KCC Wild Things Issue 144 Spring 2019

Issue 144 Spring/KĹ?anga 2019

Things Dark/Night

For Forest & Bird’s young conservationists

Inside this issue: • More on dark-loving NZ animals and plants, and special night-time places • What’s causing them problems • How you can help.

After dark, many NZ natives are up. They’re busy, and some are surprisingly noisy!

Wild Nights in Aotearoa Whats going on when we’re all tucked in?

Caterpillars are leaving their mark Look for holes in the kawakawa leaves to see where kawakawa looper caterpillars have been.

RASP I make a noise that sounds like when you suck your fingers.

Photo: Phil Bendle

I’m the grown-up version – the kawakawa looper moth.

We’re active during the day when young, but nocturnal (nighttime) animals as adults.

Glow worms are hunting They use their bioluminescent glow to attract small flying insects towards their sticky threads.

Tuatara enjoy the cooler temperatures Did you know they are active in temperatures as low as 5°C?

EDITOR: Rebecca

To join KCC and receive Wild Things, or to receive our free E-news, go to www.kcc.org.nz.

Browne

ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER: Rob PRINTING: Webstar, COVER Ruru

Di Leva, Dileva Design

Auckland • ISSN 2230-2565

| morepork fledgling waiting for food outside nest entrance. Photo: Rod Morris

Photo: Craig Potton

Wild Things is produced by Forest & Bird, Phone 04 385 7374, Email office@forestandbird.org.nz PO Box 631, Wellington 6140.

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Photo: Mark Rosen

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of Forest & Bird or the copyright holder.

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Plants are smelling sweet Māhoe, for instance, is looking to attract moths to their flowers so they can help with pollination.

I’m a garden orb web spider – the most common spider in NZ.

Spiders are spinning and repairing It’s the best time to get a web ready.

I might make a CHIRPING sound, but I never CROAK. Scientists think I communicate mostly through chemicals.

Photo: Tatters (Flickr)

SKRARK!

Wētā and frogs are climbing Tree wētā and Archey’s frogs both go high up in the forest to the young leaves and flowers for a midnight feast.

Photo: Zealandia

Us boys TRILL or PIPE. Our girls GROWL, and have a highpitched rapid QUACK!

Birds are having words The pāteke | brown teal is likely letting everyone know what’s theirs.

They are fiercely territorial!

Kākā are getting rowdy These mainly diurnal (daytime) birds will stay up late in fine weather or when there’s a full moon to gossip and PAARTY.

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BRRRrrr BRRRrrr

Penguins are coming in “The kororā or little blue penguins come into the beach at dusk so they can hide from the sea lions. They come in in groups called rafts. We saw five rafts of little blue penguins come in and waddle up the beach to their nests. There were about 100 penguins all up. They were very noisy once they got to their nests.” – Charlotte (7), Dunedin

Photo taken by Charlotte

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Zooplankton bloom Sometimes when billions of them come together in one place, they light up the surface of the ocean with their bioluminescence – like fairy lights or a glowstick!

Photo: TWN (Youtube)

Kōura are foraging These freshwater crayfish, who live in our lakes and streams, come out at night to feed.

Photo: DOC

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Fish “slip on their pyjamas” Pink maomao change from a bright pink to a paler, more mottled pink so they blend in with nighttime surroundings better.

Kupu hou | New words Te pō | the darkness, the night weherua pō | midnight tōnga o te rā | sunset māpouriki | dusk ata hāpara | the breath of dawn māhina | early morning light whetū | star marama | moon atarau | moonlight pō mārie | good night

Photo: Brian Gratwicke

Photo: mark6mauno (Flickr)

I’m a bamboo coral. I might look like a plant, but I’m actually an animal!

Photo: NOAA

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Photo: NIWA

So are many sea creatures This includes kina | sea urchins, weki huna | mottled brittle stars (relatives of starfish), coral, and our bigbelly seahorses.

Photo: The Marine Life Database

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Adaptations for the

nightlife

An “adaptative trait” is a special characteristic that a plant or animal has so they can be successful where they live. Here’s two things nocturnal and crepuscular animals have in common...

have amazing ➊ They senses of touch, smell, hearing, and sight suited to the dark.

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Photo: DOC

Photo: DOC

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SKRAAK! I’m a kākāpō. My good sense of smell means I can find fruit and seeds in the dark.

