Pū Rākau AR app for iPhone and iPad

The AR app for the PAKU Pū Rākau block set.

Weve noticed that many resources for teaching Māori culture and language lack interactivity and fun. Thats why we created PAKU Pū Rākau blocks. Our goal is simple: to make learning the Māori alphabet and stories enjoyable and engaging for children. Weve taken mātauranga Māori and blended it with the latest technology, bringing Māori and New Zealand design into the future.

Were thrilled to introduce PAKU Pū Rākau, a project that aims to revolutionize how children connect with Māori knowledge. Its born out of our deep passion to bring the rich world of Te Ao Māori into the homes of all families in Aotearoa. Join us on this exciting journey!

We are tech and design nerds at heart and while this was always going to be a future product for PAKU it wasnt at the top of the list. Then that lightbulb moment when asking ourselves "How do we make the mātauranga more accessible, and more engaging?" We are building an interactive augmented reality app, so that tamariki can play and interact with the stories in both the physical and digital worlds.

In their own right the blocks are a beautiful representation of each atua but when stacked and then scanned in the digital world the atua come to life with elements that reinforce their story and character. Try to combine different atua whose stories overlap and see the interaction between the two.