Tag Archives: museum

Behind the scenes: A week in the life of a natural history curator

29 May 2013 – 9.26am

What does a Te Papa curator do? I spent last week following Te Papa’s terrestrial vertebrate curator Alan Tennyson to find out. Here are some of the main highlights:

 Visitors

Monday saw Alan meet with Trish Nugent-Lyne, a collection manager at Whanganui Regional Museum. Te Papa staff are helping Trish prepare an articulated dog skeleton for an exhibition Whanganui Regional Museum is holding at the end of the year. The dog bones Trish brought were put into Te Papa’s dermestid beetle tanks to clean them.

Alan examining a skeleton being cleaned by beetles.

Alan examining a skeleton being cleaned by beetles.

Alan also showed Trish through the vertebrate collections where they viewed other skeletons that she may borrow from Te Papa for their exhibition. They also discussed different storage techniques for fragile items such as eggshells.
Alan and Trish looking at birds eggs in Te Papa's collection. Te Papa has recently improved their storage method of these fragile items.

Alan and Trish looking at birds eggs in Te Papa’s collection. Te Papa has recently improved their storage method of these fragile items.


Many researchers visit Te Papa, both from within New Zealand and overseas, to use the natural history collections for research. This week Alan communicated with a Chilean researcher who wants to visit Te Papa to examine pleisosaur bones. 

Outreach and networking

Last week was Primary Science week. During the week Te Papa curators and educators visited schools in the Wellington region. On Thursday Alan spent the day at Dyer Street School in Naenae talking to the kids about his job as a curator. The kids especially enjoyed seeing the moa bones and giant shark teeth that Alan took along and hearing about his fieldwork in Vanuatu.

Alan was interviewed by Alison Balance from Radio New Zealand about the New Zealand Birds online project, led by Te Papa curator Colin Miskelly. Alan’s contribution to this website has been writing the texts for a number of living and extinct bird species and contributing photos. This week he worked on the final edits of some texts (the website goes live over Queen’s birthday weekend) and took photos of extinct penguin bones which will be displayed on the website.

On Wednesday afternoon Alan attended the launch of a new fossil book at GNS in Lower Hutt. These types of events provide a great opportunity to network with colleagues working at other institutions. 

Public and professional enquiries

Te Papa receives many enquiries from the public, these are passed on to the appropriate curator to deal with. For Alan these types of enquiries typically involve identifying birds or fossils.  However, this week Alan also responded to an enquiry wanting advice about restoring seabird sites in the Waikato.  He also discussed developing legislation to prevent the sale of moa bones with the Department of Conservation.

Research

This week Alan assisted me with selecting prion samples from Te Papa’s bird skin collection for DNA analysis. Alan is part of the Te Papa seabird research team undertaking several projects into seabird taxonomy.

Alan looking at a selection of Te Papa's prion skins.

Alan looking at a selection of Te Papa’s prion skins.

This week Alan learnt that a team he works with in Adelaide have identified a couple of bat teeth from new species. These had been previously collected from the St Bathans fossil site in central Otago. Alan has been involved in excavating this site for the past 12 years. It takes many months to sort through the material collected in a single trip. 

Further time was spent in the collections identifying bones from the Chatham Islands, including an extinct penguin, that had been donated to Te Papa. 

Collection development

Alan also manages contractor Catherine, who prepares new bird skeletons, wings and tails for inclusion in Te Papa’s collection.  He decides which specimens Catherine should prepare and the type of preparation each one needs. This involves checking both the condition of the specimens and seeing what is already held in the collections.

Alan with a shearwater skeleton prepared by Catherine.

Alan with a shearwater skeleton prepared by Catherine.


A wing being prepared by Catherine for incorporation into the collection.

A wing being prepared by Catherine for incorporation into the collection.

