Here at Best Start Pukuatua we were lucky enough to have a telescope at our Matariki whanau event.
We held an evening where whanau donated a vegetable and together we made 7 slow cookers full of vegetable soup and we had warm bread to go alongside it.
Inside we had a movie to watch, arts and crafts but the star of the show was our telescope. We waited until it was dark enough and then we looked up high in the sky to see if we could see the Matariki night stars. The one we were looking for was Hiwa-i-te-rangi.
This star holds wishes for the future and helps us to connect to a promise of a prosperous season. We also talked about the Matariki mother star, associated with health and well-being, and a symbol of hope and connection to the environment.
The telescope allowed us to look up into the night sky and see these amazing stars as well as other stars. The telescope was a real treasure for us to be able to use and we got to experience the night sky up close.
Matariki, a time for togetherness, love, peace, and remembering the ones who are no longer here.