For those of us working with the taonga Māori collections at Te Papa our work can sometimes also be a personal experience as we connect with taonga associated with the activities of our own ancestors and with places of cultural significance to our own people. It has been a littleRead more
The final days for the exhibition installation is upon us. Progress has been moving along at a steady pace, as all the structural build, lighting, graphics, technological services, audio visual testing, instalment of cases and taonga are taking place. The development of the exhibition began about 19 monthsRead more
In mid-2013 a creature that looked like a rabbit, squirrel or rat in a NASA Mars rover photograph was spotted by a blogger. The photograph quickly went viral, to the point where it started attracting news media attention. This isn’t the only animal seen in Mars photographs either. A lizardRead more
Thanks to those who entered our ‘Find ferns and win!’ competition as part of our Science Live: The Secret World of Ferns broadcast. And, congratulations to the lucky winner! Watch The Secret World of Ferns. Lots of different ferns were spotted – some 44 species. One of the interesting findsRead more
The New Zealand Birds Online website was launched just over a year ago, and provides a wealth of information, images and sound files on all the species of birds that occur (or have occurred) in New Zealand. Viewing statistics for the first 12 months also provide a wealth of information,Read more
Have you ever wondered what is New Zealand’s favourite bird? Forest & Bird ask this question annually, but their ‘Bird of the Year’ competition is skewed by the unashamed lobbying of passionate bird lovers, along with alleged multiple voting, leaving us none the wiser as to what is our true nationalRead more
What do Colin McCahon, Shi Lu, Petrus Van Der Velden, and Gerda Leenards have in common? They are all landscape artists whose work were studied in a recent teacher workshop here at Te Papa. In the education team we love giving a little back to all those hard working teachers,Read more
Whiti Te Rā! The Story of Ngāti Toa Rangatira, the next iwi exhibition at Te Papa, is opening on the 14th June. As we work up to the final two weeks before opening, it’s time to catch our breath for a minute and appreciate the hard work and talentRead more
Here journalist Todd Niall explains how his interest in the Trekka brought him into contact with New Zealand artist Michael Stevenson. On Thursday 26 June Te Papa hosts a talk by Todd who discusses the Trekka – the vehicle and the art work. In conjunction with his talk Te Papa isRead more
“For thousands of years man has gazed up at the moon and wondered.” That’s roughly how those worthy documentary commentaries begin, isn’t it? Well, Te Papa’s forerunner museums responded to this curiosity in two acquisitions almost 100 years apart. The first was an 1873 photograph of the moon made by the Great MelbourneRead more
A few weeks ago we released an updated version of Collections Online, making images bigger, search results clearer, and easier to use regardless of what device you are using. Today we are extremely happy to let you know about our latest development; over 30,000 images downloadable, for free, in the highestRead more
