Tag Archives: Te Papa

Remembering Jim Vivieaere – artist and curator (1947-2011)

11 July 2011 – 2.38pm

The Pacific Cultures team and the Art team would like to acknowledge artist and curator Jim Vivieaere who passed away a month ago after illness.

Jim’s involvement with Te Papa spanned many years and several projects including Art now: the first biennial review of contemporary art (1994). Art curator Christina Barton invited Jim to create a work in the Pacific Cultures Gallery at the former museum building in Buckle Street. Jim’s installation Two sky Rockets (one for adornment) featured two 44 gallon drums suspended centrally above artifacts on display in the gallery, and reflected on relationships of cultural and economic exchange in the Pacific. Throughout his career Jim held an interest in museums, artifacts and cultures of display and would return to this theme again in future works.

Jim’s connection with Te Papa included his support in the development of Fulimalo Pereira (now at Auckland Museum) and myself when we were interns with the Museum of New Zealand project in the early 1990s. We were both new to museums and art galleries at the time, and Jim agreed to participate in one of our first book projects Speaking in Colour: conversations with artists of Pacific heritage (1997).  His involvement in Speaking in Colour was critical in securing the involvement of others. It became clear to us that Jim was an influential leader in a determined but low key and quiet way. Throughout our careers he has been a valuable friend and advisor, and has shaped our practice in many ways, as he has for others in the museum.

Jim exhibited as an artist from the 1970s, but he was also an active curator and (among many other things) sometimes a writer. He was always looking to cross and disturb cultural boundaries, working with and against stereotypes. He brought complexity to the way we created, consumed and curated visual art in New Zealandand the Pacific. In a memorable article he wrote titled The Island Race in Aotearoa (1997) Jim described contemporaryPacific Island art in New Zealand as being a three legged race – both a novelty and a handicap event.

“‘The artist is tied to his community on one side and his audience on the other, uncomfortable about working alone in the Western tradition of individual statement, and at the same time constricted by the art world itself, which offers only a narrow opening – a vision of a imagined Pacific Island world – through which the work is admitted to a public space.”

Jim was involved in art projects of all kinds small and large, local and international. His work as a curator included the ground breaking exhibition Bottled Ocean (1994) which debuted inWellington and toured the country. He was an advisor to the Queensland Art Gallery and the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre inNew Caledonia. He held international artists residencies in Germany and Samoa.

Jim was also a great ambassador for the arts, welcoming visiting overseas curators and artists, showing them around town and through the country to visit local artists and galleries. In 2006, the Pacific Arts Committee of Creative New Zealand presented Jim with the Senior Pacific artist award, recognising his numerous achievements across many fields of creative activity.

Jim was an incredibly generous person who mentored and inspired many people. In 2010 and 2011, I had the pleasure of attending the Curating Pacific Arts Forums, part of the annual South Auckland Pacific Arts Summit. At both forums, participants representing at least the last 20 years of local curatorial and artistic practice, offered many (impromptu) acknowledgements and warm tributes for Jim and his work. I was glad he was there to hear them. Farewell Jim…

Please feel welcome to leave your own tributes to Jim in the comments section.

Reference cited:

Jim Vivieaere 1997 The Island Race in Aotearoa. Artlink 16 (4). page 57

 Link:

A tribute by Ron Brownson of the Auckland Art Gallery http://aucklandartgallery.blogspot.com/2011/06/jim-vivieaere.html

By seanjmallon | Posted in Pacific | Also tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Brian Brake: Lens on the World nominated in the 2011 New Zealand Post Book Awards

7 June 2011 – 12.00pm

Spirits are high at Te Papa Press as our publication Brian Brake: Lens on the World, was nominated in the illustrated non-fiction category of the 2011 New Zealand Post Book Awards. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at Wellington’s Town Hall on Wednesday 27 July 2011.

View the full list of 2011 finalist

Te Papa Press sends hearty congratulations to Athol McCredie, Curator Photography, who edited the book, and to the specialist writers whose contributions offer such depth.

This long-overdue critical examination and evaluation of the work of Brian Brake,New Zealand’s best-known photographer, was published in conjunction with a major retrospective exhibition celebrating Brake’s work. It brings together over 300 stunning photographic reproductions and six all-new essays.

