For children in Merivale Community Centre's school holiday programme, learning about their home town doesn't need to be dull.

Merivale holiday programme participants enjoying the new books.Photo by: Tracy Hardy

For two weeks the children are exploring parts of the Bay of Plenty using Te Puna author Tommy Kapai's book ‘T is for Tauranga' – the world's first QR coded children's book.

Holland Beckett lawyers and TrustPower donated copies of the book to the centre in an attempt to educate children about where they come from.

During this week, and again next week, children are exploring by scanning the QR code on each page which features a new location starting with each letter of the alphabet.

Merivale Community Centre manager Graham Cameron says this is a great opportunity for the children to learn Tauranga's history.

'One of the big challenges with our young people and children in Merivale is connecting them with the wider community.

'The book is kind of a window to that world really.”

Tommy says his book works like a treasure map and says it is important for children to learn where they come from.

'When kids find out where they belong they know where they stand and when you give them a place to stand they then know where they're going to go.

'Sometimes we give them too much Barney and Telly Tubby and Bananas and Pyjamas and I think we should give them more of what's in our own backyard.”

SunLive has four copies of Tommy Kapai's ‘T is for Tauranga' to give away to lucky readers who can tell us what T stands for in the book.

Enter online at www.sunlive.co.nz under the competitions section.

Entries must be received before January 30.