Tūtakina te Tīma | Meet our team
Manu Bennett
Puke Ariki Museum
and Libraries
Ko Aotea te waka. Ko Ruapehu te maunga. Ko Te Awa Tupua o Whanganui te awa. Ko Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi te iwi. No Whanganui ahau.
Manu works across the museum and community libraries, sharing his pūkenga (skills) to support a diverse range of learners, including those at Kura Kaupapa and bilingual students.
What inspired you to pursue a career as a museum / library educator?
Introducing people to the stories behind taonga, inspiring them to learn more and gain a deeper understanding of a subject/object.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your job?
Working with like-minded people and learning more about how things are done within the curatorial, exhibitions and the marketing teams.
What challenges do you face in your role, and how do you overcome them?
The best thing that helps overwhelming tasks is the team I work with and the cohesiveness that everyone brings that has streamlined this process.
What is a favourite exhibit or piece of art in the museum / gallery, and why does it resonate with you?
Honestly, my favourite space is the Puke Ariki Garden. It is an onsite, outside classroom that is surrounded by natural materials that we use as a living resource.
How has your perspective on art and history changed since you started working here?
After teaching in the classrooms for many years, I have used personal taonga and artifacts as hands-on learning tools. The museum has reminded me that there are more to taonga than just a learning tool. A great reminder.
Erinn Coombe
Kaiako | Educator
Puke Ariki Museum
Learning Team Administrator
Erinn shares her time teaching at the Museum and will be the first point of call when booking, her superpower is keeping all our systems running smoothly. She loves sharing ideas with ākonga, and getting rangatahi thinking!
What inspired you to pursue a career as a museum / library educator?
I never would've thought I would become a Museum/Library educator, but sometimes you stumble upon something that just fits. Since I was a kid, I was fascinated by the past, as an adult I became more curious about the intersection between past, present, and future. My role gives me the opportunity to work alongside tamariki and rangatahi to question what this means for them.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your job?
The constant learning! I love it when tauira are inquisitive, often they ask unexpected questions, leading me in a different direction than initially planned. It's feels like a real collaboration!
What challenges do you face in your role, and how do you overcome them?
History is complex; with many emotions and experiences attached to it. As someone who is not from Taranaki, many of the stories we talk about do not belong to me. However, it is my job to create space for tauira to express their ideas, opinions and emotions. This is something I am constantly navigating and learning from.
What is a favourite exhibit or piece of art in the museum / gallery, and why does it resonate with you?
I don't have any favourites, I think every space, image and artefact poses an opportunity for conversation and learning. I find it incredibly special that we get to utilise archives and objects as learning tools; it can enrich the experiences by grounding ideas in reality.
How has your perspective on art and history changed since you started working here?
Working here has shown me just how many layers every story carries. I’ve realised that even if I don’t personally connect with a piece, someone else absolutely will, and their connection opens a whole new way of seeing it. That diversity of perspective has shifted the way I approach both art and history; there’s endless room for learning, curiosity, and growth when you understand that meaning is something we build together.
Tash Coulson
Kaiako | Educator
Puke Ariki Museum
Based in the Museum, Tash lives and breathes environmental education and science. Her enthusiastic nature means she injects fun into learning wherever she can.
What inspired you to pursue a career as a museum / library educator?
I recently transitioned from teaching in primary school classrooms, where my favourite part of the job was creating real-world, hands-on learning experiences for ākonga. Becoming a museum educator felt like a natural next step—it allows me to take those authentic learning moments even further by bringing the exhibits to life and connecting students directly with the stories, science, and history around them.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your job?
I’m driven by inspiring ākonga and helping them see possibilities beyond their everyday experiences. It’s incredibly rewarding to watch their curiosity spark—especially when they make connections between what they’re seeing in the museum and the wider world. Creating those “wow” moments, where learning feels meaningful and exciting, is what it’s all about for me.
What challenges do you face in your role, and how do you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges is choosing what to focus on—there are so many incredible artefacts and stories that are relevant to our tamariki, and only a short time to explore them. I overcome this by being really intentional in my planning, selecting key pieces that will have the most impact, and designing sessions that are engaging, interactive, and tailored to each group.
What is a favourite exhibit or piece of art in the museum / gallery, and why does it resonate with you?