I’m a pekapeka | lesser shorttailed bat. My hearing is amazing – can you tell?

MORE-PORK! I’m a ruru. I have terrific eyesight. My eyes have a special eye cell called rods in them which let me catch the tiniest ray of light when it’s dark.

Photo: David Hallet

uscu

lar

dusk

nocturnal

sunset

dawn

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

crep

lar

uscu

crep

sunrise

diurnal bodies are ➋ Their camoflagued and made to move stealthily (without being seen or heard much).

I’m a female pūriri moth or pepe-tuna. I’ve been described as Kēhua kākāriki – a green ghost

I’m a native bush cockroach.

Would you be able to pick me out in the leaf litter?

whi-O! I’m a blue duck. My blue/grey colour is a perfect match for the fastflowing rivers I love. My chestnut coloured chest matches well with the plants on the river banks too.

My body is streamlined, so water just flows over me! I can swim and dive with ease.

Photo: Craig McKenzie

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Conservation

Heroes © Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Lachlan (age 8) and his family from KCC North Taranaki are helping to protect the Western North Island Brown Kiwi.

In May this year, we went to go and change the transmitter of Silver the kiwi, and do a health check.

We tracked Silver to near the Waiwhaikaiho River and had to climb down a big bank to get closer. We beeped him and his signal was within 10m away from us. We noticed a big log with a tunnel network under it. It took roughly 20 minutes to get him out with Dad managing to catch him.

He had grown a lot since we last saw him and was 1.6kg, which is a good weight and size for him to survive against predators. We could tell that the mountain has a very rich source of grubs and worms because he had put on weight. Sian from the Taranaki Kiwi Trust changed his transmitter and checked his bill length. He was very calm, and I put him back under his log.

We have been part of Silver’s journey since we lifted his egg (and sister Marshmallow) in January 2017 with the Taranaki Kiwi Trust. He is called Silver because there were heaps of silver ferns near the burrow where his egg was laid.

We drove the eggs to Rainbow Springs in Rotorua for them to hatch.

When the two kiwi were big enough, they were brought back to Taranaki. We released them into Rotokare Scenic Reserve, which has a predator-proof fence. This is a place for them to get big enough (at least 1kg) to go out into the wild.

My family and I re-released Silver into Egmont National Park just before Christmas last year.

Transporting to Rotokare 3/7/17

Our journey together in photos…

First meeting since egg 3/7/17

Egglift 14/1/17

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The kiwi is New

QUEE!

Close up taken

by Lachlan!

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Re-releasing at the mountain 22/12/18

Trying out the beeper 7/4/19

Health test 11/5/19

Zealand’s best-known nocturnal bird

Photos by Angela Castle and Lachlan

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Word Hunt All the words hidden in our word hunt are types or names of NZ animals that are nocturnal, or are most active at dusk and dawn.

Look horizontally, vertically, and diagonally to find them and cross them off as you go.

KIWI

BAT

WĒTĀ

KAKA

PENGUIN

KĀKĀPO

SKINK

PURIRI MOTH

WEKA

HUHU BEETLE

GLOW WORM

GECKO

FROG

WHIO

SQUID

RURU

TUATARA

KŌURA

KINA

POWELLIPHANTA

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

P X W E T A G N S O

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E N P P E K P O XT XP L O Y P R S D F

G Z A W U K W B Q R

U H K E A M W H U O

I U V L T S O V I G

N H J L A K R T D O

P U R I R I M O T H

K B Q P A N F A W P

O E C H I K K B G F

U E R A K I A A E H

R T U N A W K T C K

A L R T K I A W K I

I E U A A A P Y O N

V J D S H K O Z A A

Twinkle, twinkle little star. What a nighttime wonder you are!

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Connect the dots

Trivia In the Southern Hemisphere shines the brightest star of all the sky.

Can you name it? *wow*

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Jokes How did the glow worm feel when it backed into a tree?

De-lighted.

What do you call a clever glow worm?

A bright spark!

What do bats do at night?

Aerobatics.

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Riddles

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It’s been around for millions of years, but it’s no more than a month old. What is it?

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What is there more of the less you see?

To recycle The Collective’s suckies, and raise money for your chosen charity or organisation join the NZ Suckies Brigade at www.terracycle.co.nz.

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Game

For 2+ players AIM: Be the first HOME

You’ll need:

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• Counters • A dice Our backyards are full of creatures who rely on their night vision (their ability to see well in low light) to eat, to breed, to get around, and to keep safe.

