Amua Ao | Pūhoro STEM Academy programme

Āmua Ao is an initiative to raise Māori participation and achievement in the areas of science, technology, engineering and maths, collectively known as STEM. The Āmua Ao programme started with an innovative partnership between the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and Callaghan Innovation,

It aimed to inspire Māori students by giving them an experience of a lifetime and exposing them to the world of STEM and innovation. What better way than to send students to Silicon Valley, San Francisco. The idea was piloted by Te Wharekura o Mauao in 2015, and in 2016 NZQA and Callaghan Innovation embarked on a programme to provide the Silicon Valley experience to 100 Māori students.

Fast forward to today, and Āmua Ao now provides a set of experiential learning events (both international and domestic) designed to inspire rangatahi to pursue STEM subjects and/or careers.

The programme has seen Pūhoro rangatahi journey to the Silicon Valley, Hawai'i, NASA in Houston, Texas and Singapore and Taiwan. They have engaged with the indigenous peoples of those lands and been exposed to the incredible breadth of science and innovation abroad.

Pūhoro also delivers under the Āmua Ao banner, the Engineering Young Māori Minds (EYMM) kaupapa - a science and engineering challenge for Year 9 and 10 rangatahi Māori

EYMM

Engineering Young Māori Minds

Drawing from the rich pūrākau from our ancestors, Engineering Young Māori Minds uses these kōrero to create interactive science and engineering based challenges for rangatahi to participate in. To creating from scratch a drone which must be flown into a series of three baskets – relating to the pūrākau of Tane and his acension through multiple heavens to attain the three baskets of knowledge.

Also, right through to rangatahi being tasked to create a hydraulic arm which shifts an object to a Moon platform, in reference to Rona being taken up to the Moon, these challenges help rangatahi see the connection between themselves and science. This kaupapa helps rangatahi see that our ancestors were incredible scientists, and that science is a part of us, it is in our very D.N.A.!

"

"Seeing NASA particularly behind the scenes refuelled my desire to become and engineer. Seeing the incredible science behind it all was the best experience."

‍

Female, Houston

"

“It was cool listening to the way they do karakia here. After blessing the food we handed over the taonga that many of us had been wearing over the past few days and sang them a waiata which brought tears to one of the peoples eyes. That was a beautiful thing to see”

‍

Female, Hawaii

"

“I couldn’t stop smiling. This experience made me want to learn my language and understand my culture. For so long I felt empty in a cultural sense because I didnt feel strongly connected to my culture or have a real sense of identity. Now I feel like I am starting that journey and I am so excited.”

‍

Female, Houston

"

"We also had to say goodbye to Mana Vautier, I just think that it is awesome that a man of his status in the world of science (NASA) is interested in us. I aspire to be like him one day."

Male, Hawaii

"

“I think that this experience has changed my life forever and has also left me wanting to learn more about my Māori culture and where I come from. It has enlightened something inside of me to want to keep fighting and protecting my culture.”

‍

Male, Houston

"

"At the Wai’ope tide pools we got some kisses from the ocean (scrapes and bruises) and we got to see coral, kina and fish. It was awesome learning about peoples indigenous research methods about the loko’ia (fish ponds) and tidal pools."

‍

Male, Hawaii

"

“This trip has changed my perspective on so many things. I love my culture and my land. I am so proud to be Māori. I’ve grown so much and want to immerse myself in my Māoritanga as much as I can.”

‍

Female, Houston

Contact Us

Āmua Ao

Engineering Young Māori Minds

Āmua Ao International

"

"Seeing NASA particularly behind the scenes refuelled my desire to become and engineer. Seeing the incredible science behind it all was the best experience."

"

“It was cool listening to the way they do karakia here. After blessing the food we handed over the taonga that many of us had been wearing over the past few days and sang them a waiata which brought tears to one of the peoples eyes. That was a beautiful thing to see”

"

"

"We also had to say goodbye to Mana Vautier, I just think that it is awesome that a man of his status in the world of science (NASA) is interested in us. I aspire to be like him one day."

"

“I think that this experience has changed my life forever and has also left me wanting to learn more about my Māori culture and where I come from. It has enlightened something inside of me to want to keep fighting and protecting my culture.”

"

"At the Wai’ope tide pools we got some kisses from the ocean (scrapes and bruises) and we got to see coral, kina and fish. It was awesome learning about peoples indigenous research methods about the loko’ia (fish ponds) and tidal pools."

"

“This trip has changed my perspective on so many things. I love my culture and my land. I am so proud to be Māori. I’ve grown so much and want to immerse myself in my Māoritanga as much as I can.”

Get in touch