What lies in the depths of Lake Rotomahana? Penguins, say some Rotorua children.
Local children let their imaginations run wild in a special exhibition being held as scientists map the bottom of the Rotorua lake.
About 70 children's posters are on display at the Rotorua Library as part of a GNS exhibition about work being done by US and Kiwi scientists who are mapping the Rotomahana lake bed.
The scientists are searching for hydrothermal vents and trying to establish what might have happened to the eighth wonder of the world - the Pink and White Terraces - after the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption.
At the end of last year, GNS educational outreach geologist Julian Thomson spoke to Rotorua schoolchildren about the project. As a result, children made colourful posters depicting what they believed might be under the lake.
Some children drew treasure chests and pondered if there could be penguins, seaweed and even turtles beneath the surface.
Older children are predicting rocks of burned lava, fire stones, bones and the long-lost terraces.
Pictures of steam and bright red hot lava piles feature in some posters.
"There are lots of interesting pictures, they are really exciting," Mr Thomson said.
"Nobody has seen what is under the water since it flooded after the eruption. These kids have really used their imagination."
Joshua van Fulpen, 11, from Rotorua Intermediate School, was impressed.
"These pictures are really cool," he said. "They give you an idea of what might be going on ... It will be good to know what the scientists find down there."
The poster competition winner gets a pass for 30 pupils to Waimangu Thermal Valley and a Lake Rotomahana boat trip.
Picturing a lake with penguins and turtles
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