectly sized and separated plots for each seed and they don't cost you any extra money!

Poke a hole in the bottom of each plot, fill it with soil, then just plant your seeds, give it some water and watch it grow!

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Once your seed grows too big for its plot, you can just tear it from the tray and transfer it into the ground. Easy!
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Materials
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  • empty egg carton
  • potting mix
  • seeds
Investigate: Direct Sowing
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With permission, find a suitable spot in your yard or garden if you already have one! Prepare the soil and then sow the seeds directly into the ground.

Depending on your situation, you can choose seeds for a plant that will grow well in the spot you've picked. Then make sure you plant it at the correct depth, with enough space and that you give it plenty of care as it grows! Click here for some more tips for direct sowing.

Takes notes and draw pictures as you watch your plants grow to keep a record of your awesome new garden!
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Materials
  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
Investigate: Seed Scavenger Hunt
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With permission, go for an adventure around your yard or local neighbourhood.

- How many different seeds can you find?
- How can you tell their method of spreading?


Have a go at investigating the different seeds you find, but be careful of what seeds you may help spread! Takes notes and draw pictures of what you find to keep track of what you learn.
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Materials
  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
  • magnifying glass (optional)
Watch & Learn: A Video About Seeds
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With permission, check out this YouTube video that helps to explain how flowers are fertilised, make new seeds and then how those seeds spread.

Takes notes and draw pictures as you watch to keep track of what you learn.

If you find the video is too difficult to understand, try searching for a similar video, or check out this section of our page about Plant Needs & Seeds.
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Materials
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  • headphones (optional)
  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
Investigate: STEM Challenges
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With permission, check out this Pinterest page of creative ideas to use science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to test our ideas about how seeds move and spread.

Before each experiment, think about what you think will happen (hypothesis). Then compare your ideas with the results that you see. What did you learn?

Takes notes and draw pictures as you experiment to record your work.
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Materials
  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
Back to Overview of Activities

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​Flowers & Leaves
Investigate: Parts of a Flower
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With permission, pick a couple of flowers from your yard or neighbourhood.

Then bring them home and examine them closely to see if you can identify each of the different anatomical structures.

Takes notes and draw pictures as you examine to record your work.
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Materials
  • picked flowers
  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
  • magnifying glass (optional)
Create: Origami Flower
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With permission, search Google for instructions for how to fold an origami flower. There are many different styles of origami and different levels of difficulty to choose from.

Do your best to follow the instructions and fold a beautiful flower! Make a few of them or try your hand at a few different styles and you can put together a bouquet for your family!


Materials
  • origami instructions
  • coloured paper
  • scissors (optional)
Create: Colourful Canvas
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With permission, get out your notebook or a piece of paper and your favourite colouring materials for drawing.

Have a go at drawing flowers you can see outside, flowers you have at home in a vase or maybe even try to invent your very own new variety of flower! - - What colours will you use?
- What shapes can you draw?


Materials
  • notebook or paper
  • coloured pencils, crayons, markers or paint
  • paint brush (optional)
Create: Leaf Rubbings
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With permission, collect some leaves from your yard or neighbourhood.

Then bring them home and place them between two sheets of paper. Use pencils, crayons or other available colouring tools to rub gently on the top layer of paper, over the leaf. The shape and texture of the leaf should start to show as you rub!

Use different colours, types of leaves and creative arrangements to create beautiful leaf impressions!

Bonus: This rubbing method also works with other textures you may find around your home, yard or neighbourhood. See what kinds of textures you can grab in your area!
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Materials
  • leaves
  • notebook or paper
  • coloured pencils or crayons
Create: Homemade Wreath
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With permission, collect leaves, flowers and other bits from your yard or neighbourhood that you want to feature in your wreath.

At home, start with a round base for your wreath. This can be as simple as a cardboard ring to paste or tape things onto or as advanced as a woven circle of twigs from the yard. Then, use string, glue, tape or other fastening method to decorate your wreath with the natural bits that you collected.

You'll have your very own DIY wreath in no time! Depending on the season or what you like, you can feature different leaves, colours of flowers or fun objects like tree cones or berry clusters!
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Materials
  • leaves, flowers & other bits
  • cardboard, twine or other base
  • glue, tape or other fastener
Investigate: How Do Leaves Breathe?
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With permission, check out this simple science experiment that helps to demonstrate how leaves respire, or breathe air.

Follow the steps of the experiment to collect living leaf samples, submerge them in warm water and observe the signs that they release oxygen over time.

Takes notes and draw pictures as you undertake the experiment and observe changes to keep track of and reflect on what you learn.
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Materials
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  • living leaf samples
  • clear container (glass or plastic)
  • lukewarm water
  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
  • time and patience!
Back to Overview of Activities

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​Animals & Insects
Investigate: Backyard Bioblitz
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With permission, 

Out & About: Go for a walk and see how many and what different kinds of animals and insects you can find as you go along.

In One Spot: Pick a spot, maybe a flower or a tree or a cool corner of your yard. Now keep an eye on this spot at different times of day and in the days to come, and keep a record of 
how many and what different kinds of animals and insects visit.
​- How popular is your spot? 
Who likes to visit?
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When is most crowded?
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Materials
  • pen or pencil
  • notebook or paper​
  • magnifying glass (optional)
Analyse: Sorting Critters
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With permission, click on the picture above to visit the NZMaths website for this activity.

Look at the insects and think about:

- How many different insects are there?
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How would you sort the insects?