Find out what it’s like for them when we’re out exploring nature in the dark. You’ll soon see why using a red light torch is best!

START

How to play: 1 Put your counters at START. 2 Take turns rolling the dice. Move forward the number of spaces shown on the dice.

3 If you land on a space lit by a red light, your night vision is safe.

Keep going on your next turn.

4 If you land on a space lit up by a bright-white or a blue-white light (like that from modern torches and phones) you’re temporarily blinded!

It could take 10–40 minutes for your night vision to return fully.

Miss one turn while your eyes try to re-adjust.

5 Land on a space with a predator and you’re caught out! Go back to the START.

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© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

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Hack a red light

Rubber band

Red cellophane You want the light to shine REALLY red. Make it redder by putting more layers of cellophane on top.

Š Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

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Sellotape 69

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HOME

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© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

KEEP CATS INSIDE AT NIGHT Did you know that our furry friends are at their hunting, stalking, and chasing best during dusk and dawn?

Be a responsible cat owner. Keep them inside at night.

You’ll make a real difference for our NZ wildlife!

Our native birds, bats, lizards, and insects didn’t evolve with predators like cats around, so they have little to no way to protect themselves.

It’s estimated that each NZ domestic cat kills, on average, 13 to 14 animals a year. We have so many pet cats in our country that that adds up quick.

It’s something like 1.12 million native birds (plus all the rest) annually.

Illustration: Rosa Friend

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

A top tip to keep If they get a meal or treat, or get some your cat happy when exercise playing with their owners, before they want to go out: bedtime, they’ll usually settle down.

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In the

Mailbox

Sam (11) from Whangaparoa found a piece of drift wood that looked an awful lot like a tōrea tai | variable oystercatcher, so he added a beak, and some colour.

Mail us: kcc@forestandbird.org.nz Wild Things, P.O. Box 631, Wellington 6140.

Maria’s (9) artwork is inspired by Wild Things, and her recent visits to Shakespear and Tāwharanui Regional Parks. She’s also from Whangaparoa.

Annabelle (10) from Whangarei is really proud of this tree drawing. We think it’s super too!

Kimberley (6) from Lower Hutt found an emperor gum moth caterpillar at school.

She recorded its growth and change into an adult using photos and drawings.

Mystery Mailbox Prize Congratulations Kimberley! You’ve won a copy of the pukapuka MOTH by Holly Dunn.

Aotearoa Books, $20 http://aotearoabooks.co.nz/moth

Oliver (7) from Christchurch drew a kororā heading home with a tasty fish at the end of the day.

FACT or

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

fiction

Mushrooms only grow in the dark Fiction – mushrooms will grow happily in both the dark and light.

Why do people think this?

Well, mushrooms and other fungi aren’t plants.

They don’t have chlorophyll (the green pigment in leaves), and they don’t need to do photosynthesis (use the sun to make their food). Mushrooms are actually saprophytes. They break down and “eat” dead plants, like your compost pile does.

Also, what mushrooms really like best (and need) is cool temperatures and dampness – things that come from less direct sunlight.

MYTH

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© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Aoraki Mackenzie International “Enjoy the Stars” Dark Sky Reserve Dark Sky Reserves are special protected places with exceptional views of the starry night and/or nocturnal life. There’s only 13 certified Dark Sky Reserves in the whole world. New Zealand has the biggest one. It’s also the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere!

Recently, KCC’s Lauren Cox went to visit Aoraki Mackenzie alongside other excited star-gazers.

While there, she did a Mt John Observatory Tour with our friends Dark Sky Project.

Photo: Dark Sky Project

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© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

The dim orange street lights of Lake Tekapo were starting to turn on as we arrived for our night tour with Dark Sky Project. I had been told you could see thousands of stars from New Zealand’s southernmost astronomy facility, but what I saw was far beyond what I’d expected!

Mt John Observatory. Photo: Dark Sky Project

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

At 1030m above sea level, the Mt John Observatory sits within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.

It stretches from Tekapo, out to Twizel, and then all the way to Aoraki | Mount Cook National Park (it’s a huge 4500 square kilometre area). There are hardly any artificial lights here, and this helps protect the darkness.

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Lauren on the bus. Photo: Henry Gallyot

Aoraki Mackenzie has been a Dark Sky Reserve since 2012, but astronomers from the University of Canterbury have been working here for over 50 years. From their Mt John facility, they study the optical light from space (the white light we can see shining from the moon and the stars).

