The Art Gallery and Museum provides fun and interactive learning programmes to suit school groups of all ages. School visits are tailored to meet the needs of students through facilitated discussions, hands-on activities and engagement with real experiences. Contact our educator to book your visit.
If you are wanting resources on particular topics for your kura do contact me. Between our archives, collections and resources we have a vast wealth of information about our local history and visual art.
All programmes have been tailored to suit
- Years 1- 3
- Year 4-6
- Year 7-10
Senior secondary programmes and resources are created to suit particular standards on request.
Time
Bookings are between 60-90 minutes, depending on whether teachers want to incorporate a creative activity in our Learning Centre.
What's on this term
Puaka Matariki: Matariki Herenga Waka
Curriculum Links | Te Ao Māori | Community Celebration
Dates | 30 May – 16 August
Term 2 Week 7 - Term 3 Week 4
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
Our exhibition reflects the 2026 national theme Matariki herenga waka – For everyone. In this immersive experience using projections of stars and water, we have collaborated with one of our local kura to decorate voyaging waka that ‘sail’ through our space, creating a mooring place for all canoes inside the museum.
Waihanga | Create
After viewing the space and learning about the stars found within the constellation of Te Waka o Raki, including those of Matariki, students will decorate and make their own waka to take home.
Caught in the Moment - Guardian Photographs of 1976
Curriculum Links | Visual Art
Dates | 30 May – 06 September
Term 2 Week 7 - Term 3 Week 8
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
A selection of images from this large collection of scanned photographic negatives will take us on a journey across all aspects of life in our district 50 years ago. Some images made the daily paper, but most did not and have never been seen before.
Ako | Learn
Looking at these images, we discuss which moments in time Guardian photographers chose to capture around Whakatere Ashburton and why. We will also explore our collection of vintage cameras so students can learn more about the history of photography.
Waihanga | Create
Using the photographs as prompts, students will create their own newspaper articles based on what might have been happening. This can be adapted to suit a range of ages and abilities, and may be of particular interest to senior photography students.
Image from the Ashburton Guardian negative collection, 1 April 1976.
Ashburton Society of Arts 62nd Annual Exhibition
Curriculum Links | Visual Art
Dates | 07 July – 02 August
Term 3 Week 1 - Term 3 Week 2
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
The Ashburton Society of Arts exhibition showcases a wide variety of work from our local arts society. Ākonga will enjoy exploring the many different approaches to visual art and self-expression.
Waihanga | Create
Combined with a tour of our Matariki exhibition, this will be a wonderful way to facilitate discussions about how creativity can be used as part of a community, expressing people’s cultures and whakapapa in a group environment.
Potion, Anita DeSoto
Curriculum Links | Art History | History
Dates | 04 July – 30 August
Term 3 Week 1 - Term 3 Week 6
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
Ākonga will assess the ways in which Anita DeSoto re-imagines Baroque paintings, re-telling myths through a feminist lens.
Ako | Learn
Sitting alongside the Ashburton Art Society exhibition, this provides rich context for conversations about art-making.
Waihanga | Create
Delve deeper into this topic with a figure drawing workshop, helping ākonga in their ability to draw people, or in a workshop on expressive arcylic painting techniques.
This can be adapted to all age levels
Image: Anita DeSoto, Red Potion, 2024, oil on linen
Panthalassa, Natchez Hudson
Curriculum Links | Science | Social Science | Visual Art
Dates | 15 August – 18 October
Term 3 Week 5 - Term 4 Week 1
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
In re-orienting or disrupting dramatic alpine images, Hudson allows viewers to reimagine their own relationship to the land and draws our attention to the climate crisis.
Ako | Learn
Through exploring these works, students will learn about the dramatic alpine landscapes of Kā Tiriti o te Moana, the Southern Alps, looking at the geology of their formation, as well as what makes them precious to us.
Waihanga | Create
Students will create 3-D sculptures based on local landscapes and drawing inspiration from Hudson’s varied approaches.
Image: Natchez Hudson, Pangaea (Cistecephalus II) (detail), 2021, cast acrylic, bamboo ply and acrylic paint on board. Image courtesy of the artist.