The New Zealand Post judges are not the only ones looking twice at Brian Brake: Lens on the World:

This is a remarkable book, beautifully produced and meticulously researched to give a careful and fair portrait of the one landmark international photographer this country produced in the 20th century, Brian Brake. Te Papa’s photography curator Athol McCredie is to be congratulated on his careful editorial work and a very good choice of contributors.

…worthy of a craftsman photographer who cared and followed through the nuts-and-bolts side of getting his work to fully express his meaning. —  Max Oettli, New Zealand Books Autumn 2011

This lavishly illustrated book, accompanying a major retrospective of Brake’s work at Te Papa, is hard to put down —  Artnews New Zealand December 2010

a clear-eyed and magisterial tome — HOME New Zealand January 2011

Editor’s choice. This beautiful book takes the reader around the world and home again, taking in landscapes, people and objects through the discerning of Brake and critical essays by artists, photographers and curators. —  Air New Zealand Kia Ora magazine December 2010

This is a luscious-looking tome–great design and fantastic reproductions. — Andy Palmer, The Lumière Reader 30 November 2010

With its knowledgeable essays by specialist writers, Brian Brake: Lens on the World is a fine record of a fine photographer’s achievements. —  Architecture New Zealandeditor John Walsh, Prodesign No. 109 November 2010

Very grunty critical analysis written in a very accessible way. It does give a wonderful pathway into the work. Terrific. — Paul Diamond, Interviewed on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon, 9 November 2010

The New Zealand Post book awards were formerly called the Montana New Zealand book awards and Te Papa Press books have won three of the last four Montana Medal for Non-Fiction awards – the most prestigious award for non-fiction in NZ. Those lucky winners were:

2006:Pohutukawa and Rata: New Zealand’s Ironhearted Trees by Philip Simpson
2007:Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand by Audrey Eagle
2009:Rita Angus: An Artist’s Life by Jill Trevelyan

Other Montana-shortlisted Te Papa Press titles have included the following:
2003:Pacific Art Niu Sila by Sean Mallon and Fuli Pereira
2005:Icons Nga Taonga: From the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
2005:Toss Woollaston: A Life in Letters by Jill Trevelyan
2006:Extinct Birds of New Zealand by Alan Tennyson and Paul Martinson
2006:An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Hebes by Alison Kellow and Michael Bayly
2010: Art at Te Papa by William McAloon

Best of luck Athol!

By Roxan Mathys | Posted in Art, Photography, Te Papa Press | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

European Masters closes this Sunday

22 February 2011 – 10.24am

Well it’s coming to that sad time when exhibitions are about to close and a lot of people are always in the habit of putting things a off to the last minute so… I thought I would help you all out with a bit of a reminder in the hope you don’t have end up saying “ahh I wanted to go to that one”.

So for all of you putting it off, European Masters: 19th–20th century art from the Städel Museum closes this Sunday 27th February!

And if you buy your ticket with your Visa Credit or debit card you could win a trip for 2 to Europe, including a guided tour of not one, but three of the best art museums in the world – The Tate Modern, London; the Stadel Museum in Frankfurt and the Musée du Louvre in Paris.

If you have been in to see the exhibition already and paid for it with your Visa Credit or Debit card but you haven’t entered the draw yet, you have until Sunday to fill in your details online.

<!–[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–> <!–[endif]–> <!–[endif]–> <!–[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–>Well it’s coming to that sad time when exhibitions are about to close and a lot of people are always in the habit of putting things a off to the last minute so….. I thought I would help you all out with a bit of a reminder and in the hope you don’t have end up saying “ahh I wanted to go to that one”.
So for all of you putting it off European Masters: 19th–20th century art from the Städel Museum closes this Sunday 27th February! 
By Roxan Mathys | Posted in Art, Exhibitions | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Documenting Samoan to’i ma’a (stone adzes)

10 January 2011 – 2.15pm

Since 2009, Roger Rasmussen, alongside his role as a Te Papa host, has vounteered to re-house, measure and photograph a collection of to’i ma’a (stone adze)  from Samoa which were gifted to the museum by Rhys Richards in 1991.

Because of Roger’s important work, the images of the collection are now available for viewing on Collections Online.

