In “Voyage of Exploration”, students read about the marine diversity in New Zealand’s territorial waters and the process that NIWA scientists use to classify organisms.

In 1880, when Alice McKenzie was 7 years old, she saw a large, blue bird. She thought the bird was a takahē. What if it wasn’t?

This article reports on a survey of a 100-metre long rocky reef located 11 kilometres off the Taranaki coast. Students from local high schools are partnering with divers, biologists, engineers, fishers, and local iwi to discover and record the plants and animals that make the reef their home. The article focuses on the survey methods being used and the different technologies involved in each method.

This article explores how early Māori went about naming and grouping the plants and animals they found around them. It explains what this process reveals about Māori ways of viewing the world and the framework provided by whakapapa. It prompts comparisons with the Linnaean system for naming and grouping organisms and describes an example of Māori and Pākehā working together and drawing on knowledge from both systems.

DNA provides the blueprint for life, the instructions that separate the functions and development of humans from that of monkeys, elephants and even bananas. Learn more with this fun activity and lesson plan.

Nanogirl and some friends find out what goosebumps are and whether all animals get them - especially animals that live in very, very, very cold places

Bill Nye is starting an evolution revolution.

In this lesson we are going to focus on the importance of soil, and the role of decomposers in reducing the food waste heading to landfill. What are you waiting for? Let’s dig a little deeper into the topic of soil … literally!

In this episode of Ranger Kōrero – the big picture, ranger Dave explores the meaning of biodiversity in Aotearoa and how we all fit into that picture.

Can you get four of your counters in a row AND in the right order of the food chain?

What’s the difference between food chains and food webs? How do you read these? Have a go with the Thinker questions or make your own chains and webs!

This web resource is designed to assist community groups monitoring freshwater invertebrates in New Zealand.

As this topic is Fungi, our activities are based around identification of fungi and lichens, zombie fungi, spores, cultural uses, and the importance of fungi for on this planet.

Covering the structure and function of DNA and its role in inheritance, Dr. Michelle Dickinson will carry out a hands-on experiment and talk about genetics and cancer research with Dr Melanie McConnell from the Victoria University of Wellington.

Help kids learn the basics of biology with this simple lesson plan that covers a range of general questions about biology as well as introducing some new ideas and fun activities for children to try.

Have you ever wondered which animal might be the smartest, and how we might measure intelligence? Make this memory game at home and see how your memory compares to your friends!

Marine biodiversity refers to the variety of life in coastal and ocean environments. New Zealand’s
marine environment provides a habitat for an estimated 65,000 species of plants, animals and
microorganisms.

Take some water samples from a range of different places and use a microscope to investigate what's living inside.

The study of moulds as members of the fungus kingdom has an immediacy for children because moulds grow quickly, have a wide variety of forms, and are common around the home and garden.

It’s a population party with Bill Nye the Science Guy, and everyone’s invited.

Link for video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1K3d-HLZ-c

The topic provides activities that enable children to investigate the patterns and trends associated with seasonal changes and the reasons for these changes. The activities also encourage children to recognise the links between seasonal changes and changes in the behaviour of animals and plants.

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classifying life forms. Their are 8 main taxonomic ranks: Life, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.

Nanogirl takes some students from St Thomas's School in Auckland to Kelly Tarlton’s to meet a very slippery creature and find out what a hagfish is and why it’s so slimey.

Join Nanogirl as she takes a trip to Auckland Zoo to find out what the smartest animal is.