House of Science Rotorua Lakes

Our hottest office yet 🔥 Te Manaroa Spring.

No desks.
No chairs.
Just water surging to 99°C from deep beneath the ground.

This is a happy place for our volcano monitoring team.

⏰ Once a year, they collect samples from this extreme environment near Rotorua. In fact, the spring is the largest single source of natural boiling water in New Zealand.

You might call this work risky business.
We call it precision science.

The spring is too dangerous to approach, so water samples are taken safely from a viewing platform using a bottle attached to a long extendable pole.

Why go to all this effort?

Because changes in the water’s chemistry can reveal what’s happening deep below the surface 👉 deep inside the volcanic system.

Every sample is then brought back to our Wairakei laboratory for detailed analysis.

Sometimes, the earliest warnings come from the hottest places on Earth.

📸 Thomas Brakenrig

The chemistry of fruit and spice.... yummy ye**ty buns ❤️

EASTER LONG WEEKEND… and guess who’s NOT taking a break? 😏

Hello Stranger Cafe is OPEN.
Yep… while everyone else is closed “for family time,” we’re here feeding yours 👀

Good Friday? Open.
Saturday? Obviously.
Sunday? Don’t be silly.
Monday? Still here, still slinging 🔥

So if your Easter plans include:
❌ Dry hot cross buns
❌ Average coffee
❌ Regret

…we suggest you upgrade immediately.

Come get the REAL Easter experience:
☕ Coffee that slaps
🥓 Food that actually satisfies
😈 Zero patience for boring brunch

No surcharge nonsense. No excuses. Just us… doing what we do best.

Pull up. We’ll be ready. 💅

Fabulous acknowledgement of the passion and dedication of our founder and CEO Chris 🌹

The latest Wild Things is creeping and crawling into your mailbox this week! 🐛🐜🪲🐞🦗🪳🪰🦟
It's all about bugs!
Find out who loves rotting logs, become a pro bug hunter, and learn about native whē | praying mantises and Canterbury knobbled weevils. And, of course, there are games, competitions and activities to celebrate our buggy friends.
😎 Tell us when your copy arrives 👇🏽.

Creating new generations of critical thinkers, thanks to Chris's mission and all our teams of volunteers and supporters who have helped to achieve this milestone.
Every child, every school....
🤩🥳

Big Butterfly Count - Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust It was great having people participate in the 2025 Big Butterfly Count. We look forward to even more participation in 2026 - and if you have suggestions how we

🐬

Get creative this Seaweek and enter our Ocean Inspired Art Competition!

1. Choose a theme to explore Ocean-Human interconnection:
🌊How I Connect with the Ocean
💦Human Impact on Our Ocean
2. Create 🎨
3. Submit!

🐟Find a Seaweek event near you for inspiration!

Entries are open now!
🔗See What's On link in bio.

Girl Power ⭐️