By Lara Shepherd | Posted in Biodiversity, Birds, Education, Fossils, Museums | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

News from Loans – Where to see Te Papa collection items – taonga

29 January 2013 – 3.41pm

Over the past few months I’ve let you know where to see Te Papa collection items on display in other places. The de Serville anchor at the Far North Museum, the Minke Whale skeleton at Auckland Museum, the Adam’s Island lifeboat and NZL32 at Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum, Governor Grey’s bed at Mansion House, Kawau Island in October 2012. Items associated with the Boer War, and significant Wellington items at the Museum of Wellington City & Sea, and relics of Baron von Alzdorf’s hotel at Bowen House also reported in October 2012. Model ships on display at Otago Museum and mementoes of sub-Antarctic Island shipwreck survivors at the Southland Museum& Art Gallery in November 2012. And paintings on display in places you would not necessarily expect to find them also in November 2012, such as Government House, the Wellington Club, St Patricks College and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Today I’m going to let you know where to find taonga Maori from Te Papa’s collections on display in other places.

At the Department of Conservation Haast Visitor Centre you will find a large argillite toki (adze blade) found early last century at Bruce Bay, South Westland. The toki is part of an informative display about the unique cultural, historic, and natural features of South Westland.

Ipu (bowl), Wellington. Maker unknown. Purchased 1963. Te Papa

We recently lent eighteen taonga to the Muaupoko Tribal Authority for display at the newly built Horowhenua Cultural and Community Centre in Levin. Muaupoko see the display of taonga associated with the area as a chance to showcase rare items retrieved from lakes and streams in the district. One of the taonga is an ipu, a small delicately carved bowl associated with Waipata Island, an artificial island at the southern end of Lake Horowhenua, once the site of a pā (stockade).

Wakahuia (treasure box), 1800, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Oldman Collection. Gift of the New Zealand Government, 1992. Te Papa

In 2010 we lent the New Zealand Ministry of Justice a wakahuia (treasure box), from the prestigious Oldman Collection, to be displayed alongside the Queen’s silver inkstand at the newly opened Supreme Court building. The wakahuia and the inkstand act as symbols of nationhood.

Poutoti (stilts), Bay of Plenty. Maker unknown. Exchanged 1964. Te Papa

Ngā Pūmanawa o Te Arawa: The Beating Hearts of Te Arawa was unveiled to the public on 2 September 2011 at Rotorua Museum’s newly built Don Stafford Memorial Wing.  The exhibition traces the rich history of Te Arawa, one of Aotearoa’s most famous tribal confederations.  The exhibition brings together many of the tribe’s most iconic taonga (treasures) for the very first time, and through them tells the Rotorua region’s most amazing stories.  Nine of those taonga are from Te Papa’s collections including the stilts illustrated above.

Five pou whakarae (stockade posts), that have been at Te Manawa since 1994, were recently reinstalled into the refurbished Te Rangi Whenua gallery.  The exhibition shares the stories of iwi (tribal) groups in the Manawatu, Rangitikei and Horowhenua regions.  Four of the pou are associated with PuketotoraPa, Rangiotu, carved around 1830.

 At the Hokitika Museum eleven taonga made from pounamu (New Zealand jade) from Te Papa’s collection are exhibited in the exhibition Te Tai O Poutini (The place of Pounamu).  Prior to the discovery of gold, the West Coast was home to Poutini Ngai Tahu who had a string of settlements along the Coast.  Maori collected and carved pounamu, a treasured stone, which, because of its usefulness and beauty, was traded throughout New Zealand.

 Three carvings lent to Puke Ariki in 2003 have been redisplayed in their exhibition Te Takapou Whariki o Taranaki (The Sacred Woven Mat of Taranaki).  Each of the three carvings has its own individual and unique story and is well worth a visit.

By Jo Torr | Posted in Borrowing and Lending | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

A slice of Wellington life: the Berry & Co collection

25 October 2012 – 4.02pm
Wong Lee, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

Wong Lee, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Gelatin dry plate negative. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

Te Papa has a collection of nearly 4,000 glass plate and film negatives taken by the Wellington photography studio Berry & Co.  The studio was founded by William Berry in 1897, and operated in Cuba St until 1931.  The negatives are mainly portraits – of families, children, men and women, soldiers in uniform, the occasional pet – and are a wonderful resource for those interested in our history, or in the history of fashion. 

