Te Papa contains about 1.5 million natural history specimens. Many of these have been gifted by donors with some 16 000 people collecting specimens for Te Papa. Research Associate Peter Beveridge has donated over 6000 specimens to Te Papa, with his first donation more than 70 years ago. Science ResearcherRead more

By:
On:
In: Behind the scenes, Science

Selwyn Muru, (Ngāti Kurī, Te Aupōuri, Te Pātū, Ngāti Rēhia, Muri Kahara, Te Whakatōhea) passed away in January 2024. Muru was a gifted and influential artist, as well as a writer, broadcaster, teacher and orator. Here, Contemporary Art Curator Hanahiva Rose reflects on Muru’s work and legacy. E hika māRead more

By:
On:
In: Art, Māori
A sepia photo of a woman in a swimming costume sitting on a wet sandy beach.

As part of a summer research project, Lucia Adams from Botany and Annie Barnard from Art are working with Te Papa’s collection of Nancy Adams’ works. Annie and Lucia will be digitising botanical specimens that Adams collected, enriching catalogue records of her artworks and archival material, and doing research and writing about her work and influence. They are taking a series of field trips to sites that were important in Nancy’s life and work. Here is the first in a series of blogs documenting these trips.Read more

By:
On:
In: Art, History, Science
A larger bird with a long tail is being fed by a much smaller bird while both of them are sitting on a tree branch.

Between November 2023 and March 2024, Natural History curator Colin Miskelly is walking the length of Aotearoa New Zealand on Te Araroa Trail – counting every bird seen or heard along the way. In this eighth blog in the series, Colin describes birds encountered between Te Kūiti and Taumarunui. TheRead more

By:
On:
In: Science
Three people are processing batches of plants on a boat,

In January 2023, Te Papa Botany Curator Heidi Meudt was one of a team of Aotearoa New Zealand botanists and crew who travelled to Motu Maha Auckland Islands to undertake botanical research and make new collections. Here, Heidi and Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Ecology Technician Alex Fergus describe some of the scientific collections and observations from the expedition.Read more

By:
On:
In: Science

Once a year around 2000 Wikipedians – the dedicated writers, researchers, photographers, data scientists, developers, and more who improve Wikipedia and its related sites day by day – get together for Wikimania, the annual conference covering anything and everything Wikipedia. Over several days they get deep into what’s new, share exciting projects, and work out how to turn normal people into new Wikipedia editors. From the kiwi contingent, Te Papa’s Heidi Meudt, Lucy Schrader, and Victoria Leachman report back on Wikimania 2023.Read more

By:
On:
In: Behind the scenes