Earlier this year, Te Waipounamu iwi Kāi Tahu invited a group of its iwi members to join with Archaeology students from Otago University to take part in their first hands-on dig in Moeraki. Te Papa Host and Assistant Visitor Services Manager Robbie Titchener was on that dig and shares some of the experiences here. Read more
On the morning of Thursday 16 of October, Curator Vertebrates Alan Tennyson came in and asked Curator Fishes Andrew Stewart if he knew anything about the fish lying out in the carpark up at the Tory Street building. Worried that it might be a collection item, they went out andRead more
Humanities Technician Cassandra Bahr has been working in the Collected Archives at Te Papa, cataloguing and rehousing papers from people connected to Te Papa’s collecting areas. Here, she highlights parts of the archives held at Te Papa of the sculptor John Edgar. Edgar was committed to being a full-time artist. He maintainedRead more
As part of the Digital Collections & Access team, Collections Data Manager Gareth Watkins supports kaimahi across the museum to input and maintain accurate information in EMu, Te Papa’s Collection Management System, ensuring it supports the documentation and management of more than a million collection taonga objects and natural historyRead more
Humanities Technician Cassandra Bahr has been working in the Collected Archives at Te Papa, cataloguing and rehousing papers from people connected to Te Papa’s collecting areas. Here, she discusses the archive of Tony Whitaker, a renowned herpetologist who donated his collection of specimens to Te Papa. For an introduction to Tony Whitaker, read Anthony Hume Whitaker, MNZM (1944–2014) – a tribute, and to understand more of the importance of his work, see A gift of lizards – 35 years to completion.Read more
Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War reopened after essential maintenance on Saturday 13 September. In this blog, Education Specialist Laura Jones and Curator History Stephanie Gibson reflect together on recent changes to the exhibition and the critical thinking behind their work with students and history. Learning programmes can be an amazingRead more
Museums hold thousands of ‘things’ from all around the world. In larger institutions like Te Papa, the histories of these ‘things’, be they objects, specimens, artifacts or taonga, are not always known. As part of a new research project, Curator of Mātauranga Māori and Archaeology Dr Amber Aranui at TeRead more
Botany curator Leon Perrie and researcher Lara Shepherd recently visited the Allan Herbarium in Lincoln to examine its speargrass/taramea (Aciphylla) specimens as part of their ongoing taxonomic research into these plants. The herbarium’s historical specimens offer valuable insights that enhance our recent collections, particularly around morphological diversity and species distributions.Read more
Today marks a special milestone for Te Papa. Our beloved Hosts and Tour Guides are stepping into brand new uniforms – the latest evolution of what we’ve always called our “Fun Shirts”. Te Papa’s Tumu Whakarae Chief Executive Courtney Johnston reflects on the evolution of the museum’s iconic Host uniformsRead more
One of the best ways to explore Te Papa’s collections is through the dozens of books published by Te Papa Press. The objects discussed within their pages also appear on Collections Online, which records over a million items from Te Papa’s collection. Seeing an opportunity to connect its titles with these digital object records, Te Papa Press is creating publication records for its titles on Collections Online.Read more
Recording the distributions of weeds both in Wellington and further afield is an ongoing interest for Te Papa’s Botany Curator Leon Perrie and Researcher Lara Shepherd. Together they have added hundreds of weed specimens to Te Papa’s herbarium since the Covid lockdown. One recent weed collecting trip to Upper Hutt demonstrated how the use of common names can lead to confusion.Read more
Humanities Technician Cassandra Bahr has been working in the Collected Archives at Te Papa, cataloguing and rehousing papers from people connected to Te Papa’s collecting areas. Her first task was working with the papers of Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, former Head of Arts and Visual Culture at Te Papa.Read more
Art history research assistant Amy Holtman has helped rediscover her extensive work on An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. The discovery adds another layer to our understanding of Adams’ contributions to Aotearoa New Zealand’s culture and renews our awareness of her impact on our cultural heritage.Read more
Wikipedia’s editing community and organisations like Te Papa have been talking for decades about how much we can do for each other. But with only so many hours in the day, adding a global encyclopedia to our workload is a hard sell. Digital Channels Outreach Manager Lucy Schrader fills you in on how we’re growing our own Wiki community, making this partnership much less intimidating.Read more
Nancy Adams was one of New Zealand’s most prolific botanists and a talented artist. She made substantial contributions to Te Papa’s herbarium collection and produced a vast number of botanical illustrations, which were included in widely distributed and well-regarded books about New Zealand flora. As part of their summer research, Lucia Adams and Margo Montes de Oca spent some time looking through several of Nancy’s field guides which were published as part of the ‘Mobil New Zealand Nature Series’ – in particular, Mountain Flowers in New Zealand (1980) and New Zealand Native Trees (1967). You may recognise these books – they are beautiful, helpful and accessible guides to plants in the New Zealand bush.Read more
