A reimagined puni kura (school camp) experience
3 days
Years 5-8
3 missions to choose
We are reimagining the old puni kura (school camp) experience to provide your students with a deeper connection to the natural world around them.
At the Institute we have a plan to change the world for good. We host schools like yours who want to join us in this mission. We think that through innovation, leadership and a wee bit of technology we can invent the world we want to live in.
Students will still be physically challenged and have opportunities for personal growth, but will also be empowered through science, design, and creativity, to change the world around them for the better.
OUR AWESOME CAMPS
Get ready for an unforgettable 3-day enviro-tech adventure for Year 5-8 students at the Institute of Awesome.
Our incredible team of awesomnators will lead your ākonga through:
a programme jam-packed with amazing skill-building workshops,
a secret project for your ākonga to design and create,
plus fun night-time activities
Our ultimate aim is for your students to fall in love with the environment and their role in protecting it.
We provide everything - from Woah to Go (and back to woah!)
Our camps include all bedding, catering, materials for activities and good times. You bring your students and wide open minds.
We also offer self-catered options.
2024 THEMES
Each camp season we offer different themes or “secret projects” for you to choose from. Each one is focused on a unique challenge and learning experiences.
Our one-of-a-kind enviro-tech camps are connected to the Learning areas in the NZ Curriculum, but take these to places you never could have imagined with hands-on workshops that will set your students imaginations on fire.
Every camp involves pre-camp activities to be done in the term leading up to the camp. We provide fun activities to get your students ready for camp and some basic activities based on the camp adventure you choose.
And the fun doesn't stop there! Post-camp, we will give you a unit of work to take the learning back and explore in your school.
Secret Projects
While on camp, students work on “Secret Projects” that solve a problem in the world. It could be monitoring the waterways for pollutants, tracking pests in the bush, measuring CO2 in the air or growing organic food to feed everyone.
The projects are varied and change throughout the year and are connected with the theme you choose and the things that the young people care about. The projects are STEAM-based and generally cover science, coding, design and engineering with hard and soft materials.
Power Rangers
Explore the natural world of energy - where it comes from, why we need it, and how we make it - and learn how to channel it into purposeful projects!
Fantastic Contraptions
Dive into the world of engineering using recycled materials and resources at hand, discovering how things are made sustainably and effectively.
Guardians of the Universe
Our sustainability camp covers environmental awareness and appreciation, waste minimisation & resource usage, and food resilience.
OUR KAUPAPA (Purpose)
We aim to weave many strands of learning into our camps so that learning at InAwe is rich, fun, and holistic:
Place: we want all our manuhiri to learn about te whenua o Maunga Karioi - its history, the people, plants, animals, and eco-systems which inhabit and interact with it - in order to build the skills and knowledge to appreciate and learn about their local whenua.
Sustainable living: understanding & caring for the resources we have, through mindful design and use of technologies, so they are empowered to design and create local solutions in their home, school, and community.
Contribution: giving back to te whenua, our friends, family, and communities through practising generosity and aroha
Connection: having opportunities to connect with te taiao (the environment), with each other, and with ourselves
Manaakitanga: learning to look after te taiao, our resources, each other, and ourselves
Sparkle: learning is amplified when it’s joyful, fun, creative, and playful.
CAMP SIZES
The camp can cater for groups of up to 60 students (plus adults) at a time, with two camps per week. We can split larger groups into multiple camps per week with a Wednesday swap over.
CATERING
We offer fully-catered and self-catered options. These are built into the prices and are a set menu. There is an additional charge for any changes or dietary specialties. Our menus are based on seasonally available kai and are subject to change without notice.
AMENITIES
Main lodge hall
The Lodge Hall caters as the dining hall and evening hangout. We have two large kitchens offering ovens, cooktops, refrigerators and food storage, pots, pans and cooking utensils, plus enough cups, crockery, and cutlery for everyone. The main hall has a large wrap-around deck overlooking the bush and ocean. Multiple BBQs with supplied gas are available too.
Rooms
We offer a mix of rooms to suit what ever ratio of kids to adults you need. Private king or double rooms are available as well as 4 per room bunk rooms. Heaters, fresh clean linen, pillows and blankets are supplied in all of the rooms.
Rooms can be configured in the two formats below, king bed with bunks, or twin singles with bunks.
Some rooms have sea views, most have beautiful bush and mountain views. All rooms are in close proximity to shared bathroom and kitchen facilities. Most rooms have hammocks and sunny decks outside for relaxing on.
Hot water showers and toilets are in close proximity to all rooms. There are two bathroom blocks including 3 showers in each (male and female blocks) and two private bathroom units with shower and toilet available for all guests.
Other amenities
The Secret Lab is our space for events and activities, and is home to our maker space workshops and many of our evening activities
Inspiration Point is our outdoor stage and amphitheatre with the backdrop of the sea, perfect for star gazing or an end of camp production
100 Acres of native bush allow for Bush walks and environmental activities for all levels of outdoor enthusiest
Our Permaculture gardens produce free-range eggs, organic vegetables and fruit and give us the chance to get our hands dirty and explore our own kai production.
History
The Huntly Karioi Trust initially built the lodge in 1974 as a school camp. Years later and it still retains the essential characteristics that make it an awesome outdoor camp experience. In 2019 the camp was “re-booted” as an enviro-tech camp, blending the old puni kura (school camp) experience with technology learning. Send your school or community group to stay at the lodge and work on enviro-tech projects in the centre, the 100 acres of bush on the property and in the natural beauty of the Raglan surrounds.
