Virtual Machu Picchu Pueblo LT

This Learning Tool has been developed by a multi-disciplinary team from Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand in collaboration with the community members and local government of Machu Picchu Pueblo and with the support of the Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence. It fosters experiential education about Machu Picchu Pueblo in Peru; without the need to travel.

The learning tool supports learning about Machu Picchu Pueblo, its community members, and sustainability challenges by allowing students to visit a digital replication of the main square of Machu Picchu Pueblo as well as the town's recycling depot, and the hill overlooking the world-famous and heavily-visited Machu Picchu archaeological site. Through embedded videos students can hear from eleven different community stakeholders about life in the town, the positive and negative impacts of tourism, and their aspirations for the year 2030 (to tie in with the UN's Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals). The stakeholders include the mayor, representatives of local government, business owners, the local doctor, a tour guide, a busker, a porter, a community member with limited contact with tourism, and a tourist.

The learning tool is freely available and targeted at Years 8-10 in New Zealand schools to support Social Studies, Sustainability, Geography and Tourism education. Please see the Teach APAC website (https://teachapac.nz) for essential learning and teaching resources that complement the learning tool.