Resources and workshops for schools , Rauemi me ngā awheawhe mō ngā kura

The College of Sciences offers a range of workshops and activities for schools, both on our campus and for your school. We also have resources for teachers such as videos, posters and hands-on kits.

Events on campus

Find out about the events for future students interested in studying sciences.

School holiday workshops

The College of Sciences provides workshops, activities and learning for students at NCEA Level 1 to 3.

Our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) engagement programme offers a number of workshops and activities for school-age students.

Join us on-campus in Manawatū or Auckland, or contact us to host a workshop for your school.

Food science and advanced technology workshops

Explore topics in food science and food technology, virtual reality and computer engineering, mechatronics and engineering management, and digital photography.

Introduction to HoloLens headset (90min)

Experiencing virtual reality on a production plant.

Water quality testing (90 min)

Measuring turbidity (loss in transparency due to suspended particles).

Clean up water lab (30 min)

Learn how we clean up water and make it safe to drink.

Chocolate moulding lab (120min)

Understanding the chemical principles behind moulding chocolate.

Mechatronics workshop (75 min)

Laser cutting, 3D printing and scanning.

Introduction to image processing (30min)

Brief tutorial on how the digital camera works.

Photoshop tutorial (60 min)

The participants will create a composition in photoshop and learn about lighting and colour.

Spot the difference contest (30 min)

Participants compete in a 'spot-the-difference' game and learn about how limited our visual perception actually is.

Mathematical and computational sciences workshops

Explore maths, statistics and computing – including data science and software engineering.

Capturing traffic over the internet (60 min)

Hands-on testing on routes, IP addresses and live packet capture.

Visiting your school

Engineering workshop – Auckland only

We can give your students a visual and engaging workshop at your school. We'll help them understand what engineers do and what they need to study as future engineers.

Students get hands on experience using CAD software, making their own PCBs, programming mobile robots, and learning about 3D printing and manufacturing.

What we'll need

Typically, the school library, large classroom or auditorium are suitable as long as there is space to accommodate the students attending and there is an area for the project displays.

We normally allow 45 minutes for a session, which includes time for the students to get a closer look at the robots and projects as well as a chance to talk to the team.

We can accommodate 10-40 students in one visit.

If you would like to arrange an engineering workshop at your school, contact Dianne Cook at D.Cook@massey.ac.nz.

Videos and teaching resources for HATA teachers

Are you a member of the Horticulture and Agriculture Teachers Association of New Zealand (HATA)?

You can access our agriculture and horticulture teaching videos via Stream. These videos are exclusively available to HATA members.

Contact e.scott@massey.ac.nz for access.

Food technology experiment kits

Please note: Stocks are not currently available. Email sciences@massey.ac.nz to be notified when they are available.

Massey University Food Technology information (MUFTi) kits are an excellent resource for teachers who want to branch out and introduce new experimental material into their classroom.

They come as a range of food experiment kits designed to:

  • demonstrate the use of additives in food product development in the class room
  • educate students on the origin and use of additives in industrial food manufacturing.

MUFTi kits are food science experiments that have been developed as a constructive resource to support teaching towards the New Zealand Curriculum and are well within the technological knowledge and skills of year 7-13 students.

Each kit contains enough materials for 8 classes of 10 groups per class, and:

  • equipment and materials needed for the experiment
  • instructions for the teacher
  • handouts and work sheets for the students.

Using pectin – acidified fruit milk drinks

Kit 901

Acidified milk drinks (AMDs) are made by mixing milk with fruit juice to produce a refreshing and nutritious, fruit-flavoured dairy drink. These drinks are popular in Asia and South America and are slowly gaining popularity in New Zealand. This makes the development of acidified fruit milk drinks a novelty topic to teach in the food technology class.

The experiment

The technological challenge in manufacturing these drinks is to stabilise the milk proteins in order to prevent them from coagulating when the milk is acidified by the addition of fruit juice.

The aim of this experiment is to demonstrate:

  • the effect of changes in acidity on the stability of milk protein
  • the effect of a stabiliser (pectin) on the stability of acidified milk.

Using Xanthan gum – stabilising custard deserts

Kit 902

Xanthan gum is used to provide an example of the role of food additives in the manufacturing of food products. The experiments demonstrate how the stability and shelf life of custard dessert is improved with this commonly-used food stabiliser.

The experiment

The custard dessert experiment allows students to experience industrial food formulation on a small scale:

  • using a cornstarch, Xantham gum, as a stabilizer in the production of custard dessert
  • demonstrating the effect of Xanthan gum on the viscosity and texture of custard
  • containing funnels, cone consistometer and colour charts for modelling the specifications of a custard dessert concept (concept modelling).

Using PGPR – chocolate coatings

Kit 903

The chocolate coating experiment demonstrates the economics of producing a consistent product, as well as potential problems when flavouring or colouring a chocolate product.

  • Using an emulsifier to control the viscosity of liquid chocolate and the thickness of coating on the final product.
  • Calculating the cost of producing a food product with and without the addition of PGPR emulsifier.
  • Demonstrating the problems of using water-based colours and flavours with a chocolate product.

Using Emulsifiers – salad dressings

Kit 904

Emulsifiers are used in salad dressings to introduce the concept of ingredient functionality in foods, differing processing methods and to learn formal consumer sensory evaluation.

The experiment

The salad dressing experiments demonstrate the need and effectiveness of different emulsifiers and stabilisers, as well as ingredient functionality in low oil mayonnaises.

  • Using an emulsifier to control the stability of salad dressings and mayonnaises.
  • Understanding how processing methods may affect the final product in salad dressing production.
  • Demonstrating the role of sensory science in development of salad dressings, to assess taste, appearance and consistency characteristics.

Using Alginate – making alginate caviar

Kit 905

Alginate is used in an example of molecular gastronomy – to produce some unusual food products such as cola “caviar” and a ravioli food. Students explore ingredient functionality in foods through the formation of gels.

The experiment

The alginate experiments demonstrate the basic mechanics of gel formation and the role of thickeners as additives in food production:

  • Using alginates in a technological product to allow the formation of a gel.
  • Understanding how materials can be formed, manipulated and/or transformed to enhance the fitness for purpose of a technological product.
  • Understanding how technological systems employ controls to allow for the transformation of inputs to outputs.
  • Students will use functional modelling to evaluate design ideas and will evaluate the gel strength of products after varying production parameters.

Using Carrageenan – making chocolate milk

Kit 906

The flavoured milk market has been a significant section of the dairy industry for decades. Chocolate is produced by adding cocoa powder to the milk for both flavour and colour. One problem with cocoa powder is that it will settle out from the milk and appear as a dark brown layer on the bottom. Using an additive can overcome the problem of the cocoa powder settling out.

  • Use carrageenan to manipulate the properties of a technological product.
  • Teach your students how prototyping can be used to justify refinement of technological outcomes.
  • Demonstrate how materials are selected, based on desired performance criteria.
  • Discover that in the sensory testing of a food product, a successful outcome is determined by the relationship between its physical and functional nature.

Related content

Partner with us

Collaborate with us as a research partner or ask us to carry out research on your behalf.

Participate in a study

Do you want to participate in a study? Research groups and labs in the College of Sciences are looking for participants to help with our research.