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Event

Hector Day Geobake 2026

01 March 2026 - 27 March 2026

Region(s): Nationwide

Type(s): competitions

Hector Day on 16 March is the birth date of the reknown geologist Sir James Hector. In 2026 it falls on a Monday, so what perfect way to celebrate with a geoscience-themed culinary creation!

The popular and hotly-contested baking competition is back!

Dust off your aprons, gather up your rock flour, and find your apatite for your chance to win a year's free Geoscience Society of New Zealand (GSNZ) membership and spot prizes.

Hector’s dolphin mid leap our of sea.

Hector’s dolphin

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Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) was named after Sir James Hector (1834–1907), founder of the Colonial Museum in Wellington, now the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Rights: Gregory “Slobirdr” Smith, CC BY 2.0
Referencing Hub media

How to enter

Design and bake something tasty that has a geoscience theme. Take a photo of your finished creation and email your photo(s) to events@gsnz.org.nz by Friday, 27 March 2026, 11.59 pm.

Be sure to include:

  • The baker’s name

  • A geoscientific explanation of the baked item (50 words max.)

  • The baker’s contact details (email address and phone number)

Anonymised entries will be judged by the GSNZ National Committee the following week.

Winners will be announced in a GSNZ Newsflash.

For more information: https://gsnz.org.nz/gsnz-events/ViewEvent/469.

Related content

In the activities Models of the Earth and Tectonic sandwiches students create edible science models. Making lava fudge is a tasty demonstration of three different types of volcanic rocks.

Check out the Waikato Biogeochemistry and Ecohydrology Research cakes. See how cakes tell science stories.

2 cakes made by scientists to explain their scientific findings.

Research cakes

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Professor Louis Schipper challenges his students and colleagues to explain their scientific findings via cake. Research cakes are a means of explaining complex science in a pictorial and edible manner, busting the myth that science is routine and boring.

Rights: Louis Schipper
Referencing Hub media

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Glossary

Published: 11 March 2026
Referencing Hub media

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