Throughout 2015, young children from three Wellington regional Early Childhood Centres (ECE) have been thinking and working as scientists as part of the ‘It’s a Bugs Life’ partnership project with Te Papa Education. In celebration of the mahi (work), their teachers and educators from Te Papa arranged for the children to come and meet with more experienced scientistsRead more
Last week I performed the first DNA extraction in Te Papa’s brand new genetics laboratory. Our lab is the first genetics lab in a New Zealand museum and will allow Te Papa scientists to analyse the DNA of our unique plants and animals. Genetic information is increasingly being used to examine theRead more
The Federation of International Human Rights in Museums (FIHRM) Conference was hosted at Te Papa last week – three days of stimulating talks and workshops led by experts from around the world on the theme ‘Access is a human right’. Katie Kyung, from UN Youth, blogs about her experience atRead more
The Federation of International Human Rights in Museums (FIHRM) Conference was hosted at Te Papa last week – three days of stimulating talks and workshops led by experts from around the world on the theme ‘Access is a human right’. Melissa Gibson, from UN Youth, blogs about her experience atRead more
Te Papa’s second colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, is part of the displays for the upcoming Te Papa Open House on 25th July 2015 – a part of the 150th celebrations for the Wellington City as capital of New Zealand. The squid was caught in the Ross Sea in early 2014, by Captain JohnRead more
We presented soldiers’ actual words as much as possible, but had to create an imagined soldier-narrator – ‘the grunt’ – to fill many gaps in the story.Read more
“How do you feel about working in copyright?”, my academic supervisor asked me back in April. My response was non-committal. I may not have been sure exactly where my interests lay in the museum sector, but I didn’t think that copyright was on my radar at all. However I decidedRead more
Kimihia, rangahaua, kei hea koutou ka ngaro nei? Tēnā ka riro ki Paerau, ki te huinga o Matariki, ka oti atu koutou e! Tangihia rā Te Ope Tuatahi i pae ki Karipori i te 3 o ngā rā o Hūrae i te tau 1915. E koro mā, tēnei Te AuahiRead more
One thing we all have in common is we’ve all been kids. Some of us still are. But have you ever wondered how your childhood experiences might provide insights into wider society? Studies into childhood provide information about changing ideologies around parenting, social welfare, education, health and wellbeing, asRead more
We made the call early on to write from the soldiers’ perspective. In an exhibition about their experiences, it felt important to use their words.Read more
In this Gallipoli: The scale of our war blog, Weta Workshop’s Rob Murphy talks about overseeing the installation of the exhibition. I’d only been working at Weta Workshop for about eight weeks when the first pieces of the Gallipoli exhibition started to hit the floor and work their way intoRead more
The industrious Lethbridge sisters Earlier this year Te Papa was approached by Red Strand Design. Based in Cork and London, the company specialises in design-based cultural and education projects. They invited us to take part in Passion & Legacy, a project inspired by the incredible stitch work of the ‘Lethbridge Sisters’, Julia Baroness Carew (1863-1922)Read more
In March and some of April this year I was away from Te Papa going around the country talking with others from the gallery, library, archive and museum sector (GLAMs) for the Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand GLAM Road Trip 2015. The Road Trip provided free workshops and events forRead more
In our latest Gallipoli: The scale of our war exhibition blog, Historical Director Dr Christopher Pugsley recalls uncovering relics from the battlefield. I have walked the Anzac battlefields of Gallipoli many times. The first was in December 1980 and then again in 1983. It was not until 1990 that I travelledRead more
Contemporary New Zealand artist Fiona Connor’s art work Can do academy #3, 2004, is currently on display as part of Splash! Four Contemporary New Zealand Paintings up in Ngā Toi | Arts Te Papa on Level 5 at Te Papa. I recently spoke to Fiona on the phone from her homeRead more