Nature’s Symphony: A Visual Journey through our Forests, Marilyn Rea-Menzies
Curriculum Links | Textiles Technology | Visual Art | Literacy
Dates | 15 August – 18 October
Term 3 Week 5 - Term 4 Week 1
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
Weaver Marilyn will be using textile art to bring attention to the beauty of our native bush and forests, raising awareness of their diversity and value.
Ako | Learn
Both this exhibition and Natchez Hudson’s use innovative approaches to the natural world to draw attention to its beauty, and to our precarious relationship with it. Students can compare and contrast these approaches and discuss what care for the natural world might look like.
Waihanga | Create
Students will use mixed media and textiles to respond to their local environment.
Image: Marilyn Rea-Menzies, Lichen 1, 2020, handwoven tapestry: cotton warp, wool weft. Image courtesy of the artist.
Sharing Histories: Gifts of 2025
Curriculum Links | Social Sciences
Dates | 22 August – 22 November
Term 3 Week 5 - Term 4 Week 7
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
Ākonga will explore some of the treasured objects, archives and photographs that joined the Ashburton Museum and Historical Society collection in 2025–2026 and investigate the significance of these taonga to Whakatere Ashburton.
Ako | Learn
The process of acquiring items for a museum collection has many steps and considerations, and students will be asked to consider why museums choose to collect the items that they do. Students can create their own acquisition sheet for objects they would like to see preserved.
Waihanga | Create
Years 1-8
Students can create their own acquisition sheet for objects they would like to see preserved
Years 9-13
Older students have the opportunity to explore the backrooms of the museum, with a tour of our collection of historical objects. This could be adapted to support curriculum learning, with students able to find artefacts relating to topics they are researching in class.
Image: Fire Service Hat that belonged to Lionel Charles Solway. AMHS Collection
Our Connection to the Natural World, Heather Sarin
Curriculum Links | Visual Art
Dates | 05 September – 29 November
Term 3 Week 8 - Term 4 Week 7
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
Paying close attention to her surroundings provides a starting point for Heather Sarin’s vibrant paintings.
Ako | Learn
Ākonga will explore how Sarin uses abstract and figurative work to respond to the natural world, gaining an understanding of individuality and self-expression through art.
Waihanga | Create
After examining Sarin’s work, Ākonga will create their own vibrant paintings, using colour as a form of self-expression, and painting as a form of mindful relaxation.
Heather Sarin, Our Connection to the Natural World, 2026, mixed media on recycled cotton. Image courtesy of the artist.
Icon: 50 Years of the Ashburton Clock Tower
Curriculum Links | Social Science | Engineering | History
Dates | 12 September – 29 November
Term 3 Week 9 - Term 4 Week 7
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
This exhibition celebrates the 50th birthday of our town clock tower, an icon of Whakatere Ashburton through the decades.
Ako | Learn
In this exhibition, students will learn about the clock’s former life inside the Ashburton Post Office building, the building’s demolition and long storage of the clock until it was given a new life inside today’s award-winning clock tower, built to celebrate 100 years of local government.
This can be adapted to all year levels
Image: Presentation of Ashburton Clock Tower to the Borough by County Council, 1976. AMHS Collection.
The Highlander's Farewell, Ayesha Green
Curriculum Links | Visual Art | Design | Art History
Dates | 16 November – 14 February 2027
Term 4 Week 6 - Term 1 2027
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
In The Highlander’s Farewell Ayesha Green (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Kāi Tahu) explores the migration of Scots to Aotearoa New Zealand in the nineteenth century.
Ako | Learn
Through this exhibition, ākonga will learn about the experiences of Scottish migrants from the Highlands to Aotearoa, and the way this sadly mirrored the experience of Māori under British colonisation.
Waihanga | Create
Green uses playful imagery and installations to explore complex ideas. Combining a tour with visual art or writing activities would provide a great opportunity to respond to this interesting exhibition.
A Fold in Time, Lynda Cullen
Curriculum Links | Visual Art | Design | Art History
Dates | 05 December – 14 February 2027
Term 4 Week 9 - Term 1 2027
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
Ōtepoti artist Lynda Cullen loves to allude to visual elements from art and design histories, folding them into scenes of furniture and plants from her own home and combining them to produce unexpected results.
