A whole lot of children had fun at the Puanga celebration at Whanganui Regional Museum on Thursday afternoon, educator Margie Beautrais says.
The 110 from Tawhero and Kokohuia schools first listened as museum kaiwhakaako Awhina Twomey talked about Puanga, the Maori New Year - its meaning and traditions. Then she gave them a quiz to make sure they understood, and they were put into teams.
Each team tried a series of activities - they did traditional stick and poi games and played knucklebones.
They used old wooden type to print a Maori New Year poster, they tried playing taonga puoro (traditional musical instruments) and learned the names of the tools used in traditional Puanga activities.
Gourds grown by schools and pre-schools were on display. Te Kura o Kokohuia and Ohakune Kindergarten grew the most and got prizes.