When we started our tour, we were asked to put away our cameras and phones. White lights interfere with the telescopes but also with our night vision. To help us see in the dark, our tour guide gave us little red-light torches (which we got to take home with us). Even the bus had red lights – inside and out!

When we reached the top of the hill, we were instantly grateful for the darkness, as we saw more stars than we had ever seen before! With a lightsaber-style torch, our tour guide taught us about the time-machine of the sky.

We learned that there are billons of stars in our galaxy and that each one is a different distance away from Earth. The further away the star, the longer it takes for its light to reach us. It can take years for this light to reach us, so we measure the distance in light-years. When we look up at the night sky, we are looking into the past – how cool is that!

The big telescope. Photo: Dark Sky Project

Just as my neck was starting to ache from looking up in awe, we heard a loud rumbling. The dome roof of the observatory turned towards a special patch of sky where the planet Jupiter was a tiny sparkle. We rushed to have a look through the telescope. I was amazed at how clearly we could see the colours of Jupiter and four of 80 of its moons. Jupiter’s diameter is more than 11 times of that of Earth’s – so this made me feel very small.

There were also portable telescopes set up overlooking the lake. With a push of a button, it automatically moved towards the moon, and we could see its craters. I couldn’t believe the detail I was seeing – it looked like a photograph!

Thank you to Dark Sky Project for an incredible experience – and for keeping me warm with a big red coat, previously used in an Antarctic expedition, and hot chocolate!

Why do you love NZ’s night skies?

Tell us in your most creative way by 29 September 2019

Be in to win the ultimate Dark Sky Project family experience – valued at over $600!

• Enjoy at night of stargazing and see astronomy research in action, at the world-renowned University of Canterbury Mount John Observatory* • Take part in the brand new Dark Sky Experience – a world-first multi-media interactive indoor daytime experience that combines the science of our night skies and tātai aoraki (Māori astronomy).

T&Cs: *Prize is for two adults, two children. Children must be 5 years or older to take part in the Mount John stargazing experience. Prize must be taken by 30 August 2020. A block-out period of 1 December 2019 – 31 March 2020 exists. All prize elements must be taken at the same time/trip.

All associated costs (such as travel, accommodation, food, etc) are at the cost of the prize-winner.

Bookings are subject to availability – please book at least one month in advance.

Email your entry to kcc@forestandbird.org.nz

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

A tour guide in action. Photo: Dark Sky Project

Inspector Insector CASE FILE 1ATHE CASE OF THE MANY MOONS BACKGROUND TO THE CASE:

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

ct Squad’s Even though he is the Special Inse nt Zizz-Bit is number one “fly on the wall”, Age ing because finding it really hard to do his spy too many the humans have been turning on to sleep. get ’t bright lights at night and he can g pin him Their dazzling street lights are kee and day. awake – day and night – and night report his Agent Zizz-Bit is just too tired to U to join YO ds findings to Fly-Spy, so he nee Inspector the Special Insect Squad and help insects.

Insector to look after the world’s Agent Zizz-Bit on duty

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A CRANKY AGENT ZIZZ-BIT REPORTS:

CAN YOU HELP?

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

After yet another sleepless night, Agent Zizz-Bit has had enough.

With a twitch of his antennae, he connects to the Insectornet and makes contact with Inspector Insector. It’s time to get the Special Insect Squad on the case.

“Fly-Spy has a case for you Inspector,” he said as soon as Inspector Insector logged onto the conversation. “It is called ‘the case of the many moons’.’’

“The case of the many moons..?” the Inspector replied. “But there’s only one moon, Agent Ziz-Bit.” “Oh come on, Inspector, us insects aren’t silly. We know you stompers have put a moon on every street corner. Just look up.”

“Look up…?” Inspector Insector wasn’t quite sure what Agent Zizz-Bit was talking about. “…At what?”

“The big, bright moons, Inspector…on the poles.”

“Oh, you’re talking about the street lights.”

“Street lights – smeet lights. All I know is that all these moons are messing with our minds. You need to get your Insect Investigators to find ways to make the nighttime dark again, Inspector. And do it quickly, please, before us insects go all bugeyed and bobble-brained!”

Got what it takes to be an Insect Investigator? Email Inspector Insector at inspector.insector@gmail.com with your ideas for making the nighttime dark again. He’ll choose the best to be published in the next Wild Things.

