The first month of Te Arawhata’s year has flown by! After a good Christmas break, myself and the whole team at Te Arawhata are delighted to have the lights on and visitors back in the museum.
In keeping with our mission, Te Arawhata held two events which served as cultural bridges between France and Aotearoa New Zealand. We began by marking Waitangi Day with a special visit of the museum focussing on the Māori aspects of the exhibition, followed by a pepeha workshop, where our visitors discovered how to introduce themselves in te reo Māori. For me, it was a chance to dive a little deeper into this important dimension of the museum experience, and I was thrilled to see how interested our local visitors were to learn more about Māori culture, too.
Next, we ran a workshop on the weird and wonderful world of New Zealand’s native birds. Despite being designed for children, the workshop was a hit with big kids too! Everyone enjoyed learning about the “boom” of the kākāpō and how the kiwi lost its wings. We’re passionate about sharing New Zealand culture with the people of Le Quesnoy, and our fantastic fauna is no exception – for those that missed out this time, there will certainly be other opportunities toshare the fun of our famous feathered friends. For those that cannot wait, come discover our new kiwi plush toys in the Te Arawhata shop!
I am also excited to start the year with the announcement of two new partnerships with the Golf de Mormal and the Chateau d’en Haut, Jenlain. Both organisations share our commitment to providing high quality experiences in the Avesnois region, so both were natural collaborations for Te Arawhata.
So as we round out our first month of the year, and the last month of Winter, February has been a time of renewal, of new ventures and of an exciting year to come. Bring on the sunshine and springtime!