Find out about our project to identify WWI soldiers in the Berry & Co collection

 1,479 of our Berry negatives had been digitally imaged and put online over the past ten years, leaving us 2,397 more to photograph and upload to the web.  We’re keen to make more of this great historical resource available online, so we have started a mass imaging project, to photograph them in batches of 100 per week.  At this rate, it will take about six months to do them all. 

Joliffe 12, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Photo Michael Hall. Copyright Te Papa. Negatives can be difficult to ‘read’, so creating a positive digital image makes it easier for us to improve our catalogue data, for example by using clothing details to estimate the date the photograph was taken.

From cold storage to the studio

The negatives are all kept in our cold storage vaults, as low temperatures and humidity slow their deterioration.  They have to be brought up to room temperature slowly (acclimatised), otherwise there’s a risk that moisture will condense on the surface of the negatives, and damage or destroy the image.   

 We are using small chilly bins to acclimatise and transport the negatives.  These are handled very carefully, but as additional protection against bumps which could crack the glass, the bins are padded out with foam and pillows. 

One of the transport chilly bins. The negatives are stored in archival paper sleeves, to protect the surface of the image. Photograph Anita Hogan, copyright Te Papa.

The negatives are placed on their edges in  the chilly bin, as this is the way they are designed to travel.  The bin is then left closed for five days, so the plates can slowly acclimatise to room temperature.

 In the studio

Once the plates have acclimatised, we move them to the photography studio and they are photographed on a light box by one of our imaging team.

Photographing a Berry & Co glass plate negative. We use a Phase I P40 camera and Schneider 110 lens, used with extension tube, with a 40MB back. This gives us a 38MB digital image, which is our ‘access master’ size. Photograph Michael Hall, copyright Te Papa.

When the photographs have been taken, the negatives are moved back to the cold storage vault.  As one set of negatives acclimatises another is being photographed, so there are always three sets of chilly bins on the move.

 So far we’ve photographed 500 of the negatives in the project, and they are being uploaded as we go.  Here’s a small selection.  I’ll be putting up more as the project continues, or you can keep an eye out for new additions on Collections Online.

Miss Roma Lee Coupon 1 doz PC, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

Miss Roma Lee Coupon 1 doz PC, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. gelatin dry plate negative. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

Cowie 12, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

Gregorias 12, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

Gregorias 12, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Gelatin dry plate negative. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

By Anita Hogan | Posted in Art, Collections Online, History, Museums, Photography | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Niue: the Rock of Polynesia

9 October 2012 – 1.42pm

To celebrate Vagahau Niue: Niue Language Week (6-13 October 2012), the Pacific Cultures team are highlighting stories about Niue focusing on taoga (treasures) from Te Papa’s collection. Today, in this second blog post we offer a short environmental profile of the Niue, sometimes referred to by locals as “The Rock of Polynesia”. We finish with one of Niue’s creation stories.

Niue: a raised coral atoll

What is a raised coral atoll? A raised coral atoll forms when a coral reef grows on an underwater volcanic peak, which is then raised above sea level. This can happen from both earth movements and falls in sea level. Niue consists of coral limestone – old, dead coral that now makes up both the central bedrock and the coastal cliffs. The volcano on which Niue is formed is extinct. The main environmental threat to Niue is drought. Because of Niue’s height and steep coast, rises in sea level will have little, if any, effect on it.