By sending in your answer, you’ll also receive: n an official S.I.S. Agent

number n an Insect Investigators

Licence n a search warrant n a copy of the Special Insect Squad Training Manual.

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Swooping about. Photo: Kerry Weston

Catching a

bat in the dark of night

By Laura Keown

Laura visited Forest & Bird’s bat recovery project in Marlborough to learn how to trap and tag a longtailed bat.

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Exploring. Photo: Colin O’Donnell | DOC

We have only two native land mammals in Aotearoa. They’re two species of furry little flying pekapeka, or bats, and they are so cute!

I helped to catch long-tailed bats in the Rai Valley recently.

Catching the bats helps us to learn more about how to protect them.

Long-tailed bats are very rare and critically endangered, so it was a very special experience.

Long-tailed bats are amazing flyers. They can fly at about 60km/h. They swoop around in the darkness eating insects right out of the air by using echolocation (using reflected sound to locate objects).

When they fly, they are completely silent to the human ear. It’s very hard to know bats are around in the night, unless

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Hanging out. Photo: DOC

you have a special bat detector to listen for their echolocation calls.

Long-tailed bats are incredibly small. Their furry body is only about as long as my thumb, with big leathery wings that stretch out and a long tail that connects to their wings and helps them fly.

Bats are awake all night, flying and eating. During the day, they sleep in the hollow parts of old growth trees. They don’t sleep in the same roost every night, but they do like to roost all together in a group, especially when there are baby bats around.

Nelson

Rai Valley and Pelorus areas

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Our bat trapping work is important research to learn more about the bats in the Pelorus and Rai Valley areas of Marlborough. In particular, scientists want to know where they roost (sleep in the day) and whether their population is increasing.

The more we know about where the bats like to sleep, the better we can protect those areas from predators, like rats and stoats, which can eat bats and their babies in their roosts.

If their numbers are growing, it means we’ve been doing a good job at pest control.

Blenheim

Gillian Dennis using a radio tracker to find a roost where bats are sleeping. Photo: Laura Keown

Volunteers watching as the bats emerge from their roosts in the evening. Photo: Laura Keown

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We were using tall traps, specially designed for catching bats. These traps have fine fishing line running vertically (up and down) through a large metal frame, like the strings of a harp. They are called harp traps.

The bats can’t see the strings of the trap with their echolocation calls. The lines are taunt, so when they fly into them, they bounce against them like a trampoline and they fall down into a catch bag, where they’re safely tucked away until someone comes around to check the trap.

We set the traps up during the daylight in preparation. I went to bed early to have a short sleep.

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Me with the trap when it’s ready to go.

Photo: Gillian Dennis

I had to wake up in the dark, long before the sun came up, to check for bats in the catch bags. We carried bat tagging and tracking equipment into the bush with headlamps on.

If a bat is big enough, they can have a tiny radio transmitter (that weighs less than 1g) put on their back with a dab of glue.

The transmitter falls off after about 10 days, and it doesn’t bother the bat.

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A radio transmitter.

Photo: Laura Keown

Setting up the harp trap. Photo: Laura Keown

We caught an adult female bat, and she was big enough to carry a transmitter. Woohoo!

We recorded the bat’s age, weight, and sex, and put a permanent ID band onto her wing so the team can keep track of her.

Looking at the wing. Photo: Laura Keown

Gillian trimming the bat’s fur so she can put a transmitter on. Photo: Laura Keown

When we released her, her radio transmitter told us she flew to a roost in the Brown River Reserve.

We never knew there were bats living there before this research project, so that was a massively important discovery!

It was so neat to see a long-tailed bat up close and personal. Pekapeka are my new favourite animals.

Radio ready! Photo: Laura Keown

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

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Builda-Bat

Follow these instructions to make your own poseable long-tailed bat!

STEP STEP

➊

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Cut out the wing template you’ve printed out.

Trace around it onto black crepe paper. Cut out the wings carefully so they don’t rip.

STEP

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• Black crepe paper • Two long black pipe cleaners • The bat wings template from kcc.org.nz/build-a-bat • A pencil or piece of chalk for tracing • Scissors • Bat body pieces (cut out) • Something strong to stick the pieces together (we’ve used tape, but hot glue or staples work too)

➍

Put wings down on table and put the BACK bat body piece on top, right side up. Make sure the front middle of the wings line up with the white marks. Stick down the long “arms” onto the bat wings, then stick the back end of the bat body to the wings too.

