Aitua – The Tangiwai Disaster

This programme is for the following year groups: Year 4-6 , Year 7-8, Year 9-10, Year 11-13.

The Aitua – The Tangiwai Disaster education programme asks these questions: ‘What is a lahar? What happens to the local environment when a volcano is active? How does a community react to a disaster?’

After a guided visit to the historic memorial site of the Tangiwai disaster, head to our Museum and:

• Learn how the New Zealand Army responded in 1953 and how this is different to our modern response to natural disasters,
• See the medal awarded to Cyril Elis after the disaster,
• Use our model of the disaster site to understand more, 
• Read a ‘historic’ newspaper showing the media coverage of the event, and a pamphlet about ERLAWS (the Eastern Ruapehu Early Warning System).