Exploring Waikato Museum was a new and exciting experience for our tamariki. We learnt about Matariki, her sisters, her parents Tangotango and Wainui, and how nga atua Maori put Matariki in the skies. Learning who Tangotango and Wainui were, was something special because we didn't know about them.
Nathan, our education guide, took us through our Tainui display, 'Nga Pou Whenua'. There are four pou (posts) that mark where the boundaries of Tainui waka are. There are some precious taonga in the Museum. Some of them are in glass cases so that they can't be ruined or broken. Our Tainuitanga is very important to us because we need to know where we came from and who we are. It is part of our identity as Maori.
