You’ll soon be able to find more information about our authors on this page. We’re trying to get it all together at the moment, so they’ll appear progressively.
Emma Best
Pat Brownsey
Lucy Hoffman
Charlotte Huddleston
Since October 2006 I have been working at Te Papa as curator of contemporary art, which, for the purposes of my job description begins at 1970. Of course this is mainly a reference point, but a good place to begin. Before that I was assistant curator at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth, and prior to that I was gallery manager at Enjoy here in Wellington.
Jane Keig
Hi, I’m the Communications Manager at Te Papa. I’ve worked at the museum since 2001 in a variety of roles from host to PA to exhibition interpreter and I LOVE MY JOB. It’s great to be able to share my passion for Te Papa’s collections, exhibitions and people with you!
Adrian Kingston
I’m currently Collections Information Manager Digital Assets and Development at Te Papa, responsible for the development of the Museum’s Collection Information System, work with thesauri and controlled vocabulary, management of the Museum’s digital assets and digital preservation. I’ve been at Te Papa since 2001, working in the Art and Photography collections before moving into Collections Information in 2004. I also drive the Te Papa Collections twitter account http://twitter.com/tepapacolonline. I’ve previously worked at Hawke’s Bay Museum and the National Library of New Zealand.
Victoria Leachman
I’ve been Te Papa’s Rights Manager since August 2007. I administer Te Papa’s portfolio of trademarks; watch out for changes to copyright legislation to make sure that Te Papa’s processes are up-to-date; and give advice to staff on copyright and licensing questions. One of the main projects I’m working on is Collections Online where I determine whether an artwork or object is in copyright and, if it is, ask the copyright owner for permission to publish images of the artwork or object in Collections Online. I have a background in museum collection management and I’ve previously worked in collection management roles at Te Manawa, Tairawhiti Museum and the National Maritime Museum, UK.
Carlos Lehnebach
I am a Botanist working at Te Papa Tongarewa. My research interests include systematics and evolution of the Southern Hemisphere flora, orchid pollination biology and the archaeobotany of Southern Chile. During my studies I have collected and studied plants from Chile (my home country), Argentina, Peru and New Zealand. My current research projects include exploring species boundaries within New Zealand plants of the genus Uncinia (hook grasses) and Myosotis (forget me not). I am also working on the production of an interactive identification key for NZ hook grasses.
Pamela Lovis
I am passionate about museums and the opportunities they give people to learn, interact and be inspired. I love collections like Te Papa’s which combine science, arts and culture. I work as an interpreter for exhibitions and on various online projects. Favourite projects have been Whales Tohora and the colossal squid – which turned me into a squid geek.
William McAloon
Heidi M. Meudt
I am research scientist at Te Papa, specializing in taxonomy, evolutionary history, and biogeography of flowering plants. Because my job is focused on research, most of the work I do happens “behind the scenes” at Te Papa, in the lab, or in the field. When I’m not studying plants I enjoy spending time with my family, travelling, learning languages, and practising yoga.
Lucie Paterson
I have been the Communications Officer for National Services Te Paerangi since June 2008. We are a team within Te Papa that works with museums, galleries, iwi and related organisations to enhance museum services and support them to become self-sustaining. Part of my job is looking after the NZMuseums website and Tweeting for @nzmuseums. My pastimes include playing board games and eating ice cream, preferably at the same time! Next year I hope to volunteer with giant pandas in China.
Chris Paulin
I am a marine biologist at Te Papa, and have published in over 50 scientific papers, popular articles and several books on New Zealand fishes: New Zealand Fish, a complete guide (1989); Rockpool fishes of New Zealand (1992); The Identification Guide to Quota Management Species (1996); Common New Zealand Marine Fishes (1998). I am also a co-author of Fiordland Underwater, New Zealand’s hidden wilderness (1998). My current research projects include Māori fishhooks made of wood, bone, stone and shell, as well as the colossal squid project.
Leon Perrie
I’m one of the Botany Curators, and help to administer Te Papa’s herbarium or collection of dried plant specimens. I specialise in the taxonomy (i.e., naming) and evolution of New Zealand’s ferns, often using DNA analyses to address issues that can’t be resolved by consideration of the external features of the plants alone. My interest in how species originate has drawn me into also studying Pseudopanax, since I am fascinated by the rampant hybridisation between the very different-looking lancewood and coastal five-finger. I enjoy exploring new places, even if it is only to see plants I’ve never before encountered in the wild!
Kirstie Ross
Phil Sirvid
I am a relative newby to the formal world of museology, but have been working within the arts and culture sectors for nearly all of my short adult life as a musician, business director, events producer, and educator. I now look after the back-of-house management of the Our Space experience at Te Papa during the day, and when I am not at home with the family, I enjoy BJJ, bikes, and beer.
Florence Liger
Web admin for Te Papa, usually hiding behind the “Te Papa” user. Geek, otaku, musician and sometimes French too, I love reading what people here have to say, cuz it’s always something new for me to learn!
I’m here to make sure that everything’s usable, fine and rolling, so if you’ve got any issue with our blog, contact me at webmaster@tepapa.govt.nz.
27 August 2009 at 11:57 am
How wide was the head of the largest Colossal squid Dr. Kubodera and Bolstad measured? Or the width of the largest one period. Would this be the minimum width of a sperm whales throat, or does the squids head become more compact? Thanks, Kenny
15 October 2009 at 8:46 am
Hi there,
I am writing an assignment on introduing a blog at the museum I work at. Can you tell me how long is spent working on the blog, how many views the blog gets, how you advertise it, when the blog was started, do you have another blog for staff etc. I would appreciate any information you can provide me re. the blog.
Many thanks in advance,
Diane Gordon
15 October 2009 at 12:34 pm
Hi Diane
We get between 500-1000 views per day on our blog. We include a blog feed with the last 3 posts on the homepage of our site – http://www.tepapa.govt.nz. We don’t really advertise as such in any other way although we are starting to tweet the blogs.
We sometimes have set up other blogs for separte purposes – we are using one, which is private still, as part of the development of an exhibition about Refugees.
It can be quite time consuming to manage a blog, even if you get other staff members to actually write posts.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you would like other information.
Lucy Hoffman
Website manager