Roger Rasmussen, 2009

Roger Rasmussen, 2009

In May last year, Rhys Richards, a local scholar, and former High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands and Samoa, visited the Pacific Cultures collection store. He had collected the to’i ma’a in the 1980s from the villages of Solosolo, Lufilufi and Luatuanu’u. The individual to’i ma’a were surface collected by children in the village.  Rhys later published a paper on the collection in the journal of Archaeology in New Zealand (1990).
To’i ma’a were often lashed to a wooden handle, and were used for cutting and shaping wooden items such as bowls and canoes.
To’i ma’a (hafted adze); Samoa; Te Papa Tongarewa; FE001540; Gift of J. Fleck

To’i ma’a (hafted adze); Samoa; Te Papa Tongarewa; FE001540; Gift of J. Fleck

This important collection of about 700 to’i ma’a, provides an opportunity for more research around Samoan tools and society, which includes work by archaeologists Roger Green and Janet Davidson in the 1960s.

To'i ma'a (stone adze); Samoa; Te Papa Tongarewa; FE009629; Gift of Rhys Richards, 1991

To'i ma'a (stone adze); Samoa; Te Papa Tongarewa; FE009629; Gift of Rhys Richards, 1991

By Safua Akeli | Posted in Collections Online, Pacific | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)

Vivian Lynn talks about her work Guarden gates, 1982

29 October 2010 – 12.41pm

Senior artist Vivian Lynn has for over sixty years been making critical and enquiring work. The recent selective survey I, HERE, NOW Vivian Lynn at the Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington (25 October 2008-15 March 2009) curated by Christina Barton, offered a rich selection of over seventy works dating from 1950-2008.

A book, of the same title, has just been published and makes fascinating reading, with essays by Christina Barton and Anna Smith, and short texts on specific works by Ian Wedde, Brian Easton, Pamela Gerrish Nunn, Priscilla Pitts, Charlotte Huddleston, Anne Kirker, Sarah Treadwell and Guyon Neutze.

Guarden gates, a significant work from 1982, is part of Te Papa’s collection. It comprises seven wall mounted sculptural forms made from cyclone gates, human hair and ribbon, and was a key focal point of the Te Papa exhibition We are unsuitable for framing, curated by Charlotte Huddleston which overlapped with the Adam Art Gallery exhibition (28 December 2008-26 July 2009).

Guarden gates, 1982, Vivian Lynn (1931– ), New Zealand. Purchased 1993 with Elise Mourant Collection funds. Te Papa.

Guarden gates, 1982, Vivian Lynn (1931– ), New Zealand. Purchased 1993 with Elise Mourant Collection funds. Te Papa.

Each of the seven structures has its own title: Matrix; Daughter of the father; Sacrifice; Processual ground; Differentiation; Rebirth and Eyes of life, eyes of death. The combination of materials is evocative and visceral, and the formal arrangement of the suite of works heightens their arresting qualities.

As Christina Barton comments in her introductory essay ‘Entwined with hair and other substances, Guarden gates demonstrates Lynn’s treatment of materials as generators of meaning. Together and singly the seven gates establish a complex interplay of opposites (organic and manufactured, structural and ornamental, inside and outside) that engage and contest the politics associated with her chosen materials’ cultural coding and which set out a poetic narrative referencing Jungian concepts of the unconscious. Though not an illustration (Lynn only encountered the story after the work was completed), the installation can be read through the 5000-year-old legend of Inanna, a Sumerian fertility deity representing eros, who sets out on a journey to meet her sister Ereshkigal, queen of the underworld, and has to pass through seven gates, giving up her different powers at each to surrender herself to death, who is later rescued in a symbolic gesture that affirms the cycle of life.’[1]

During the exhibition at Te Papa Vivian Lynn spoke about Guarden gates, how the work evolved and the range of social, political and mythological associations it draws upon. You can see this footage here:

Heather Galbraith
Senior Curator Art

[1] Barton, Christina, I, HERE, NOW Vivian Lynn – an introduction, I, HERE, NOW Vivian Lynn, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, p.16-17.

