Melita's Time at MOTAT

My MOTAT trip by Melita

Hook/Intro

Wow! I was so excited when I woke up in the morning. Do you know why? Today we were going on a trip to MOTAT – Museum of Transport and Technology. The whole school got to go to MOTAT together on Monday March 4th. We travelled there on a bus. After twenty minutes our bus ride came to an end.

We had finally reached our destination. As we assembled outside the gates we were greeted by a man, called Kent. He took us to the place which we called our meeting spot.Then we were told to have morning tea. After we finished having a snack an instructor came and told us our schedule. We had to go in groups made by our teachers.

Village

I had Miss Wu as my teacher. Ana, Cleo, Zariah and Mikkie were in my group. After having morning tea, it was time to explore MOTAT at on our own with our adult helper and teachers. First my group went to look at the MOTAT village. At the village there were old cottages and inside them there was old fashioned furniture. We also saw some dummies in the houses. Some of us got scared by looking at the creepy dummies. There was also a long drop which is like a toilet where a dummy sat there.  After this we went to the old school. When we entered the school there were lots of rules written on the board. We had to sing the national anthem. My group didn't sing the national anthem because some of us did not know the national anthem. We sang the national anthem in Maori.

Inventors room

The next place my group went to was the Inventors Room.  I was most excited about visiting this room. It had two double doors on the outside. When we entered the Inventors Room it was all dark. There were several rooms. I was so excited to see all the rooms. There were a lots of things to read and learn. There was a trampoline in a room, with lots of comfortable bean bags. The room looked cozy and relaxing. I had a turn on the trampoline game. The object of the game was to look at the TV that was right in front of you while you were jumping. There were holes and in those holes some monsters would pop up. You had to jump where they popped up. In my group Ana asked Wiss Wu whether we could go on the trampoline. Miss Wu allowed us to go on the trampoline. I was not sure whether I should have had a go on the trampoline or not, but I decided to have a go. I felt tired after I jumped on the trampoline. At the end of the game I saw my score. I got three stars.

We also walked into the animation room. We had to touch TV screens. There were also some big iPads in which you could create your own robot. There was also a room with a rocket launcher in and a room that focused on animation.

The Technology room

The next thing that me and my group went to was the Technology room. There were lots of old games, computers, cameras, typewriters, telephones radios, video games (Donkey Kong, Pacman), old TV’s and a Selfie machine (photo booth) that projected photos on a big screen/projector. In my group we were playing with the telephone.There were plenty of people surrounding the selfie machine. It was almost my turn and I was excited to take my picture. After I took my picture it came up on the big screen.

Pump house

We also went to the Pump House. It smelt like burnt oil. Some people didn't like the smell. The most disappointing thing was that no machine was working. We had to walk in a single line because it was dangerous to walk in groups.

Scavenger Hunt

After we had lunch, the next thing we were going to do was the scavenger hunt. We started the scavenger hunt. We first went to the village. In the village we had to search for cards, eggs, pots etc. Then we went to the fire station. We had to search for helmets, headlights, ladders, boots, axes, metal, pipes, etc. Then we went to the old school. We had to solve the maths problems, search for maps, pencils and erasers. We also had to sing the national anthem. I had a lot of fun searching for all these things. We also had to go to the Pump House, but my group didn't get time to go to the Pump House as part of the Scavenger Hunt. After that we went to the meeting spot for lunch.

Tram ride

After lunch it was the tram ride. I was so excited for it. When we went in there was a guy named Rob and he was the driver. Before we went on the tram we were at the tram station and we had to wait there until the tram came. It was really fun. We also went passed Auckland Zoo. We saw some Pukekos on the way. They were so adorable. Then we stopped at the station. We got down and Tiffany took some photos of us. Rob told us about the metal pole which he used to make the tram work. He also told us about the front safety grate. It was used avoid people from being run over.

Above and beyond

After the train ride we went to the Above and Beyond exhibition. There was a Simulator - enclosed room in which we were pretending to fly. There was a gravity game-we hoisted a concrete object up and then watched it drop. There was also a Game-picking up rubbish, etc. I really liked playing all these games. I didn't get to play all the games.

Educator room

After that we went to the Educator’s Room.The best part of the day was having the educator’s session on flight. We did many experiments like the Hair dryer and ping pong ball. We made flying objects that were light so they could be put into the wind machine, we tested out the suction of water and a cup, and we flew plastic toys. I really enjoyed trying these experiments.

Conclusion

After the class we all thanked Kent and we went to the meeting spot. I enjoyed my time at MOTAT. We waited at the gate for a minute and then went to catch our bus. We reached school at 2.30pm. It was a really fun trip to MOTAT. I would love to go back to MOTAT again with my friends or family. I hope to see many new things at MOTAT.