In 2017, a jacket worn by the fictional gang Toa Aoteoroa in the 1994 film ‘Once Were Warriors’ entered the national collection. History curator Stephanie Gibson explains why.Read more
Have you ever had to explain to customs at the airport what the odd-looking object is in your hand luggage? Head of Science Susan Waugh explains why she had a Hector’s dolphin skull in her carry-on.Read more
Our Earthquake House has had a makeover. It includes a new immersive video experience featuring actors Rachel House and Rākau Tamaira. Experience developer Ralph Upton describes what filming was like, and why the earthquake house had to change. Read more
For over 25 years, Guy Ngan’s large-scale Forest in the sun (1976) hung in the Beehive before being gifted to our collection. Now it’s back on display, exhibiting at The Dowse until September. Senior Digital Editor Daniel Crichton-Rouse speaks to Curator Textiles Anne Peranteau about the prep work involved, as well as the artwork’s weavers Joan Calvert and Jean Ngan.Read more
Lots of us care about saving the whales, but not many get as hands-on as technician Stephanie Ho. She’s spent the last nine months caring for whale bones in Te Papa’s collections. It’s a messy, smelly and painstaking job, but it’s protecting these important specimens for the future. Stephanie tells us more.Read more
Some of the fishes in our collection were collected over 100 years ago. Fish Collection Manager Andrew Stewart explains how these ‘time capsules of data’ are central in current research.Read more
How do you make topics like climate change and water pollution accessible and fun? Is it ok for Te Papa to take a playful approach to such serious territory? Experience Developers Jen Craddock and Ralph Upton explain how the team took on this challenge, using mischief-maker Māui as their guide.Read more
Conservator Robert Clendon takes us through the conservation techniques he’s using on some of the international material in our collections – two Greek objects around 2,500 years old, and a 1894 copy of the famous Portland Vase.Read more
This week Te Papa lost a very significant former kaimahi | staff member, Hema Temara (Tūhoe, 10 Feb 1948 – 27 Feb 2019), who passed away in Whakatāne.Read more
We’re searching for ‘volunpeers’ to transcribe and digitise the business records of W O Oldman, a British collector and dealer in ethnographic art. Read more
Last Tuesday brought with it 98km/h southerlies, 20.4mm of rain, and two cruise ships carrying 4,500 extra people to our city. All of this meant we were heading into our busiest day of the year…Read more
How do you care for artworks that are made entirely of paint? Conservator Paintings Linda Waters explains.Read more
A steampunk Pokémon sea dragon, mutant whales, and a sabre-toothed devil bunny of the Aztecs. Librarian Martin Lewis (aka @RareBookGuy) presents his favourite curious creatures while researching this month.Read more
We invited Victoria and Shannon from Deaf Aotearoa to speak to us about why using NZSL is so important and how best to make effective use of it.Read more
With six of our objects featuring in the Royal Academy’s Oceania exhibition, Collection Manager Shane James provides a glimpse into how some of the Pacific’s most revered taonga made their way to London.Read more