By Te Papa | Posted in Art, Exhibitions | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Great white shark new arrival at Te Papa

5 October 2010 – 12.16pm

This morning, our fish team went to a small boatshed in Breaker Bay on Wellington’s south coast to pick up a great white shark.  Not your normal morning mission and a bittersweet one at that as these creatures are endagered animals and a protected species.  The shark had been ensnared in a fishing net and was dead by the time the fishermen had pulled it in.

It took 6 of us to lift it into the truck and being that close to an animal gives you a true sense of what a beautiful and perfectly made for purpose these creatures are.  The shark is 2.7 metres long so its tail fin didn’t quite fit as you can see in the picture below.  We had to carefully wrap the fin up for the trip back to Te Papa’s laboratories.

The wrapped tail fin protruding from the truck. Photo by Jane Keig

 Back at Te Papa, the team were able to give the specimen a wash and have a closer look.  Andrew Stewart, Te Papa’s Fishes Collection Manager, says that the shark is an immature male and a rare specimen as the shark was on the cusp of moving from fish as its primary food source to marine mammmals.

Cleaning out the mouth. Photo by Jane Keig

When we rolled the shark over to clean its underside, the scientists noticed small parasites which they collected for identification.

The great white shark's underside. Photo by Jane Keig.

Parasites found on the shark. Photo by Jane Keig.

These parasites were even found inside its mouth, buried into its gums and on its tongue.  Andrew says that remora fish feed on these parasites – this shark is its own fully-functioning eco-system!

Inside the mouth of a great white shark. Photo by Jane Keig.

The teeth look quite sharp and pointy but the points weren’t sharp to touch.  The sides of the teeth are serrated and I was pretty happy a strong person was holding up the jaw when I took these photos!

Sensory organs on the shark's head. Photo by Jane Keig.

The shark’s nose and head are covered with jelly-filled sensory organs that look like freckles.  These organs help it to sense electromagnetic pulses given off by its prey. I was amazed at how soft and velvety its skin felt, until I went against the grain and then  it felt quite raspy.

The shark will be frozen in our freezer to maintain the specimen’s integrity until further plans are confirmed.

By janekeig | Posted in Fish | Also tagged , , , | Comments (6)

Phar Lap exhibition unveiled in Melbourne today!

16 September 2010 – 3.56pm

There was a palpable air of excitement around Melbourne Museum< Australia, as people queued and tv crews jostled at the starting gate of the revamped Phar Lap display.

Queues for Phar Lap?

 The exhibit was officially opened by Victoria’s Minister for Racing, Hon. Rob Hulls, with speeches by Museum Victoria’s Director, Dr. Patrick Greene, and Michael Houlihan, Te Papa’s Chief Executive.  Michael’s speech, filled with racing analogies, had the crowd laughing but thinking about New Zealand’s significant contribution (in terms of bloodlines) to Australian racing history.  Melbourne Museum’s manager Brett Dunlop did a fine job of keeping proceedings trotting along until the final reveal.

The big reveal

Phar Lap's skeleton - media madness!

Sorry I don’t have better pictures – the lights were all geared for the cameras!  The hide of Phar Lap is in a case directly behind the skeleton (so they are nose to tail). BUT I do have better photos of the morning tea spread – all Phar Lap-oriented, of course!

Carrot cake cupcakes!

Horse head bikkies!

Now the heart is in Canberra at the National Museum of Australia and is far too fragile to travel but Melbourne Museum made sure that it was remembered.

Heart bikkies

Phar Lap’s skeleton will be on display at Melbourne Museum until the end of January 2011 and will be back on display at Te Papa in his home “stable” in March.Phar Lap

By janekeig | Posted in Borrowing and Lending, Exhibitions, Mammals | Also tagged , , , | Comments (4)

Rare dolphin found on Canterbury beach

9 September 2010 – 5.35pm

On the weekend down in Canterbury, apart from the horrific earthquake, there was an extremely unusual dolphin stranding. A 1.8m male Hourglass dolphin came ashore at Flea Bay. Only a handful of complete specimens of this species have ever been dissected before. Although they are sometimes seen in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, they very rarely strand.

Rare Hourglass dolphin found dead at Flea Bay in Canterbury. Photo reproduced courtesy of Department of Conservation.

