Students learn how Māori used Waka (canoes) to migrate to New Zealand from Hawaiki. They build a model waka using the Topobo construction kit and stage a competition where they program their waka to move in a rowing motion. By completing this activity, students should gain the knowledge and understanding of concepts and experience required by the New Zealand Curriculum in the areas of:

Computational Thinking: Level 1-Progress Outcome 1
Designing and developing digital outcomes: Level 2-Progress Outcome 1. Social Science: Level 1

Class starts by talking about Māori legends, for example that Aotearoa was found by the explorer Kupe, chasing an octopus from Ra’iatea, Tahiti and that Māori settlers arrived from their homeland of Hawaiki in giant canoes called waka. They are then asked to watch a video to discover how Māori propelled waka.