How to create a high tech Learning Lab in a museum
Educator Matt Richards talks about his experience creating a Learning Lab for Te Papa and seeing students engage with the space for the first time. Read more
2016-12-21
The history of Christmas dinner in New Zealand
With festive eatables on everyone’s mind at this time of year, history curator Katie Cooper traces the history of the Christmas dinner in New Zealand, and considers how our antipodean Yuletide has changed since its first celebration in 1642. The First Festive Feasts Abel Tasman and the crews of theRead more
2016-12-21
Opinion: why we should beware of the word ‘traditional’
In 1994, four years before the opening of Te Papa, Samoan novelist and scholar Albert Wendt was an advisor for the planned Pacific exhibitions. He requested that we abandon the use of terms like ‘traditional art’ in our labels and display signage. ‘Traditional means nothing to me!’ he said. AtRead more
2016-12-20
Using paint analysis to find a hidden mural
Conservator Linda Waters, and her colleague Tijana Cvetkovic, have been helping Bronwyn Holloway-Smith of the Mural Search and Recovery Project investigate whether a 1960s mural by Mervyn E Taylor called ‘First Kumara Planting’ ’ is still intact, hidden under white paint in the old Soil Bureau building in Taita.Read more
2016-12-20
A ‘Raphael’ just for you this Christmas
Mark Stocker, Curator International Historical Art, shares a Christmas delight with you: Raphael’s Madonna della Sedia, the Palazzo Pitti original and the Whanganui copy.Read more
2016-12-19
The ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ science education resource is here!
After two years of dedicated mahi (work), we are proud to share with you the It’s a Bug’s Life science education resource for ECE and Primary.Read more
2016-12-16
An inordinate fondness for weevils
When did you last get excited about finding a weevil? They get a lot of bad press as pests of crops and stored food, but finding two rare weevil species was one of the highlights of a recent Te Papa expedition to Dusky Sound in Fiordland.Read more
2016-12-15
Kiwi culinary history from Aunt Daisy to Hudson and Halls
Inspired by a trip to see Hudson and Halls Live! at Hannah Playhouse, history curator Katie Cooper decided to find out more about Hudson and Halls, and other key figures in New Zealand’s culinary history. Using various communication platforms to demonstrate their craft, these individuals combined skill and charm to inform,Read more
2016-12-14
Collecting the Standing Rock protest and why it’s important
A protest movement you might have heard about, which I’ve been following closely, is the protest occupation against the North Dakota pipeline at Standing Rock in the United States. The Dakota Access Pipeline (represented online by the hashtag #NODAPL No Dakota Access Pipeline) has prompted protests across the United States asRead more
2016-12-13
Whale tales from Dusky Sound: Nice smile, pity about the breath!
A Te Papa research team travelled to Dusky Sound: photographer Jean-Claude recalls a surprise encounter with bad-breathed whales. 15 November 2016. We had made good progress since leaving Doubtful Sound on the Southern Winds, the DOC boat that supports conservation programmes around southern New Zealand. We were now sailing pastRead more
2016-12-13
Conflicted loyalties: Berry Boys conscripted for war
History curator Kirstie Ross explores the stories of four ‘Berry Boys’ who were conscripted in the first and second conscription ballots 100 years ago. In 1916, after two years of fighting, it was clear that New Zealanders’ loyalty to ‘King and Country’ was competing with other concerns – and fewerRead more
2016-12-12
The petrels of Dusky Sound
Have you ever wondered which New Zealand bird was the first to be given a published scientific name? The unlikely answer is the broad-billed prion, named as ‘Procellaria vittata’ by a 22-year-old Georg Forster in 1777.Read more
2016-12-09
Dusky Sound – rich in history and wildlife
A team of Te Papa scientists recently visited Dusky Sound as the first stage in an investigation of changes in biodiversity since Cook’s visit in 1773. Read more
2016-12-07
Feather identification workshop, Whanganui Regional Museum
In a collaboration between National Services Te Paerangi and Whanganui Regional Museum, Te Papa’s bicultural researcher Hokimate Harwood brought her extensive feather identification skills to a community of 30 weavers and bird enthusiasts earlier this year. Hokimate’s feather identification research looks to decode materials and messages within kākahu | featherRead more
2016-12-05
The changing art of tatau: Samoan tattooing
Rebecca Rice and Nina Tonga asked Sean Mallon, Senior Curator Pacific Cultures, some questions about Sāmoan tatau, a form of adornment still practised today.Read more
2016-12-02