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! Continuing our Meet the photographers series, we haveRead more
Three of Te Papa’s botanists (plant scientists) are currently at the annual John Child Bryophyte and Lichen Workshop, held this year in Ohakune. A small group including the Te Papa team spent the week before the Workshop exploring the Forgotten Highway (State Highway 43) between Stratford and Taumarunui, for mossesRead more
Jandals, surfboard, a good book…whatever you’re taking on holiday with you, don’t miss the third in our Science Live @ Te Papa series! Science Live: Coastal creatures will take you on a journey across the coasts of New Zealand. Our scientists will be showing you some of the amazing animalsRead more
HANZAB is the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, and is the most comprehensive compilation of information on birds of this part of the world ever produced.Read more
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! First up in our Meet the photographers seriesRead more
On Monday, I wrote a blog about Khandallah School’s visit to our bird and insect collection. It was clear to me that the students had a wonderful time – but why not let them tell you that! This post has been written by Lara from Room 5. Last Friday IRead more
Most people think of weevils as little maggoty grubs that infest stored grain products. Which is true, but the reality is that the weevil family is the most diverse family of organisms on the planet, with more than 50,000 species. Weevils are beetles, and adults are characterised by having aRead more
Readers may remember that as part of sunfish science extravaganza, a group of Khandallah School students won our competition to name the fish. Their winning name was Sunny Bill, and this morning they visited our natural history collection as part of their prize. The 28 students from room 5 arrivedRead more
The mining on Denniston has been given the go-ahead by the Environment Court. Radio New Zealand report on the approval of the Bathurst Escarpment mine. The mine application covers just over one square kilometre. According to a report by the Department of Conservation, there are within that area at leastRead more
‘It was hands on and practical and really rather fun!’ ‘Relaxed interactive professional’ ‘I have so many ideas and am so excited’ Comments made by participants at the Experiments with Light primary teacher’s workshop at Te Papa last week. This cross-curricular workshop introduced teachers to artist Bill Culbert (currently showingRead more
Te Papa’s biodiversity scientists regularly describe new species of plants and animals. Just added to this list is another New Zealand fern. This new species is a Hymenophyllum filmy fern. Hymenophyllum means thin-leaved. The fronds of most species are only one cell thick, giving them a translucent appearance. We haveRead more
This week’s wearable is by Sally Spackman, a recent graduate from Massey University’s fashion design degree. Made from hundreds, if not thousands of coiled pine needles, the spiralled forms that make up Powelliphanta Pine are inspired by the beautiful shells of New Zealand’s powelliphanta snails – the ‘giants of theRead more
On Tuesday, 22 October 2013 we, the ornithology team at Te Papa, hosted the museum’s second Science Live event- Whalebirds- the mystery of the storm riders. We brought the public into the lab using live streaming so they could watch us on YouTube and send questions in via Twitter andRead more
Today’s blog is a prequel to yesterday’s Science Live event- Whalebirds- the mystery of the storm riders (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVZjED7Icyc). It is written by Dr. Lisa Argilla. Lisa has been the Veterinary Science Manager at Wellington Zoo since early 2011. She has a keen interest in seabirds seeing as herRead more
Unfortunately, the short answer is that we know very little about the origin of these little seabirds that are now perhaps the most abundant birds in the southern oceans. Prions are a form of petrel – also called ‘tubenoses’ or ‘Procellariiformes’ – a group which includes the albatrosses, fulmars, shearwaters,Read more
