Hands on Tauranga offers students stimulating and original learning opportunities with real museum objects that support the New Zealand curriculum at primary and secondary school level.
A Box Brownie E 620 camera. A black metal box with black and white strip at front.
The first photograph was taken in 1826. However, for the ordinary person, owning a camera was made possible by the invention of the Box Brownie in 1900. Founded by George Eastman, Kodak became major camera and film producers.
date: 1933 - 1936
manufacturer: Kodak Ltd., England
max dimension: 120mm
subject area: Social Science, Technology, English, The Arts, Science
specific themes: Technology, Home, Photography
handling collection number: HC63
why not get your hands on these...
Movie Camera HC61 > https://www.handsontauranga.co.nz/hot-items/nga-toi-the-arts/movie-camera-hc611-3/
Folding Camera HC183 > https://www.handsontauranga.co.nz/hot-items/nga-toi-the-arts/camera-folding-hc183/
Rendell's Tauranga - Historic Tauranga from above > https://www.handsontauranga.co.nz/hot-items/nga-toi-the-arts/rendells-tauranga-historic-tauranga-from-above-book-hc275/
Teaching and Learning activity ideas - All About the box brownie camera and photography
Note: Resources needed for the following activities are not provided by Hands on Tauranga.
These ideas below have been written with the help of Co-Pilot.
Make a Pinhole Viewer: Explore how light enters a camera by making a simple pinhole viewer. Compare it to how the Box Brownie works.
Materials Hunt: Investigate what materials were used to make the Box Brownie (e.g., leatherette, metal, glass). Compare with modern cameras.
Light & Shadow Experiment: Use a torch and objects to explore how light affects photo quality. Talk about how early photographers worked with natural light.
Photography Timeline: Create a timeline showing key moments in camera history, including the invention of the Box Brownie in 1900.
Photo Stories: Look at old Box Brownie photos and guess the story behind them. Who might be in the photo? What were they doing?
Role-Play a Photographer: Pretend to be a 1900s photographer. Set up a scene, “take” a photo, and write a short diary entry about the moment.
Design a Camera: Draw or build your own Box Brownie-style camera using cardboard or recycled materials.
Vintage Photo Frame: Create a photo frame using tea-dyed paper or aged effects to display a modern photo in a vintage style.
Photo Collage: Collect printed vintage-style photos and make a collage showing different uses of the Box Brownie (family, travel, war).