There is only one other record from New Zealand and that is also from the Canterbury region. This very distinctive black and white animal has colour markings on it like an hourglass, and hence it’s common name. There is some dispute genetically about where it sits in relation to other dolphins, it currently sits in the genus Lagenorhynchus like our commonly seen Dusky dolphin, however there is some suggestion that it may be more closely aligned to the genus Cephalorhynchus like the New Zealand Hector’s (and Maui’s) dolphin.

Hourglass dolphin. Photo reproduced courtesy of Department of Conservation.

Through the remarkable recovery of the specimen by Derek Cox of the Department of Conservation and the agreement of the local Runanga (Ngāi Tahu), it has been sent in a fresh state up to Massey University Albany campus in Auckland.  Karen Stockin realised it was this rare species of dolphin and alerted other scientists around the country.

Anton van Helden Te Papa’s collection manager of Marine Mammals, will fly up to Auckland tomorrow to assist with the necropsy of the animal.

These animals are so rare, that scientists are pooling their expertise to try and learn as much about the specimen as they can.

Anton van Helden

By janekeig | Posted in Whales | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (10)

Phar Lap’s Trip to Melbourne – A Conservation Perspective

7 September 2010 – 4.49pm

 

Phar Lap on display at Te Papa

Phar Lap while on display at Te Papa (c)Kate Whitley 2010

As many of you know, Phar Lap is on his way back to Melbourne for the 150th anniversary of the Melbourne Cup to take place later this year.

Phar Lap was foaled on 4 October 1926 in Seadown, near Timaru on the South Island of New Zealand. Bought by David J. Davis and trained by Harry Telford, a Sydney trainer, Phar Lap was ultimately trained to race in Australia. He died while in America on 5 April 1932.

Upon his death, Phar Lap’s remains were divided up between Canberra, Melbourne and New Zealand and his skeletal remains have lived on display at Te Papa since they were articulated in 1938 by Charles Lindsay and E.H. Gibson.

Newspaper Article

Newspaper article published in August of 1938 regarding the original articulation of Phar Lap's skeleton

On 30 July 2010 he was disassembled by Conservator, Robert Clendon, and Collection Manager Gillian Stone, who will also courier the skeleton to Melbourne in September 2010. As a visiting intern working with Robert, I was given the opportunity to help in his dismantling, condition assessment and treatment prior to being sent to Melbourne.

Dissassembly 1

Removal of the skull was the first step in the dissassembly of the skeleton (c)Kate Whitley 2010

Dissassembly 2

Intern Cindy Lee Scott assists Te Papa Conservator, Robert Clendon in removing the right front leg (c)Kate Whitley 2010

Removal from Case

The whole team works to remove the torso from the display case safely (c)Kate Whitley 2010

The conservation of Phar Lap’s skeleton did not begin in July of this year, however. Prior to the disassembly of the skeleton, some remedial work to the slumping framework supporting Phar Lap’s head and neck was conducted in his case by Robert Clendon; this was done in order to that he would “look ‘proud’ again” (Jane Keig, Media Release 2010).

In preparation for the take-down of the skeleton, there were several meetings first to discuss all of the steps necessary, not only for taking the skeleton apart, but also for how he will be crated and shipped to ensure that the skeleton arrives safely in Melbourne and returns safely to us at Te Papa in March of 2011.

The disassembly started at 7.30 in the morning on Monday, July 30th so that we would have time to get him off of display before the museum opened to the public. Under the watchful eyes of the media we took the skeleton apart into its larger pieces: first the head, than the seven cervical vertebrae, then the hind legs (to ensure that the weight distribution remained as even as possible on the remaining torso), the front legs, and finally, the torso was lifted up from its two support posts and placed onto a bed of beanbag pillows in his crate and the lot were transported up to the conservation laboratories at the Tory Street facilities.

Torso (c)Te Papa 2010

Placing the torso carefully into its crate for transport to the conservation laboratories

Transporting

Transporting the crates to the docking bay for transport to Tory Street conservation laboratories (c)Kate Whitley 2010

Conservation Lab

Unpacking the vertebrae in the conservation laboratory (c)Kate Whitley 2010

Once in the conservation lab, the long process of assessing the condition and cataloguing any damage began. This was done by myself and fellow conservation intern Elizabeth Stephens who is studying conservation at the University of Lincoln in the UK. Together we catalogued and measured every one of the 205 bones in Phar Lap’s skeleton and quite the task it was! It took us over a week!

