• The weight of a painting: McCahon’s Walk (Series C) and Gate III

    Adam Art Gallery Collection Officer Sophie Thorn writes about her experiences behind the scenes handling the work of Colin McCahon.

  • We need your help to decipher some buggy handwriting

    Are you a citizen scientist who could crack the code of George Hudson's registry notes? The Hudson Collection needs your help to read between the lines and the margins of grasshoppers, flies, wasps, wētā, and more.

  • Tree ferns in the bush

    Identify New Zealand’s common tree ferns

    Skirts, scales, hexagons, and colour. There are many differences you can look out for if you want to learn how to identify tree ferns. We ask fern expert Leon Perrie: how do you tell the difference?

Woman holding a bone in a room full of drawers and shelves

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The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage visited Te Papa’s natural history collection today to make an announcement that will be widely celebrated by the museum sector, as well as by anyone who values and appreciates New Zealand’s natural and cultural heritage as Curator Vertebrates Colin Miskelly explains.Read more

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In 2018, Curator Invertebrates Julia Kasper put out a call on Te Papa’s blog looking for enthusiastic code crackers to decipher Hudson’s handwritten collection records with her post, Help crack the insect code. Approximately 80 people contacted Te Papa and asked about more information and how they could help with the research, and now Julia is hoping for more volunteers.Read more

Red pandanus seed pods joined together and shown in two rows on a white background

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So’o se gagana lava e iai ona suiga. O nei suiga e afua mai la tā fa’aaogāina ‘o le gagana. ‘O la tā fa’aaogāina fo’i o le gagana, e afua mai i lo tā fa’asinomaga. Mo le Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa 2020, ua matou vala’auliaina ai le Susūga ia Le’ausālilō Lupematasila Fata ‘Au’afa Dr. Sadat Muaiava e fa’asoa i lana su’esu’ega sa fai mo lana fa’ailoga ‘o le Foma’i ‘o le Tōfā Manino, lea sa ia sa’ili’ili ai ‘i suiga ‘o le gagana Samoa mai le tausaga e 1906 seia o’o i le tausaga e 2014. ‘O Le’ausālilō ‘olo’o faiāoga nei i le Mataupu Tau Samoa i le Iunivesite o Vitoria, Uelegitone, i Niu Sila. Read more

Red pandanus seed pods joined together and shown in two rows on a white background

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Language changes over time, and the way we speak is influenced by who and where we are and how we are putting language to use. For Sāmoan Language week 2020, we have invited Le’ausālilō Lupematasila Fata ‘Au’afa Dr Sadat Muaiava to share some insights from his doctoral research on Sāmoan language change from 1906–2014. Le’ausālilō, is a lecturer in the Sāmoan Studies programme at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.Read more

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Throughout this Covid-19 season, New Zealanders have experimented and sharpened their creative skills while in lockdown, not least in their kitchens. But as Kiwi business owners and culinary artists struggle with the long-term effects of Level 4, could New Zealand’s copyright legislation be doing more to help? Media and Image Researcher Katie Fordyce chews over this question that offers timely food for thought.Read more

View from interior of a room, with woman and dog at the threshold - the woman turned to look back at the artist.

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During lockdown, we’ve been encouraged to ‘post’ objects in our windows to offer symbols of solidarity – teddy bears and Anzac poppies – for people walking past, looking in. Rebecca Rice, Curator Historical New Zealand Art reverses the direction and looks at works in our collection where the artist shows us views from the inside out.Read more

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What price are you willing to pay for food? For most of us, that’s a question about money. But what if the cost were actual pain, injury and death? For some seals and dolphins, this a real risk when hunting. David Hocking, Silke Cleuren and William Parker (Monash University, Melbourne, Australia) and Felix Marx (Te Papa) took a close look at a New Zealand (or long-nosed) fur seal that stranded at Cape Conran in southeastern Australia, and discovered it had numerous severe facial injuries. Read more