Food and water on Niue

Compared with other types of islands, a raised coral atoll is not well suited to human habitation. There isn’t much fresh water on Niue. In former times, the inhabitants had to find it in caves or dig wells for it. Niue also has very little fertile soil. There is only a thin layer in most places. However, Niueans have made the most of the soil they have available, and cultivate introduced plants – especially talo (taro), bananas, and coconuts. Niue’s marine and fishing resources are good, but access to the sea is difficult in some areas because of the rugged coastal cliffs. These photographs from the Te Papa collections were taken by New Zealander Glenn Jowitt. They capture aspects of food production and fishing on Niue in the 1990s. Check out the big catch…

Weighing taro (1996) Photographer Glenn Jowitt

Lakepa Niue(1996) Photographer Glenn Jowitt

Flower snapper (1996). Photographer Glenn Jowitt.

Toolmaking on Niue

As with other raised atolls, limestone is the accessible type of rock on Niue. In the past, Niueans made wood carving tools from this stone and from shells. Occasionally they obtained tools of harder stone from other islands. They valued these greatly, and would repair and reshape them until they were too small to use.

Toki ngenge (shell adzing tool)

These stone tools (below) were used on Niue, but must have been obtained from Tonga or Samoa. Being a raised coral atoll, Niue has no stone of this kind.

Toki uli (stone adzing tool)

Toki uli (stone adzing tool)

The origins of Niue: a creation story

There were five gods: Fao, Huanaki, Lageiki, Lagiatea, and Talimainuku (Fakahoku). They left their land and discovered a small reef in the ocean – Niue.

The gods bailed water off the reef and emptied it into caverns. More and more dry land emerged, until the reef was big enough to live on.

It was one of the gods, Fao, who first brought humans to Niue. Some say that he had two children, Avatele and Malotele. Others believe he went to Fonuagalo and brought back a couple whose names were Avatele and Kavatele.

Ko e tupumaiaga ha Niue

Na toko lima e atua fakamua: ko Fao, Huanaki, Lageiki, Lagiatea mo Talimainuku (taha higoa foki ko Fakahoku). Ne fenoga a lautolu mai he motu ne nonofo ai ti moua e lautolu e uluulu he moana puke lahi, ko e matamaka ko Niue.

Ne ahu e lautolu e tau puke tahi mai he uluulu mo e liligi hifo he tau maihi maka. Kua kitia ai hane fae lahi fakahaga e kelekele momo ati maeke ia lautolu ke nonofo ai.

Ko e taha mai ia lautolu e tau atua ko Fao ne taatu fakamua e tau tagata ki Niue. Taha talahauaga pehe, na tokoua e haana a tau fanau, ko Avatele mo Malotele. Falu ne pehe, kua finatu a ia ki Fonuagalo mo e tamai e ia e hoana mo e taane ko Avatele mo Kavatele.

A full version of the origin story of Niue was documented by Pulekula, Teacher at Tama-ha-le-leka and published in the Journal of the Polynesian Society in 1903.

Niue: the stats

Total land area: 259 square kilometres

Highest point: About 60 metres above sea level

Annual rainfall: 2170 millimetres

Population in 2000: 1625 (2006 census)

More than 22,000 Niueans now live in New Zealand (2006 census).

Crab, Niue (1962)Photographer Richard Dell.

By seanjmallon | Posted in Pacific, Photography | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

Celebrating Vagahau (Language) Niue

8 October 2012 – 3.31pm

To celebrate Vagahau Niue: Niue Language Week (6-13 October 2012), the Pacific Cultures team are highligting stories about Niue focusing on taoga (treasures) from Te Papa’s collection.

Canoe Making in Niue; CT.027510; 1972, Te Papa

Canoe Making in Niue; CT.027510; 1972, Te Papa

In 1972, over a few months, a group of scientists from Te Papa, then known as the Dominion Museum, made a visit to Niue as part of an expedition to survey the natural environment. Included in the group was Curator of Birds, Frederich-Carl Kinsky who took images of vaka (canoe) making at Lalokafika on the Alofi–Hakupu road. Some images capture the cutting down and shaping of the moota tree (Dysoxylum forsteri) by local Niueans including Piavale and Dr Harry Nemaia, who was formerly Director of Health in Niue and a respected vaka maker. These images are now in the Photography Collection and are available through Collections Online.