Condition Assessment

Elizabeth Stephens works on the condition assessment of Phar Lap's vertebrae (c)Cindy Lee Scott 2010

After the condition assessment it was time for some minor conservation treatment. This consisted of the consolidation of fragile portions of the sternum and ribcage with a conservation grade acrylic adhesive, the over-painting of newly created fills, and the over-painting of spots of dark blue-black paint on the hooves, which had been applied during an earlier, though undocumented, conservation treatment.

After treatment, it was time to get Phar Lap all safely crated for shipping! The crates were made by crate-maker extraordinaire Pierre Lagace, and as you can see, they are an art form in and of themselves!

Crates

One of the many crates used to safely transport Phar Lap to Melbourne (c)Kate Whitley 2010

The Melbourne Museum exhibition will open to the public on 16 September and we hope to have photos and another blog up soon after that!

By Cindy Lee Scott | Posted in Conservation, Exhibitions, History, Mammals | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

Supermarket Systematics at Te Papa’s Senior Science Careers Day

27 August 2010 – 1.52pm
On June 25th, Te Papa hosted its annual Senior Science Careers Day. College students from several area schools came to get a glimpse of what it’s like to be a scientist working at Te Papa. Two of us from the Botany team participated in the event: Carlos Lehnebach (Curator) and Heidi Meudt (Research Scientist). We are both plant systematists, which means we name, describe and identify plant species and study their relationships with other species.
Curator of Botany Carlos Lehnebach introducing the activity to the Senior Science Careers Day students. Photo © Te Papa.

Curator of Botany Carlos Lehnebach introducing the activity to the Senior Science Careers Day students. Photo © Te Papa.

On Senior Science Careers Day, we thought it would be fun to let the students practice their systematic skills by taking part in a hands-on activity that we called “Supermarket Systematics”. 

We bought multiple sets of twelve fruits and vegetables from a local supermarket. 

The set-up for the Supermarket Systematics exercise. Could you classify these twelve fruits and vegetables into two main plant families? Photo © Te Papa.

The set-up for the Supermarket Systematics exercise. Could you classify these twelve fruits and vegetables into two main plant families? Photo © Te Papa.

The students’ task was to classify them into two plant families based on morphological characteristics.  Students worked together in groups and used dissecting microscopes to compare seeds, fruits, and leaves of the fruits and vegetables. 

The budding botanists from Hutt Valley High School classifying the fruits and vegetables. Photo © Te Papa.

The budding botanists from Hutt Valley High School classifying the fruits and vegetables. Photo © Te Papa.

They also had several photos that showed other parts of the plants such as flowers and habit, which provided further clues as to which plant family each fruit or vegetable belonged to. 

Some photos of additional information each group could use during the activity. Photo © Te Papa.

Some photos of additional information each group could use during the activity. Photo © Te Papa.

We spent time talking with the groups and asking them questions about their observations. 

Botany Research Scientist Heidi Meudt, together with Senior Education Programme Developer Emma Best, helping the Hutt Valley High students with a dissection. Photo © Te Papa.

Botany Research Scientist Heidi Meudt, together with Senior Education Programme Developer Emma Best, helping the Hutt Valley High students with a dissection. Photo © Te Papa.

Most groups did a great job as supermarket systematists! They were able to correctly classify ten of the items into two economically important plant families.

Brassicaceae (mustard family) Solanaceae (potato family)
cabbage potato
Brussels sprouts tomato
bok choy aubergine
broccolini capsicum
radish tamarillo

 

Some also correctly identified the two vegetables that did not belong to either family, which were kumara (sweet potato) and lettuce. Although kumara look very similar to potatoes, they are in a different family (Convolvulaceae) and the students confirmed this by looking at photos of other characteristics of each plant. In the same way, lettuce looks superficially similar to cabbage, but is in the daisy family (Asteraceae). 

We hope the students had as much fun as we did doing the Supermarket Systematics activity, and learned a bit about plant systematics and research at Te Papa too!

By Heidi Meudt | Posted in Plants | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)
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