Ako | Learn
Ākonga can explore these playful juxtapositions while learning about the historical works they reference.
Waihanga | Create
Ākonga can use gouache painting to create their own combinations of elements taken from historical motifs and images.
Braided: River Histories
Curriculum Links | Social Science | Geography | Ecology
Dates | 05 December – 07 March 2027
Term 4 Week 5 - Term 1 Week 6 2027
Time: 60-90 minutes
Tūhura | Explore
The Rangitata, Hakatere, and Rakaia rivers serve as geographical borders and provide for our wellbeing: water for irrigation, for recreation, and for mahinga kai.
Ako | Learn
Ākonga will learn what makes our braided rivers unique, their importance within a healthy ecosystem, and their connection with people throughout the history of Whakatere Ashburton.
Waihanga | Create
Visual arts or writing activities can be adapted to suit all age levels.
Permanent programmes
Living on the Land: Tākata Whenua o Hakatere
Social Science | Mahika Kai | Science
Learn about the area as it was used by tākata whenua – explore how natural resources were used for food and clothing, and the importance of Mahika kai. This workshop includes handling items from our collection, and can easily be transported to your classroom.
Extend this with a harakeke weaving workshop, learning about the tikanga and history of this precious plant while making a small craft to take home.
Harakeke will be provided depending on seasonal availability, with paper weaving as a substitute.
Rocks and Fossils
Science | Geology | Biology | Investigation
Learn about the geology of the district through a collection of our rocks and fossils which are found in surprising places around us. This can be adapted to primary schools.
Years 0-9: Use hands-on experiences of fossils to develop observational and critical skills, and to introduce ākonga to concepts such as geology, evolution, and time-scales
Years 10-13: Use evidence from these fossils to explore patterns of speciation and changes in geology
Exploring Printmaking
Intaglio | Woodcut | Screenprint | Lithograph
A selection of prints from our collection, including Many Uncoded Factors by Michael Armstrong which showcase and highlight different types of printmaking. Start a printmaking journey making monoprints. This can lead on to printmaking workshops.
This can be adapted to all year levels
Image: Nigel Brown, Moon's ocean, 1996, lithograph
Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Gardens
Multi-culturalism | Immigration | Social Science
Learn about the Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Garden site and glimpse inside this amazing piece of history that gives insight into both Chinese market gardening operations, as well as providing a social history of settlers who migrated to New Zealand, how they lived, contributed to and integrated into New Zealand society.
Whakatere Ashburton History
History | Social Science | Local knowledge
Take a guided tour through the geography and history of the Ashburton district, then let students work on their own observation skills with a scavenger hunt
Year levels: 0-8: This picture and word-based scavenger hunt through the museum gives us a brief overview of the district.
Year levels 9-13: A more in-depth scavenger hunt builds students’ language and research skills.
ESOL students: This scavenger hunt includes pre-visit vocabulary activities
Liquid Gold: Irrigation
Social Science | Literacy | Geography
Water has had a huge impact on all aspects of the Canterbury Plains Kā Pākihi-whakatekateka-a-Waitaha. Learn about and explore how water has moved throughout the district and enabled agriculture to grow.
This can be extended with a writing activity, where students report on an important milestone in the development of our irrigation system by researching and developing their own news article.
Natural Disaster History
Social Science | Response to disaster | Drama
Using props and costumes from our collection, create a role play to dramatize the travels of a correspondent who wrote a story for the Lyttleton Times about crossing the Ashburton river by coach during the dramatic flood of 1868.
This interactive activity brings history to life, while also allowing comparisons about disaster preparedness between the past and now.
Survivor WW1 Game
History | Interactive game | Problem solving | Social science
Years 3-9: The Survivor WW1 Game, provides a social, interactive, kinesthetic learning experience through experiential learning that “brings to life” the statistics, campaigns and artefacts of the NZ WW1 soldier.
Jenna Packer: Stranded Assets - Redux
Watercolour Techniques: Decoration and Dissent
Tūhura | Explore
Ākonga can explore the exquisite painting by Jenna Packer that has been commissioned for our foyer wall.
This work is rich in complex and surprising detail, using the delicacy of watercolour to explore the ‘macro’ ideas of colonisation and envivronmental decay, alongside the ‘micro’ dramas of everyday life.