Canoe Making in Niue; CT.027509; 1972; Te Papa

Canoe Making in Niue; CT.027509; 1972; Te Papa

On the same trip, zoologist John Yaldwyn collected several kato (basket) from the local market. The kato range in style from kato tupe (money purses) to oval ribbed styles  for storage. Along with cultural items, specimens of birds, fishes and plants were also collected. These images and objects are a reminder of the museum’s relationship with Niue, and provide an important time capsule in the country’s history.

Kato (basket); Niue; FE006157; Te Papa

Kato (basket); Niue; FE006157; Te Papa

 

 

By Safua Akeli | Posted in Pacific, Photography, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

News from Loans: A Collection Returns Home

30 August 2012 – 11.20am

In any museum collection you will find items or entire collections that were lent at some point in the distant past, sometimes more than a hundred years ago.  It is always rewarding when a relationship is re-established with the owner and the items or collection can be returned to its rightful place.  This happened to us recently at Te Papa when the Masterton Museum collection was delivered to Aratoi: Wairarapa Museum of Art and History.  The story goes something like this… 

 The Masterton Museum was established in the early 1890s, initially just a display case in the Masterton Institute building but later housed in a building rented by the Masterton Central School.  By 1953 that building required extensive repairs and a deal was made with the Dominion Museum (now known as Te Papa) to “take over all the exhibits considered reasonably worth while, would restore them where practicable, label them and give them a home in Wellington.  Also that, should they be required at some future date if and when a new building were available, they would be returned to Masterton.” (Letter dated 8 September 1954)

 Nearly 60 years later a small contingent of Te Papa staff made their way over the Rimutaka mountains in a truck and car, carrying 148 items identified as the Masterton Museum collection.  We were met by Aratoi staff, Rangitane and Kahungunu who warmly welcomed us, and the collection, back to the Wairarapa.

The collection is wide in its composition and reflects the kind of collecting typical of the late nineteenth century.  The collection consists of taonga Māori; items collected in Australia, the Pacific, Africa, Egypt, and Asia; natural history specimens (including two Huia and a number of Moa bones), as well as items with a national historical significance and those closer to home with strong Masterton or Wairarapa connections.

One of the more fascinating items is a circular ship’s biscuit made by G Wilkie & Co. Sydney. Ship’s biscuit, also known as hardtack, was a staple of a sailor’s diet.  It was usually made of flour, water and salt and double or triple baked to ensure it lasted on long voyages.  Sailor’s often had to soak the biscuit in liquid before they could consume it. 

Ship's biscuit. Photographer: Robert Clendon.Te Papa

Ship’s biscuit. Photographer: Robert Clendon.Te Papa

This particular ship’s biscuit is inscribed “from H.M.S. Galatea at Nelson NZ. April 1869. Captain H.R.H. Prince Alfred” giving us a tantalising glimpse into history.  Prince Alfred, the 4th child and 2nd son of Queen Victoria, joined the Royal Navy in 1858.  In 1866 he was given command of the HMS Galatea and he set off on a world tour in 1967.  The Galatea arrived in Nelson on 18 April 1869.  A newspaper reported “Various excursion parties in local steamers sailed around the ship.  The Prince lands at 10 o’clock today [19 April 1869].  A Maori dance takes place in the afternoon and a ball at night.”  The biscuit is inscribed on the back with a donor’s name; possibly “Mrs Boyes”, it’s too hard to make out.  We wonder how she came by the biscuit – perhaps she attended the ball…

 See the newspaper item

 There are other fascinating items in the collection and Aratoi are planning to include them in an exhibition later on in the year.  Wait until you see the cow hairballs or a drinking bowl that once belonged to the Hawaiian King Kalakawa (1836-1891).  How about a hue (gourd) reputedly taken in a raid at Parihaka in 1881 or a Crypto Bantum safety bicycle used in Masterton in 1903 by Mr Howarth?

 It is really warming to know that we were able to honour our 1954 agreement and see the collection return home.

