WELCOME TO THE BOAT & BEACH WISE EDUCATION CENTRE
THE PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT THE SEA
Worser Bay Boating Club is home to Te Whare Mātauranga o Waka Tuaone, the Boat & Beach Wise Education Centre, which delivers Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) learning experiences to help kiwi kids to be sea safe and active.
The centre is recognised by the Ministry of Education as a provider of quality EOTC experiences that support learning across Health & Physical Education, Social Sciences, Technology and Science learning areas.
What we offer
Our education programmes are designed to complement classroom learning with hands-on, enjoyable experiences in the marine environment that bring learning to life. We are part of Yachting New Zealand's network of providers of the award winning RŪNĀ schools programme, which supports kiwi kids to learn from the past in order to ‘steer’ New Zealand toward a sustainable future.
How it works
During your visit to the centre your students will participate in a sailing experience. We provide the boats, the instructors, a wetsuit top, life jackets and helmets. We have a comprehensive Risk Analysis and Management System (RAMS) that we will share with you before your visit.
Classes in years 4 to 10, tend to come to the centre for the whole day. Half the class will go sailing for half a day while the other half of the class undertakes either a Health & Physical Education, Social Sciences, Technology or Science activity. Then at midday the groups will swap.
For classes in years 11 to 13 we work with you to design the experiences you need based on the amount of time your students will be at the centre.
Activities offered alongside sailing
In addition to your sailing experience, you can choose another activity depending on your focus and year level.
Social sciences (Kōrinorino - Our Ancestors Wake)
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(NZC phase 2, Y4-6) NZ History: Maui to Kupe to Tara to Taranaki Whānui. Students ues compasses to find information about early Māori settlement of Wellington.
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(NZC phase 2, Y4-6) NZ History: Migration to Wellington 1840-1890. Students use Kāpehu Whetū to find information about migration to Wellington.
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(NZC phase 3, Y7-8) Geography: The changing face of Wellington. Students use GPS to find information about changes to place and environment in the Eastern Suburbs over time.
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(NZC phase 4, Y9-10) Geography: Wellington’s Coast. Students use picture interpretation and observations to understand how sustainability challenges are managed at Worser Bay.
Science (Moanamana - NZL's Blue Belt)
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(NZC phase 2, Y5) Biology: Food Webs. The base of the marine food web - plankton under the microscope.
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(NZC phase 2, Y6) Biology: Habitat Features. Mapping the features of the intertidal zone at Worser Bay using Marine Metre Squared & Photogrammetry.
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(NZC phase 3, Y7) Biology: Organisms in an ecosystem. Using Moanamana tools to identify interdependence between species in the Worser Bay marine environment.
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(NZC phase 3, Y8) Biology: Relationships in an ecosystem. Using transects and quadrants to measure abiotic conditions of the Worser Bay marine environment.
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(NZC phase 4, Y9) Biology: Ecosystem conditions. Comparing temperature, salinity, and turbidity data to the prevalence of species identified using Baited Remote Underwater Video at Worser Bay.
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(NZC phase 4, Y10) Biology: Ecosystems and water. Analysing and describing the impact of student lead projects on Worser Bay marine ecosystems.
Technology and Physical Education activities
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Activities for these learning areas will be published following a workshop of Wellington teachers in October 2026 once the Technology and Health and Physical Education curriculum statements have been finalised.
What does it cost?
Thanks to a EOTC grant from the Ministry of Education and the fund-raising efforts of the Boat & Beach Wise Trust schools are not charged or their participation in activities at the centre.
Want to book?
If you are ready to book a visit to the centre scroll to the bottom of this page and fill in the EOTC enquiry form. One of our team will then be in contact with you to confirm the dates and set up the visit with you.
Want to know more?
Keep scrolling to:
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Watch a video that shows you what to expect during a sailing experience at the centre.
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Access a suite of classroom learning experiences to complement your visit to the centre.
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Find out how to get to the centre.
SAILING EXPERIENCES
Sailing experiences are at the heart of what we do. Whether you want your students to feel the power of the wind or imagine what it was like to voyage to these shores, or just have a go at sailing, then we can provide that experience. Check out what to expect in Yachting NZ's sailing experience video.
CLASSROOM RESOURCES
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Learning experiences at the centre help students learn about the history and development of Wellington from Maui to Kupe, to Tara, to Taranaki Whānui, to those people who have come here since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. You can choose from a collection of 12 activities to implement in your classroom that build further on the knowledge students acquire at the centre.
Kōrinorino classroom experiences
TECHNOLOGY
You can pick and choose from 12 classroom activities to support students to learn about how the wind works, either before or after your visit to the centre. Learning experiences at the centre will help reinforce this knowledge and together they will prepare students to design a technology to harness the power of wind.
SCIENCE
The Moanamana experiences at the centre engage students in using a set of ocean health monitoring tools to keep track of changes in the marine environment at Worser Bay over time. There are a series of classroom experiences you can use to get your students ready for their visit to the centre, and once they have visited the centre there are further activities to help students to analyse and act on the data they collect
Moanamana classroom experiences