May 11, 2015
MOTAT melds matauranga with machines
The chief executive of Auckland’s Museum of Transport and Technology says its recent show Welcome to the Machine marks a fundamental shift in the way Maori can be used in museums.
The exhibition won MOTAT the Most Innovative Use of Te Reo Maori award at last weeks New Zealand Museum Awards.
Michael Frawley say’s it’s the first time the museum had incorporated matauranga Maori and particularly te reo Maori, into its exhibition content.
He says translator Piripi Walker had done a superb job of coming up with ways to describe technological processes in ways that enhanced the models and diagrams.
"People get turned off with great long texts. You need to keep it so people can relate to it and easily understand it. In a museum context you are having to appeal to those from the very young to older age groups and you want to be able to get it done in a way that creates debate," Mr Frawley says.
He expects other museums will follow MOTAT’s lead in making te reo Maori a part of the way they present material.
Copyright © 2015, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com