An old fashioned billboard stand in front of large rocks. In the billboard are three photos, each of a man with a plastic bag over his head, making three different faces, each suggesting a struggle. In front is an oversized soft drink bottle and a small astronaut

Paris Collage Collective is an online community of collage makers, who respond to regular creative challenges. Over the past couple of years, a lot of those challenges have used photos from our collections. In light of a recent collaboration, Petra Zehner from Paris Collage Collective talks to Senior Digital Editor Daniel Crichton-Rouse.Read more

By:
On:
In: Collections Online

NZSL, or New Zealand Sign Language, is one of New Zealand’s three official languages. As the NZSL Act reflects, it’s a distinct language, with its own grammar, not a signed version of a spoken language – English, in fact, is a second language for many Deaf people. Yet NZSL has been largely invisible in our cultural landscape.

Te Papa now has its own NZSL Mobile Guide, a new mobile-optimised web application for Deaf visitors and online audiences. Digital Producer Amos Mann takes us through the project.Read more

By:
On:
In: Behind the scenes

Do you dream? Do you know why you dream? What even are dreams? Dr Rosie Gibson, Senior Lecturer at the Sleep/Wake Research Centre, Massey University dives into the surreal worlds that we inhabit while we sleep.Read more

By:
On:
In: Science

Tapa, or barkcloth, is an important textile in the Pacific. Tapa is made from the beaten inner bark of some plant species, but once the tapa is made then identifying which plant species was used is difficult. Our genetics researcher Lara Shepherd teamed up with Catherine Smith from the University of Otago and colleagues to create a DNA reference database for identifying the plants used to make tapa.Read more

By:
On:
In: Māori, Pacific, Science
Watercolour painting of a blue vase with thick branches of yellow blossoming flowers. Prickly thorns can be seen over the lip of tha vase.

In 2020, Te Papa acquired an 1897 watercolour painting by Margaret Stoddart that had been given the title Yellow blossom and rosemary by the cataloguers. But what are those blossoms, really? And is that rosemary in the vase, or something else? Here, Curator of Historical Art, Rebecca Rice unpacks the painting and suggests it could be somewhat pricklier than it first appears.Read more

By:
On:
In: Art, Science

Being in lockdown in Wellington didn’t mean an end to fieldwork for some of our staff. Botany Curator Leon Perrie and Researcher Lara Shepherd – who are in the same bubble – used their lockdown walks to collect roadside weeds for our herbarium. But what did they find within only a short walk from home?Read more

By:
On:
In: Science
A group of 16 students in Tongan dress pose for a group photo

This year’s theme for Uike Kātoanga‘i ‘o e lea faka-Tonga | Tongan Language Week is “Fakakoloa ‘o Aotearoa ‘aki ‘a e Ako Lelei”, which means “enriching Aotearoa with holistic education”. Guest writer Malia Pole‘o shines a light on how a holistic education is beneficial for Tongan learners today – and for future generations.Read more

By:
On:
In: Pacific