My favourite exhibit is Project Reef. It’s incredible to think that such a rich and diverse marine habitat exists right on our doorstep, yet remains largely unprotected. It really connects to my passion for environmental education and conservation, and it’s a powerful way to help students understand the importance of protecting our natural world.
Chris Barry
Govett Brewster Art Gallery |
Sharing Art Gallery experiences with the second generation of visitors, Chris is a true 'Master of Explaining Tricky Stuff' and absolutely rules at creating the most engaging and fun creative experiences in the art room.
What inspired you to pursue a career as a museum / art gallery educator?
I enjoy helping people, especially tamariki, create their own meaningful experiences when face-to-face with art.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your job?
Kids desperate to share their ideas with classmates and their pride when showing me their creation. And working with my very generous fellow kaiako.
What challenges do you face in your role, and how do you overcome them?
Our biggest challenge is convincing teachers that the Gallery offers amazing learning experiences for their ākonga. The Arts are minority status subjects in mainstream education, so we need to help teachers see links to other curriculum areas.
What is a favourite exhibit or piece of art in the museum / gallery, and why does it resonate with you?
I try not to play favourites. I’m very fortunate at the Govett Brewster | Len Lye Centre because most of exhibitions are very open propositions, their meaning has not been fixed, which is excellent ground for switching on the imagination and having an adventure for an hour and a half with tamariki.
How has your perspective on art and history changed since you started working here?
I’ve become more sensitive to the importance of art and art galleries connecting with communities. The opening of the Len Lye Centre has helped attract a wider audience, including education programmes linked to more curriculum areas.
Ellie Field
Kaiako | Educator
Govett Brewster Art Gallery |
Len Lye Centre
Ellie shares her time between afterschool art classes and leading school groups, all ages and stages. She's all about experimentation and bringing out that creative spark in children.
What inspired you to pursue a career as a museum / art gallery educator?
I am inspired by the immersive experience museum and gallery settings brings to ākonga. I love storytelling and learning through art and Taonga to inspire tamariki and whānau, offering, hands-on making fun, visual, kinaesthetic, and oral learning.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your job?
When tamariki are excited about the toi and taonga and tap into their creative potential. They have real joy in their experience of making art and learning through a new immersive way.
What challenges do you face in your role, and how do you overcome them?
We overcome challenges by supporting tamariki and giving them guidance and support if they feel unsure about an activity. Making all ākonga and whānau feel welcome in our spaces.
What is a favourite exhibit or piece of art in the museum / gallery, and why does it resonate with you?
What I love about the gallery is the space and content is ever changing with new and exciting exhibitions. The subject matter includes important global environmental issues, Aotearoa’s history, ideas of identity and whakapapa, reviving ancient crafts and a multicultural outlook.
How has your perspective on art and history changed since you started working here?
I have seen the potential of storytelling and learning through artifacts and toi, this can help with explaining history and culture. Art has a wonderful way of allowing the viewer to dive into another space and time and see the world through someone else’s eyes.
Rebecca Fawkner
Govett Brewster Art Gallery |
Len Lye Centre
Puke Ariki Museum
Rebecca brings over 20 years of experience in the art gallery field. One of her proudest achievements is her book Ziggle, a Len Lye activity book based on learning activities at the Len Lye Centre.
What inspired you to pursue a career as a museum / art gallery educator?
From the time when I visited the Gallery and Museum as a kid at West End School it always looked like my dream job, and so it is.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your job?
When a student really gets it! Especially when a teacher tells me how delighted they were to see a new side of a student.
What challenges do you face in your role, and how do you overcome them?
Keeping up with all the administrative tasks required for communicating with schools and booking classes can be challenging. My heart sinks when I hear that schools have missed out on an opportunity. Our Mīharo programme is an exciting new initiative designed to help us spread the word more effectively.
What is a favourite exhibit or piece of art in the museum / gallery, and why does it resonate with you?
I recently spotted a wonderful carved figure from an ancient pataka in Takapou Whariki that was found on a farm near where I live. Investigating that area further and imagining the people living there is a delight.
How has your perspective on art and history changed since you started working here?
Don’t form an opinion too soon about an artwork. Often, I don’t connect with a piece initially, but then I change my perspective and start to enjoy it after hearing someone else explain why they love it.