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Print them out or draw them on your own so you can cut them out and try arranging them in different ways. Make a graph of your results and talk about your process.

Materials
  • pen, pencil or printer (optional)
  • notebook or paper
  • scissors
  • glue or tape (optional)
Investigate: New Zealand's Native Bees
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With permission, click on the picture above to visit the For the Love of Bees website about NZ native bees, or ngaro huruhuru.

Have a good read of the information there and learn all you can about native bees.

- Did you know NZ has native bees?
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What have you learned about them?
Takes notes as you read and keep a look out for native bees in your area!

More Links:
- NZ Native Bees (Informational Slides)
- How To Monitor Native Bees (Slides)

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Materials
  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
Create: Attract Birds to Your Yard
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With permission, check out this information and activity page from the Department of Conservation on how to help benefit the native birds in your areas

Watch their short video about feeding native birds, take a look through the information and research they have available and figure out what you can do around your home to best benefit the birds in your neighbourhood.

Takes notes and draw pictures as you read, watch and take action to keep track of how many birds you see around your home and what impact you think you have on them.
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Materials
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  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
  • food and habitat materials depending on your situation
Analyse: Birds - Native or Not?
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With permission, go for a walk and see how many different kinds of birds you can spot. Can you tell which ones are native New Zealand birds and which are not?

Keep a tally of the different kinds of birds you see, and organise them into groups of native and non-native birds. How many of each can you find? Why do you think that is?

It can help to do a little research both before and after your walk so you know what to look for and can describe what you've seen.

Look through this list of native birds with pictures to help you identify them, or expand your research with this Forest and Bird guide to identify New Zealand birds.
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Materials
  • pen or pencil
  • notebook or paper​
  • binoculars (optional)
Create: A Lizard Friendly Garden
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With permission, check out this guide to creating a garden environment that native lizards will love! ​Brought to us by Predator Free New Zealand, here are some easy steps to help protect and encourage some of our small, reptilian garden friends!

Expand your knowledge of what kinds of lizards you can expect to see in your garden, especially after some friendly changes, with this informational brochure from Auckland Council, and 
check out the Predator Free New Zealand predator fact pages to get to know who to look out for.

Takes notes and draw pictures as you read, learn and take action to keep track of how your space changes, who you start to see around your home and what impact you think you have on them.
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Materials
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  • notebook or paper
  • pen or pencil
  • food and habitat materials depending on your situation
Perform: Dancing Bee Charades
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With permission, watch this video from the Smithsonian Channel, featuring Sir David Attenborough, to learn a little bit about how bees use the Waggle Dance to communicate.

Next you are going to try to use your own flash dance moves to communicate with your classmates, friends or family!

First, choose a notable thing or place around your school or home. Keep it to yourself and don't tell anyone yet! Then, once you have a thing or place in mind, try to describe what it is and where it is by only using dance moves. Can your group guess what it is and how to find it?

Take turns being the dancing bee and see who can come up with the most fun and communicate dance moves!


Materials
  • your body (to dance with!)
  • your imagination (to be creative!)
Back to Overview of Activities

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​Soil & Compost
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Watch & Learn: A Chat About Compost
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Investigate: Compost in a Jar
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Watch & Learn: A Video About Worms
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Investigate: Soil Biology BioBlitz
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Analyse: What Can Go in the Compost?
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Watch & Learn: A Video On Compost
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We apologise for the delay and are working to get this sorted as soon as possible!

Check back soon 
for more awesome activity ideas that you can do at home!
Back to Overview of Activities

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​Craft-cycling
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Create: Fruit Label Collage
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Investigate: Which Fly Bait Is Best?
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Create: Bottle Cap Badges
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Whoops! This is section is not 100% finished!

We apologise for the delay and are working to get this sorted as soon as possible!

Check back soon 
for more awesome activity ideas that you can do at home!
Back to Overview of Activities

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​Cooking & Tasting
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Analyse: Edible Parts of Plants
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Create: Making Fresh Pesto
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Analyse: Food Likes & Dislikes
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Whoops! This is section is not 100% finished!

We apologise for the delay and are working to get this sorted as soon as possible!

Check back soon 
for more awesome activity ideas that you can do at home!

Back to Overview of Activities

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​General Activities
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Reflect: Plant Pen Pal
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Investigate: Visit a Garden
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Create: Write a Haiku
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Create: Mapping Your World
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Reflect: Kelmarna Gardens Map Quiz
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Whoops! This is section is not 100% finished!

We apologise for the delay and are working to get this sorted as soon as possible!

Check back soon 
for more awesome activity ideas that you can do at home!

Back to Overview of Activities

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Learning Sessions Page
More Links & Resources
Kelmarna Virtual Tour

Have any fun activity ideas that you would like to share?
​Get in touch by emailing our Farm Education Coordinator, Sean, at education@kelmarnagardens.nz
Kelmarna Gardens Community Farm
Charities registration CC51662
  • Home
  • About
    • The farm
    • Our team
    • Supporters
    • Paddock development
    • Farming animals
  • Get Involved
    • Farm Dinners
    • Volunteer
    • Farm shop
    • Farmhands programme
    • School Visits >
      • Links & Resources for Distance Learning
    • Horticultural therapy
    • Visit & tours
    • Photo / Film Location
    • Corporate & team experiences
    • Meat pack sales
  • Workshops
  • Soil Factory
  • Contact
  • Donate