➋ &➌

Twist pipe cleaners together twice, so you have two long “arms” and two shorter “legs”. Stick this to the back of the BACK bat body piece like in the picture.

You’ll need:

STEP

➎ &➏

Turn everything over. Stick down the FRONT bat body firmly on top of the wings. Make sure it all lines up with the BACK bat body underneath.

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Illustrations: Rosa Friend

FRONT

STEP

BACK

➐ Pose your long-tailed bat!

Roosting

Foraging on the forest floor

Getting ready to fly!

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KCC ADVENTURES Our Farewell Spit Trip

By Ruby (age 9), KCC Golden Bay

to our next stop, Paddy pointed out some amazing birds like Caspian terns and tōrea | variable oystercatchers.

When we got to our second stop, we were really excited to see the sand dunes.

Our last stop on the inner beach was to see some amazing whale bones. The beaches there are so flat and the tide goes out so fast. Whales come in to feed and the tide goes out and the whales get stranded. It’s sad that this happens, but the bones were also super interesting to look at.

That about tells you how awesome our Farewell Spit trip was. Maybe one day you will get to visit this special place too!

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© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

Did you know Farewell Spit’s Māori name is Onetahua, meaning sand bar or pile of sand? Some of the members of KCC Golden Bay were lucky enough to go there on one of the Farewell Spit Eco Tours buses. We did three stops on the trip.

The first was at Fossil Point where we all looked for fossils and investigated rock pools in the mudstone rocks. Paddy our driver showed some of us some really super cool fossils while other people found their own super cool fossils, and yet more people found some giant crabs! While we drove

Š Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

The stars of the show

By Amy (age 11), KCC HastingsHavelock North We went to the Holt planetarium in Napier. They have lots of different things there, like a computer game where you land a spacecraft onto the moon and posters showing what the solar system is like.

At the start of our visit, we went into a fairly large room filled with seats. Up the front was a big white wall and a projector could play videos on it. Once everyone arrived, we sat down and listened to Gary talk about the manufacturing of the video. The video we watched was made in 1957 by a famous cartoon maker called Walt Disney. Did you know that people used to think that the stars went into the sea, that the sun went around the Earth, and that the world was flat like a pancake?

Next, we went into the planetarium, which had a big white dome ceiling. In the middle was a black odd-shaped projector that looked like a disco ball!

We all found a seat and sat down. Some of the seats were like armchairs. Most of the kids preferred these.

The lights dimmed and finally went out. Gary put up a picture onto the ceiling of the night sky. He showed us lots of star constellations and told us their names. One was Leo the lion. In the Northern Hemisphere, he looks like a lion, strong and tough, but when you see him here in NZ, he just looks like a great big pussy cat lying on his back. Gary told us lots of facts, and we also got to ask questions.

When we got out it was very bright, but it was an exciting day. I can’t wait until next time!

Where is that adventure?

Had a KCC adventure?

Let us know at kcc@ forestandbird.org.nz.

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Riddles

WILDThings Riddle 1: The Moon Riddle 2: Darkness

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Send in your mahi that fits this topic.

You might just get published in Wild Things!

Light/Day

Next time in Wild Things...

.6

Connect the dots .

.1

.28

.2

.27 .26

.3 .4

.25

.5

Trivia

Answer:

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Morepork/Ruru .23

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In the Southern Hemisphere shines the brightest star of all the sky.

Can you name it?

.8 .9

Sirius

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10 . .11

.21

.12 .13

In te reo Māori, this star is called Takurua.

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.19 .14 .15

© Wild Things Issue 144, Aug 2019. Produced by Forest & Bird

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Word Hunt

P X W E T A G N S O

E N P P E K P O XT XP L O Y P R S D F

G Z A W U K W B Q R

U H K E A M W H U O

I U V L T S O V I G

N H J L A K R T D O

P U R I R I M O T H

K B Q P A N F A W P

O E C H I K K B G F

U E R A K I A A E H

R T U N A W K T C K

A L R T K I A W K I

I E U A A A P Y O N

V J D S H K O Z A A

Answers *Week’s worth equal to 7 x 100g pouches.

Entries close 15 September 2019.

Email your answer to the question above, along with your name and contact details to winNZ@epicdairy.com.

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