Packed full of stunning pictures, detailed information and beautiful bird calls, NZ Birds Online is an online encyclopaedia of birds created in collaboration between Te Papa, DOC and OSNZ. We’re indebted to the photographers who’ve shared their images with us – and now the world! Joining us for our Meet the photographers series is Craig McKenzie, discussing the perils of tooRead more
Much has been made in the lead up to the All Whites’ game in Mexico City and the imposing atmosphere of Estadio Azteca – it’s easy to see why. The stadium itself can hold up to 105,000 people with over 21 million in the wider metropolitan area, while the valleyRead more
Petrus van der Velden died in Auckland one hundred years ago today, destitute and far from his native Netherlands. He had arrived in Christchurch in the summer of 1890-91, the beginning of a decade credited with changing the path of New Zealand’s painting. Already an established artist, whose work andRead more
Kei te whakatuwhera tēnei kete kōrero mō Ngā Toi | Arts Te Papa, kia āhei ai koe kit e patopato i ōu ake whakaaro mō ngā toi – i te reo Pākehā me te reo Māori. Ākuni pea he kōrero āu mō tētahi peita, kāhore i a mātou. Tērā heRead more
In 1883, Monet moved to the village of Giverny, downstream along the Seine from Vétheuil, retreating further from the hustle and bustle of modern life in Paris. In the late 1880s increased sales of his work through the dealer Paul Durand-Ruel’s gallery enabled him to purchase a house and modestRead more
Our series on our WearableArt™ themed windows at our Te Papa Stores continues with Jess from Queen Margaret College. My name is Jessica Bunnell and I’m a year 13 Queen Margaret student studying fashion technology. For my 2013 NCEA Materials Technology project, I was very privileged to be given theRead more
What have we learnt from our day of sunfish science? Sunfish are very hard to sex! The best we can say is that it’s a boy. We think. We’ll have to wait for the test results to determine conclusively whether it’s male or female. Jellyfish are delicious Although we can’tRead more
That’s not a joke, honest (although if you have a punchline for it, leave us a comment!). Judy Hinchliffe, a forensic odontologist (dentist) for the Wellington region, visited Te Papa’s lab today to take a closer look at the sunfish’s teeth. It’s a little unusual for Judy as her dayRead more
You’re probably aware by now, Te Papa’s scientists are conducting research on our sunfish specimen on 13 August 2013. We’ll be live-blogging and sharing the scientists’ findings through Facebook and Twitter. It’s a fantastic opportunity to sit in as scientists do their research on these rarely seen animals. What willRead more
There’s a fishy theme to the blog this week, with excitement building about the sunfish science that Te Papa’s scientists are conducting next week. It’s a good time to ask: Why do we care about sunfishes? Why does Te Papa keep specimens at all? As a non-ichthyologist (fish scientist) IRead more
Te Papa recently received a rare sunfish specimen from Auckland Museum, so we decided to find out more about these mysterious ocean-dwelling animals. Here are our fascinating facts: 1.Sunfish don’t have a tail! Some people call them a ‘gigantic swimming head’ (which seems a bit rude). Instead of a tailRead more
What’s fishy, heavy, rarely seen and now at Te Papa? A sunfish – the world’s heaviest bony fish! This is a common sunfish, also called an ocean sunfish. Our specimen is the rarer sharp-tailed sunfish. When Andrew Stewart got an email with some very exciting pictures from Tom Trnski atRead more
With all the earthquake-related activity in central New Zealand going on at the moment, we took the opportunity to put your questions about what’s going on under our feet to our resident Subject Expert – Earth Science, Hamish Campbell from GNS Science. Q: Did the January-May slow-slip event influence theRead more
Earlier this year, Te Papa received a request from scientists in Australia for a tooth sample from legendary race horse Phar Lap. The scientists are hoping to extract DNA from the tooth. Then they will be able to compare Phar Lap’s DNA with other horses. Press release from the scientistsRead more
Melanie Dash, one of our audience engagement team, travelled to the South Island to work with schools on our Wonder Box project. Students get the chance to have their work displayed at Te Papa. Find out what Melanie and the students got up to… 14 May 2013 – You’re the curator! It’s aRead more
