A giant model of a WWI nurse crying while reading a letter. There are people standing near her knees.

Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War reopened after essential maintenance on Saturday 13 September. In this blog, Education Specialist Laura Jones and Curator History Stephanie Gibson reflect together on recent changes to the exhibition and the critical thinking behind their work with students and history. Learning programmes can be an amazingRead more

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In: Behind the scenes, Education, History
A person in a silver outfit is walking down a catwalk. The room is in a blue hue.

The trailblazing Kiki House of Marama will be hosting the Grand Kiki House of Marama Ball at Te Papa on Saturday 4 October. The House goes into detail about the history of the Ballroom scene internationally and in Aotearoa New Zealand, who the Kiki House of Marama are, and whatRead more

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In: Pacific

Museums hold thousands of ‘things’ from all around the world. In larger institutions like Te Papa, the histories of these ‘things’, be they objects, specimens, artifacts or taonga, are not always known. As part of a new research project, Curator of Mātauranga Māori and Archaeology Dr Amber Aranui at TeRead more

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In: Behind the scenes, Māori, Science
A watercolour of a weka with a spoon in its mouth.

As part of their coursework in COMD211 Tuhi Pikitia I Drawing I, Te Herenga Waka University students recently had the unique opportunity to visit Te Papa for a session led by Curator Art Lizzie Bisley, focused on the rich history of animal illustration. Held in an intimate reading room, the visitRead more

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Botany curator Leon Perrie and researcher Lara Shepherd recently visited the Allan Herbarium in Lincoln to examine its speargrass/taramea (Aciphylla) specimens as part of their ongoing taxonomic research into these plants. The herbarium’s historical specimens offer valuable insights that enhance our recent collections, particularly around morphological diversity and species distributions.Read more

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In: Behind the scenes, History, Science
A collection of books showing spine-out. Some are sitting on top of each other, and some are side-by-side.

One of the best ways to explore Te Papa’s collections is through the dozens of books published by Te Papa Press. The objects discussed within their pages also appear on Collections Online, which records over a million items from Te Papa’s collection. Seeing an opportunity to connect its titles with these digital object records, Te Papa Press is creating publication records for its titles on Collections Online.Read more

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In: Behind the scenes, Collections Online

Recording the distributions of weeds both in Wellington and further afield is an ongoing interest for Te Papa’s Botany Curator Leon Perrie and Researcher Lara Shepherd. Together they have added hundreds of weed specimens to Te Papa’s herbarium since the Covid lockdown. One recent weed collecting trip to Upper Hutt demonstrated how the use of common names can lead to confusion.Read more

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In: Behind the scenes, Collections Online, Science

A new paper entitled Wikidata for Botanists: Benefits of collaborating and sharing Linked Open Data has been published in the Annals of Botany. This publication is the result of a collaboration of four researchers (who are all also Wikidata editors) from three countries. Curator Botany Heidi Meudt talks about how did this unique international collaboration come about, and what does Wikidata have to do with Botany?Read more

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In: Education, Science
A scientific photo of long fish on a grey background

Over the last few months, three examples of a most enigmatic and unusual oarfish washed ashore in Tasmania, at Aromoana, and Birdlings Flat, causing an immediate spike in interest: Was this a sign that a major earthquake was imminent? Are we in for a bumper herring harvest… both?! That is what Andrew was asked by reporters from the Christchurch Press and The Guardian. Here, curators Andrew Stewart and Thom Linley break down the science of the oarfish.Read more

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In: Science

Landhoppers – tiny, jumping crustaceans – are a vital yet often overlooked part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s invertebrate fauna. Northland entomologist Olly Ball, University College Cork’s amphipod expert Alan Myers and Te Papa geneticist Lara Shepherd have just described a new species and genus of landhopper from Manawatāwhi Three KingsRead more

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In: Science

Prions are a group of small seabirds that are very difficult to tell apart. This is part of the reason why it took more than 70 years to identify New Zealand’s first MacGillivray’s prion. Bird curator Colin Miskelly describes how modern genetic methods were used to identify old museum specimens – and to add a new species to the New Zealand and Australian lists.Read more

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In: Science