Ako | Learn
Experiment with various painting approaches and media through looking at paintings from our collection like Let that River by Jenna Packer
Waihanga | Create
Years 0-6
Student can experiment with watercolour pencils and paints to create artworks that tell stories about them and their worlds.
Years 7-13
Rangatahi will use limited palettes and to convey issues that they feel passionately about, exploring the juxtaposition of delicate watercolour techniques with strong political opinions.
Image: Jenna Packer, Stranded Assets - Redux, 2026
Painting our Taihao
Looking at works from our collection, ākonga will explore the way tonal compositions can be used to strengthen their own landscape art. We will explore acrylic painting techniques to create a final artwork.
Students will be asked to respond to a range of different natural features, and they are welcome to submit their paintings to our Te Wiki O Te Reo competition (closing 21 August).
This can be adapted to all age ranges and abilities.
Image: Austen Deans, Mount Peel, Winter, 1969, oil on canvas. Collection of Ashburton Art Gallery Incorporated.
Domain Tales
History | Navigation | Map-reading | Local geography
Take a guided walk through the domain using a map from 1937 and historical photographs. Compare and contrast changes over time while developing our navigation skills.
Ashburton District Council Ceramics
Curriculum Links | Visual Art
Dates | 16 November – 16 May 2027
Term 4 Week 6 - Term 2 2027
Time: Ceramic workshops will take approximately 2x60 minute sessions over two weeks.
Tūhura | Explore
Students will explore communal taonga that have been collected over many decades by the Ashburton Council. We look at how and why artworks are considered precious, and get inspired by these beautiful pieces.
Ako | Learn
In collaboration with the Hakatere Ceramic Studios, students can design and create their own pottery pieces, learning about the properties of clay and the process and history of glazing and firing along the way.
Waihanga | Create
Years 0-8: Students create a vessel based around an animal of their choice, after looking at a range of ceramic pieces.
Year 9-13: Students design and build their own vessel of significance, to embody their ideas, feelings, or cultural history.
This can be adapted as a response to classroom content.
Image: Front: Steve James, 'Vase', c.1983, wood-fired salt glaze pottery. Collection of Ashburton District Council.
Rear: Mirek Smisek, 'Manakau', c.1970, salt glaze pottery. Collection of Ashburton District Council.
Tell us your interests
Do you have an idea for a learning programme at Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum?
Our educator can design a creative learning experience tailored to the needs and interests of your early childhood, primary and secondary school groups. Simply, contact us with your idea and we will work together to create a programme for your students.
Planning a visit
Materials:
All materials for workshops at the Gallery and Museum and at schools will be provided unless stated otherwise. School visits will require schools to provide a projector and full classroom space.
Ratios:
For visiting the Gallery and Museum, we recommend organising an adult to student ratio of:
– 1:5 for Years 0-3
– 1:8 for Years 4-8
– 1:15 for Years 9-10
– 1:30 for Years 11-13
If would be helpful if teachers are able to carry a class register in the case of an emergency.
Arriving at the Gallery and Museum:
The Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum is located on 327 West Street. The Gallery is situated on the first floor and the Museum is on the ground floor. If you are planning to arrive before 10:00am, please inform a Gallery and Museum staff member so they are able to let you into the building. The doors automatically open at 10:00am. For everyone’s enjoyment please ensure that students demonstrate respect to our other visitors.
Help us protect the exhibitions at the Gallery and Museum:
If possible we would advise leaving bags at school, however, if necessary bags can be left in the Learning Centre on arrival. Food and drink are not permitted in the Gallery and Museum spaces. However, food can be consumed in the Learning Centre area if needed. No pens or sharp objects are allowed in the Gallery and Museum spaces. Please let the Gallery and Museum staff know if you wish to photograph the artwork, teachers are more than welcome to take pictures of their students in the Gallery and Museum spaces and Learning Centre. Please emphasise to students the importance of not touching any artworks or objects on display. We don’t mind talking and noise in the Gallery and Museum but for safety reasons, we do not allow running in the foyer or exhibition spaces.
Risk Assessment and Management (RAMs):
Please download and read.
Publicity:
Gallery and Museum staff love documenting school visits so please advise us if your students do not wish to be photographed.