Mobile Classrooms

The Life Education mobile classrooms are now a familiar sight to many New Zealand school children. The classrooms are air-conditioned and equipped with sight, sound and aroma technologies and three-dimensional film technology that make learning in the mobile classrooms, a fascinating experience. The children sit on a carpeted floor with no desks or seating. There is an immediate feeling of informality and group security, so even the shyest child feels able to join in and contribute to the programme and discussion. A lack of windows promotes focussed learning so the children can be fully immersed in the 'journey'.

Having mobile classrooms means we can take our message to children right around New Zealand, from Cape Reinga to Bluff, be they rural or metropolitan.

To learn effectively, young children need to touch and manipulate physical objects, relevant to the concepts being taught, such as Karpet Kid, the Transparent Anatomical Manikin called "Tam" and the Pull Apart Torso called "Pat". Rubber body organs realistically shaped and coloured are held by the children while they discuss the function of each organ. There is a giant brain that lights up and flashes on and off as it describes how it is the control centre of the body. Even the youngest child comes to appreciate the wonder and beauty of their body in this way.

Audio visual clips illustrate the different body systems; the nervous system, the digestive system, and the circulatory system. By using these visual systems as teaching aids and to stimulate discussion, the children can see clearly that whatever they put into their bodies affects the way their bodies function.

While children are being taken on a space-trip, or while they are imagining that they are sitting in the open on a clear, fine evening, they can gaze at the ceiling, which lights up into a simulation of the stars at night.