TRANSIT OF VENUS UK EXPEDITION |
A two-week all-expenses paid trip to the UK was the prize won by three teams of students from Nelson College, Pakuranga College, and Tolaga Bay Area School, for the videos they made on themes related to the Transit of Venus and Cook's first voyage to New Zealand.
The ultimate goal was to observe the Transit itself on June 8. This website is offering site visitors a "virtual field trip". Each of the three teams sent video reports back from the UK each day of their trip. The teams produced videos of their experiences on location as they travelled around the UK on specially prepared itineraries, and then transmitted their video files directly to website servers at the University of Auckland, so everyone can experience and learn about their adventures.
First report from London:
|
|
|
| Title: | First report from London |
| Time: | 1'17" |
| Description: | National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory, London Eye |
| Requirements: | QuckTime player |
| Connection: |
|
|
|
If you experience problems with accessing QuickTime videos on the site please click here...
|
|
Team Nelson:
Dave Fairley (teacher),
Patrick Downey,
Michael Holmes,
Michael Potton ,
Team Leader: Felicity Connell |
Team Pakuranga:
Gordon Lawrence (teacher),
Riddhi Gupta,
Sarini Naidoo,
Sandy Tsai.
Team Leader: Marilyn
Head
QuckTime video:
|
Team Tolaga Bay:
Eileen Harrison (teacher),
Hana Parata-Walker,
Sara Pethybridge,
Dexter Waru.
Team Leader: Gresham Bradley
QuckTime video:
|
|
| 28-29 May |
Travel from Auckland to London |
|
|
Cooks cottage in Melbourne
|
|
 |
National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory, London Eye.
QuckTime video:
|
First day in London
QuckTime video:
|
|
 |
Kew Gardens
QuckTime video:
|
Kew Gardens
QuckTime video:
|
Kew Gardens
QuckTime video:
|
 |
Science Museum
Freemasons' Hall, Royal Society of London
|
Freemasons' Hall
QuckTime video:
British Museum, Royal Society of London
QuckTime video:
|
Freemasons' Hall, Royal Society of London
QuckTime video:
Natural History Museum (Banks collection)
QuckTime video:
|
 |
Cambridge University |
Oxford/ Radcliffe Observatory / Halley's House / Pitt Rivers Museum |
Avebury, Stonehenge
QuckTime video:
|
 |
Institute of Astronomy, Trinity College, Cavendish Laboratory |
Oxford University Ancient Biomolecules Centre and Radiocarbon Laboratory
QuckTime video:
|
Portsmouth Royal Navy HMS Collingwood
QuckTime video:
|
 |
Rotherham Magna Museum, Canesis Ltd Ilkley West Yorkshire, Archaeological Resource Centre
QuckTime video:
|
Travel to Leicester, visit National Space Centre
QuckTime video:
|
Portsmouth Historical Dockyard Tour, Travel to Lyme Regis
|
 |
York, Jorvik Viking Centre, York Minster
QuckTime video:
|
Manchester Science Museum, Godlee Observatory, Travel to Preston
QuckTime video:
|
Lyme Regis Fossil Hunting
QuckTime video:
Taunton UK Hydrographic office - Cook's Original Charts
QuckTime video:
|
 |
Travel to Staithes, Whitby, Whitby Abbey, Cooks Museum
QuckTime video:
|
International Astrophysics Union Colloquium on the Transit of Venus
QuckTime video:
|
Bath and Stratford upon Avon, travel to Leicester |
 |
Cooks Museum, Dark Matter Experiment at Boulby Mine, Whitby Tour
of Endeavour replica
QuckTime video:
|
IAU Colloquium conference, Mayoral Reception
QuckTime video:
|
Travel to Whitby, Tour of Endeavour replica Spa Pavilion, Civic Reception |
 |
View dawn departure of Endeavour and observe beginning of Transit, Dockside Party, Sutcliffe Gallery
QuckTime video:
|
View Transit at Carr House, Alston Observatory, Conference Banquet |
View dawn departure of Endeavour and observe beginning of Transit, Dockside Party, Sutcliffe Gallery |
 |
Space Centre Leicester, Eton College, Travel back to London |
Jodrell Bank, Travel from Preston to London
QuckTime video:
|
Travel from Whitby to London |
|
|
Additional video from Pakuranga team:
Greenwich Observatory
Castlerigg
|
|
| 10-12 June |
Free day in London, depart London Heathrow, Arrival Auckland |
TRANSIT TEAM TO TAHITI |
 Two Tolaga Bay Area School students, Puawai Ngata Gibson, and Rawinia Tuapawa, accompanied by their technology teacher Daryl Crawford, travelled to Tahiti on 2 June, as part of the Transit of Venus celebrations. The arrival of Cook in New Zealand, following his observation of the Transit of Venus in Tahiti on 3 June 1769, is very significant for the people of Tolaga Bay, which was one of his first landing places. The Tahitian high priest, Tupaia, who came to New Zealand with Cook on the first voyage, was able to communicate with the local Maori and made a great impression on them.
Team Tahiti produced two videos as they followed in Cook's footsteps around the main island of Tahiti, and reported back to New Zealand from Point Venus on the night of the Transit, 8 June. This northernmost point on the island is the location where Cook and his fellow astronomer Charles Green set up their observation tent.
|
If you experience problems with accessing QuickTime videos on the site:
- Open the QuickTime control panel(right click on the QuickTime logo in the video pop up window (expedition video window with a plane picture), select "Plug-in Settings...". Or Start -> All Programs -> QuickTime -> QuickTime Player -> Edit -> Preferences -> Quick Time Preferences)
- Choose "Streaming Transport" from the pop-up menu.
- Select "Use this protocol and port ID" and choose "Use HTTP, Port ID." and "80"
- Choose "Streaming Proxy" from the pop-up menu.
- Select "Use system settings"
|