By Jo Torr | Posted in Borrowing and Lending | Also tagged , , , | Comments (5)

Red Piano and Bronze Bulls coming to Wellington

30 July 2012 – 10.26am

Michael Parekowhai, He Kōrero Pūrākau mo te Awanui o Te Motu: story of a New Zealand river, 2011. Photograph by John Collie, courtesy of Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Te Papa (TMP013506)

After a successful season at the Venice Biennale, in Paris and Christchurch, Michael Parekowhai’s On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer will make its final stop at the national museum, Te Papa. Opening Saturday 25 August, a specially reconfigured installation will be shown in a single gallery space for four weeks and provides an exciting opportunity to view Parekowhai’s Venice exhibition.

The centerpiece of the installation is an ornately carved Steinway concert grand piano. Painted a vibrant red and titled He Korero Purakau mo te Awanui o te Motu: story of a New Zealand river, it is Te Papa’s latest major acquisition of contemporary art.

Standing alongside He Korero Purakau mo te Awanui o te Motu: story of a New Zealand river  are two black bronze replica pianos complete with two bulls, one standing and one sitting, as well as five bronze olive tree saplings.

Over the four weeks He Korero Purakau mo te Awanui o te Motu: story of a New Zealand river will be performed by top musicians including Gareth Farr, Robert Wiremu and Tama Waipara, and at 12.30pm daily by pianists selected to play this unique piano when it was exhibited in Venice.

In the adjacent galleries Te Papa presents new acquisitions of important works by Jim Allen and Colin McCahon, including McCahon’s painting Koru 1, 2, 3 (1965).

“These three exhibitions provide a wonderful opportunity to engage with some of the most significant examples of contemporary New Zealand art from the mid-1960s through to the present day”, says Sarah Farrar, Acting Senior Curator Art at Te Papa. “It will be an unforgettable one month programme.”

Te Papa would like to acknowledge the support of the Friends of Te Papa, Ernst & Young, Creative New Zealand, and the Wellington City Council.

25 August – 23 September 2012
Level 5, Te Papa
Free entry

By Roxan Mathys | Posted in Art, Events, Museums, News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

New exhibition of ceramics, glass and metalwork opens this Saturday

18 July 2012 – 10.42am

Te Papa shares the story of modern design through the collection of ceramics, glass and metalwork gifted by Wellingtonian Walter Cook. Featuring selected objects, the new exhibition, Walter Cook: a collector’s quest opens this Saturday on Level 6.

Flower dish, about 1906. WMF, Germany. Te Papa

Flower dish, about 1906. WMF, Germany. Te Papa

Walter Cook’s first purchase initiated him into what he called ‘the addictive habit and thrill of hunting quarry in second-hand shops’. During the years between 1961 and about 1991, he built up a collection which reflects the second hand and antique market in Wellington that is now of national importance.

“The collection was put together in the days before online sales and provides a clear picture of the antique dealers’ arena specifically in Wellington during that time.” says Justine Olsen, Decorative Arts and Design Curator at Te Papa. Many of these dealerships have since closed but can still be remembered by some Wellingtonians.

Walter Cook was a passionate, well read collector who sought out objects with broad ranging international connections. Pieces in the collection, which feature in the exhibition range from the Arts and Crafts movement ceramics to German art-nouveau pewter and Scandinavian modern design.

Dish. 1883. Designed by William De Morgan, England. Te Papa

Dish. 1883. Designed by William De Morgan, England. Te Papa

A wonderful example of the Arts and Crafts movement is a De Morgan ceramic dish from 1883, which features a striking hand-painted red design. Over the years, Walter developed quite the discerning eye and managed to find a Linthorpe Pottery jug by industrial designer, Christopher Dresser while in a junk shop in Auckland.

Walter and his wife Adriann gifted the collection to Te Papa in 1992 and this exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of the gift.

