Skip to content
Out There Learning
  • Home
    • For Teachers
    • For Scientists
  • About
    • Awards
    • Feedback
  • Online Courses
    • Science Communication with Ease
    • Science Communication Ebook
    • Science Communication in Middle Schools
    • Waldorf High School Teaching
  • Julian’s Blog
  • Videos
    • Out There Learning Videos
    • Video Creation
    • Educational Journey Videos
    • GNS Science Videos
  • Projects
    • Antarctic Sea Ice Research 2022
    • Geotrips
    • A Nature Connected Curriculum in Taiwan
    • TV Documentaries
    • Natural Hazards Activities for Schools
    • Roping Students into Science
    • Ice Cores in New Zealand
    • Antarctica Drilling Rock 2006
    • Antarctica Field Assistant 2005
  • Instagram
  • Contact
  • Search

out_there_learning

Nature, geology, travel - New Zealand.
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/outtherelearning
Newsletter
https://julianthomson.substack.com/
The amazing lava slugs on the southern slopes of # The amazing lava slugs on the southern slopes of #Ruapehu volcano. Made when lava flowed down into melt water tunnels within a glacier and then quickly cooled to create smaller than usual cooling columns at right angles to the cooling surface. The slugs look like small fractured hummocks, quite different from the more common 'normal' lava flows.
Exploring the glacial features of #Ruapehu volcano Exploring the glacial features of #Ruapehu volcano on a beautiful day
Hiking the #tongarirocrossing with a school group Hiking the #tongarirocrossing with a school group this week. Always an astonishing palette of colours and volcanic landforms..
Lake Rotopounamu Lake Rotopounamu
Yep, I'm addicted. Flying at Tora, E coast of Nort Yep, I'm addicted. Flying at Tora, E coast of North Island, soaring up to 450m, tracking 34kms, and in the air for 90 mins. So exciting! Thanks for guidance from Sven and Marina 🙂
Lift off... Long Gully, Wellington South Coast tod Lift off... Long Gully, Wellington South Coast today. Thanks Sven Ericksen for the photos. #paragliding
#Wellington south coast - Island Bay, Owhiro Bay a #Wellington south coast - Island Bay, Owhiro Bay and Red Rocks. Vertically bedded and faulted greywacke, pillow lava, radiolarian chert. Just before the rain came in.. 🙂
A walk down #waimanguvolcanicvalley near Rotorua n A walk down #waimanguvolcanicvalley near Rotorua never fails to impress. The colours in the geothermal springs are sensational, and the history of the #mounttarawera eruption in 1886 is sobering and epic. It destroyed the Pink and White terraces in Lake Rotomahana and buried a wide area in mud, which can be seen exposed in the cliffs, in a landscape recolonised by a 'new' ecosystem.
Designing a geology field trip for schools at Huoy Designing a geology field trip for schools at Huoyanshan near Taichung, Taiwan. How did these boulders erode, get transported and deposited into a forest without getting smaller in size further from the source? The recent debris flow gave us the answer. A perfect inquiry exercise for school students, and the teachers had lots of great ideas for ways to investigate the area. We felt quite a few earthquakes over a few days though (up to M6.4), so you would have to be hot on the safety aspects of such a trip 😬
In Taichung, Taiwan, at teacher training conferenc In Taichung, Taiwan, at teacher training conference, running a geology education course for Waldorf / Steiner teachers.
See substack newsletter link in bio. #sciencecomm See substack newsletter link in bio. #sciencecommunication #scienceteacher #educationaloutreach
My first paragliding flight after completing my UK My first paragliding flight after completing my UK Club Pilot (NZ PG 2) qualification, and first flight in NZ at Castlecliff, Whanganui. What a great new way to appreciate landforms and the airflows they create, by floating along above them. Huge thanks to the Wellington paragliders for having my back yesterday. What a privilege!
The incredible Hooker Valley walk, with views of M The incredible Hooker Valley walk, with views of Mount Sefton and Aoraki. Although I've seen it many times, it never fails to impress
I had forgotten the sheer majesty of Milford Sound I had forgotten the sheer majesty of Milford Sound. It gave me the same sense of awe as Yosemite in California. Such a spectacle of the power of nature. Rock uplifted from kilometres down and sculpted by repeated glacial cycles. Even from a crowded tourist boat, you can't help but feel impressed!
Heading south to share some geology for the week. Heading south to share some geology for the week. Te Anau and the Milford Road
Morning walk in Forest Row, UK. Morning walk in Forest Row, UK.
Up there learning! To jump off a hilltop and catch Up there learning! To jump off a hilltop and catch thermals surrounded by circling birds as you shoot upwards into the sky really is like nothing else! On my paragliding CP course with a perfect last couple of days... #paragliding #flysussex
Baylys Beach in Northland NZ. Lignite layers full Baylys Beach in Northland NZ. Lignite layers full of wood and leaves represent climate cycles going back about half a million years. Video link in bio
Rangitoto Volcano. Latest YouTube video. Channel l Rangitoto Volcano. Latest YouTube video. Channel link in description
Newsflash - the best of our recently discovered mo Newsflash - the best of our recently discovered moa footprints have been saved... #fossil #moa
Follow on Instagram
Copyright © 2025 Out There Learning