May 2: Kelly Tarlton

Would you like to be a pioneer? What would it feel like to explore a world no one else had seen?

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Below are some talking points and activities to pass the time, all relating to today’s story.

Talking points

Discuss the ideas presented in the story with your family—at home or over video conferencing. Find ways to involve as many people as possible, especially those who you know are isolated by the lock-down.

  • Kelly Tarlton is introduced as a treasure hunter—searching the sands for gold bars that were lost in a shipwreck. In one of the top photos we see him with a pile of coins. What kind of personality do you think Kelly Tarlton might have had? What makes you think this? Do you like the sound of treasure hunting?
  • Kelly Tarlton discovered the underwater world when he went to see The Silent World, a film by Jacques Cousteau. Straight away he wanted to get underwater himself. Have you ever been snorkelling or diving? Have you checked out any of the virtual reality videos on the NZGeo site? Why do you think people love exploring the underwater world so much?
  • Kelly and his friend Wade Doak had to invent a lot of their diving gear in the early days, using things like bike pumps and garden hoses. What does this reveal about life in NZ at that time? What does it reveal about the personalities of Kelly Tarlton and Wade Doak? How might being inventive have been useful when it came to making Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World?
  • Kelly Tarlton’s drawing of an underwater world gives us a glimpse into how his amazing idea started. If you had millions of dollars and could build anything you liked, what would your dream underwater world look like? What species would you want to have there? How could you improve on what Kelly Tarlton created? Draw your own picture or just have fun thinking about it.

Task—Make a Seashell Creature!

If you have shells lying around at home you can make this straight away—otherwise you’ll need to visit a beach to collect a small number of shells for this project. Alternatively, use anything you have lying around—bottle caps, leaves, jar lids!

  1. Look through your shells and see if you can arrange them to make a fantasy sea creature.
  2. Hot glue the shells in place.
  3. Use goggly eyes, a coloured pencil or felt tip if you want to add any extra details to your creature.
  4. Put it in the garden for an ornament or on a shelf somewhere.

Send us a picture of your seashell creature!