• Tree ferns in the bush

    Read about ferns in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific

  • Mānawatia a Matariki

    There are nine stars in the Matariki star cluster. Learn about each of the stars and their connections in our Collections

Tai Tamariki: An Introduction Many people may not realise that here at Te Papa Tongarewa, we are home to Tai Tamariki, a unique early childhood centre. Tai Tamariki has been based at Te Papa on our ground floor since 2010, and is much more than a ‘tenant’. The children andRead more

By:
On:
In: Behind the scenes
A watercolour painting of landscape and a mountain in the distance.

In 2025, Te Papa acquired four watercolours by the nineteenth-century British artist Constance Frederica Gordon-Cumming (1837–1924). Over summer, art history lecturer Dr Victoria Munn, and student and artist, Catherine Shone, brought new light to bear on Gordon-Cumming’s artistic practice and process. Who was Constance Gordon-Cumming? Constance Gordon-Cumming (1837–1924) was aRead more

By:
On:
In: Art

Pat Miller has been walking Northland’s beaches, looking for treasure, for more than half a century. In September last year he made his most notable discovery yet – a new bird record for New Zealand. Most New Zealand bird enthusiasts have never heard of Jouanin’s petrel. Those who knew ofRead more

By:
On:
In: Science

Te Papa Botany Curator Heidi Meudt has published a new comprehensive study on the pollen of southern hemisphere forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae). The new study is the third and final publication detailing the morphology of forget-me-not pollen using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The first two studies, published in 2016 and 2020,Read more

By:
On:
In: Collections Online, Photography, Science
Seven people standing in front of a giant shell sculpture. They are all wearing the same jacket.

Te Papa’s scientists recently received raingear and tents for their research trips through Macpac’s Fund for Good. As Curator Fishes Thom Linley says, “Working in remote locations near, and often on, the water means we are always at the mercy of the elements. Weather conditions can change rapidly, and becomingRead more

By:
On:
In: Behind the scenes, Science
A man in a red top is sitting next to a child in a yellow top who is working with wires and a laptop.

Throughout 2025, a learning programme was created in collaboration with PB Tech. Learning Innovation Specialist Jessie Robieson has been guiding ākonga through the new Kaitiaki Creator programme and shares insights into how it started and some of her favourite outcomes here.   Te Papa’s new Kaitiaki Creator programme is something special. Previous research and direct conversationsRead more

By:
On:
In: Education
A view of a wall interactive in a museum.

When you visit an exhibition, do you enjoy hands-on and touchscreen interactive experiences? Are interactive experiences a good way to learn something new or explore important topics within exhibitions? Kelly Gwynn, a student in Victoria University’s Master of Museum and Heritage Practice programme and with a decade of experience workingRead more

By:
On:
In: Behind the scenes
A Māori carving for a canoe prow. It is stained or painted red.

Una Dubbelt-Leitch spent four months working alongside Amber Aranui as part of her Master of Museum Practice placement on the Acknowledging our Colonial Past project. This project contributed significantly to understanding Te Papa’s taonga Māori collection, a large proportion of which is currently unprovenanced. This blog is based on theRead more

By:
On:
In: Behind the scenes, Māori
A darkish photo with two red four-petalled flowers.

Knowing where species occur and how common they are is key for conservation management. Last year, Te Papa botanists Lara Shepherd and Leon Perrie were part of an expert panel that assessed the conservation status of every indigenous vascular plant species in the Greater Wellington region – over 1000 inRead more

By:
On:
In: Collections Online, Science