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Held in the final week of term two, the day brought primary and intermediate students from across the region into a world most had never seen up close: a university campus.

Ākonga were welcomed with a pōwhiri at Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, the heart of Māori learning and knowledge on campus, before rotating through a series of fun, hands-on workshops designed to introduce them to the kinds of subjects they could explore as future students.

The children sang waiata with Ripeka Paapu, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, and friends from Manawatahi, the Manawatū Māori Students’ Association; created mahi toi with Senior Lecturer Karangawai Marsh, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Maniapoto; joined in reo Māori games with Matenga Baker, Te Āti awa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira; and explored the night sky from a te ao Māori perspective inside the inflatable Star Dome with astrophysicist Associate Professor Pauline Harris, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa. All activities made possible with the support and coordination of Senior Lecturer Mari Ropata-Te Hei, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira.

For Te Pūtahi-a-Toi Head of School Professor Hēmi Whaanga, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Waitaha, the day was a meaningful opportunity for ākonga to explore and imagine their place in university life

“The ākonga engaged so naturally playing, creating, asking questions, and simply being curious,” Professor Whaanga says.

After climbing down the 90 steps from Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, students were guided on a walking tour to the Marsden Lecture Theatre where a different kind of discovery awaited: astronaut ice cream.

In a sensory science workshop run by food scientist Associate Professor Nicola Brown and Dr. Sarah Golding, students sampled freeze-dried treats, tested their tastebuds with a quiz, and asked the day’s most repeated question: “Can I have more ice cream?”

After a lunch break in the Student Dining Hall, where they shared tables with university staff and students, it was off to the afternoon activities. Some made the trek out to the Recreation Centre, with a quick wander through the residential halls. At the Recreation Centre, Taka O'Sullivan put them through their paces in a series of fun fitness and sports challenges and Emma Carey had them dancing off the last of their energy.

It was then time to wind down in the campus library. Ākonga enjoyed story time with Matenga, who shared the legend of Okatia, and then they created their own bookmarks and learned about the library.

Library Kaihautū Māori Sheeanda McKeagg, Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou, Ngā Ariki Kaiputahi, Te Aitanga a Māhaki, said moments in the library showed just how deeply the day’s experiences were landing with ākonga.

Connections were a powerful theme throughout the day, says Senior Advisor Stakeholders and Partnerships’ Toni Wilson. Some ākonga came in with clear expectations based on stories shared by older siblings who had attended previous Discovery Days.

“We were asked several times, ‘Are we going to see the cow today... the one where you put your hand up its ...’ We discovered that the tamariki asking were siblings of students who came last year and told them all about what they had done.”

But it wasn’t only the ākonga who were making connections. The experience resonated with the adults as well.

After weeks of planning for this outside-the-classroom experience, teachers were also excited to see the reactions of their ākonga, with one commenting, “Watching my students walking in awe, around parts of the campus, at the sheer size of it all, dreaming about their futures. Some of them thought that Massey was similar to the size of Feilding - they were mind blown! The excitement, sharing the dining hall with a pilot and other university students who were on campus that day was awesome to see."

Children’s University inspires ākonga by showing them the possibilities higher education and staying curious can offer. Rather than push ākonga toward a specific path, it opens the door a little wider, saying: this place is for you, if you want it. And that, for many of our ākonga, might be the most important discovery of all.