Read more and explore the objects in this exhibition

By Roxan Mathys | Posted in Art, Exhibitions, News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Delighted to have two finalists in New Zealand Post Book Awards

13 June 2012 – 2.41pm

Te Papa Press, New Zealand’s unique museum publisher, are delighted to advise that two of its books are finalists in the prestigious annual New Zealand Post Book Awards.

The finalists, announced last week, were selected from 160 entries and are described by the judges as “diverse and exciting”.

Whatu Kākahu: Māori Cloaks edited by Awhina Tamarapa and New Zealand Film: An Illustrated History, edited by Diane Pivac, Frank Stark, Lawrence McDonald and published in association with The Film Archive, are both finalists in the Illustrated Non-fiction category of the awards.

According to the finalist announcement the judges were unanimous in their selection of  the titles and Te Papa Press publisher Claire Murdoch is thrilled that both books are being recognised in this way.

“Awards like this are a welcome acknowledgement of the great care and professional pride our team takes in creating books about Aotearoa’s art, culture and natural world. An immense amount of dedicated scholarship went into the writing and editing of both books, and because they’re also heavily illustrated, the efforts of the photography and design teams were similarly substantial. I’d like to extend congratulations and hearty thanks to all who worked on these beautiful books, and to all who work closely with Te Papa Press.”

The New Zealand Post Book Awards will be announced at an evening ceremony on Wednesday 1st August. Readers are invited to vote for their favourite through the People’s Choice Award here: www.nzpostbookawards.co.nz

Visitors to Te Papa will also be able to find elements from Whatu Kākahu: Māori Cloaks featuring in the exhibition Kahu Ora Living Cloaks which opens at the museum this week. Entry to this exhibition is free. 

By Roxan Mathys | Posted in Museums, News, Te Papa Press | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Caring for museum collections in a molecular world

23 May 2012 – 6.42pm

Museums are embracing technologies, such as DNA sequencing, to both enhance understanding of their collections and showcase scientific research to the public.  Many museums around the world now have molecular laboratories.  DNA sequencing has many useful applications for museum research; for example, it can be used to distinguish new species, determine the evolutionary relationships between species and identify the region of origin of artefacts such as kahu kiwi (kiwi feather cloaks).  However, it has only recently been appreciated that care should be taken in the construction and use of museum molecular labs.  Why is the situation for museums different to universities and other institutions where molecular biology labs are commonplace?

Museums are storehouses of important biological collections and these can become contaminated with copies of DNA that are generated in molecular laboratories.  A technique routinely used in molecular labs in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR is an extremely efficient method to produce millions of copies a targeted region of DNA. If one drop (1/10th of 1 ml) of a PCR is mixed into an Olympic swimming pool then one drop of this highly diluted mixture removed it will still contain around 400 copies of DNA!

Learn more about PCR (polymerse chain reaction)

In a museum setting, if care is not taken, these millions of copies of DNA could contaminate the biological specimens in museum collections.  These specimens, such as animal bones and pressed plants, typically contain small amounts of their own DNA because DNA degrades over time, starting with the death of the organism.  It is very easy for the low levels of DNA to become swamped by the copies of DNA generated by PCR.  Future attempts to use contaminated specimens for genetic research may be compromised with the contaminating PCR products detected instead of the specimen’s own DNA. So how do we avoid this problem?

Together with Leon Perrie, a colleague in Te Papa’s Natural Environment team, I recently suggested that strict protocols should be developed for constructing and using molecular laboratories within museums.  These include having labs and collections in different buildings, or at least having separate ventilation systems for each, and having a one-way movement of people, equipment and specimens from collection areas to labs. We hope that museum researchers take up these suggestions in order to protect the research potential of their important, and often irreplaceable, collections of biological specimens.

Read our full article (requires a subscription to Nature)

Leon and Lara in the Te Papa's collections. Photo Carlos Lehnebach.Te Papa

Leon and Lara in Te Papa’s collections. Photo Carlos Lehnebach.Te Papa

By Lara Shepherd | Posted in Biodiversity, Museums | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)
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