Beneath the Waves Brings Volcano Science to Life at the Festival of Women and Girls in STEM 2026
In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Beneath the Waves (BTW) team participated in the Festival of Women and Girls in Science 2026 held in Christchurch. Featuring a range of hands-on activities designed to spark curiosity and engagement among young people and their whānau, the event was dedicated to inspiring the next generation of women in STEM.
The involvement of Beneath the Waves was showcased through exhibits such as 5-Minute Volcanoes, Volcano Explorers NZ, and the Volcano Storytelling Station. The Volcanic Explorer NZ games and the 5-minute volcano(external link) were quite popular and stood out due to the novel aspect of learning about volcanoes through games. Volcano Explorers NZ (available online at https://apps.hitlabnz.org/volcanicexplorernz/(external link)) is comprised of 6 microgames, each with a dedicated learning goal and playstyle. These games take between 5 – 10 minutes to play and uses local New Zealand art styles and elements to connect the game to Aotearoa.
Māori master’s students Paea Ake Ake and Ashlee Sturme (pictured above) are both from Iwi exposed to coastal volcanic hazards and travelled down from North Island especially to take part in the event. Paea and Ashlee helped facilitate the volcano gaming and storytelling stations.
Paea shared, “My highlight of the festival was seeing wāhine empowered through science. Having studied science through a Māori lens and then stepping into a STEM festival felt both empowering and inspiring. This experience showed that mātauranga Māori and science can work together to complement each other and deepen our understanding of volcanoes and our connection to them. A whakataukī that captures this is, ‘Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi’ — with your basket and my basket, the people will thrive.”
Reflecting on her participation at the event, Ashlee shared that, “I loved being able to visit the university and see student projects and learning opportunities - different ways that volcanic knowledge could be communicated. I also really enjoyed the time with Paea, we had so much time to talk about our projects, challenges, wins, next steps - the whole journey this far as master’s students on Beneath the Waves.”
According to Ashlee and Paea, being part of the event allowed them to connect with whānau and see how volcanic education can make a difference. It was quite impactful to meet so many passionate and knowledgeable scientists willing to share their research and time (and patience!) and to see the breadth of how science communication is being taught, learnt and demonstrated.
Other geology related activities at the festival included treasure rock hunt, the geology time scale and looking at interesting rocks in thin sections. These activities were supported by geology students from the University of Canterbury (UC) and highlight the ongoing collaboration between Earth Sciences New Zealand BTW programme and UC.
