Life through a burrowscope lens on subterranean Taumaka (Open Bay Islands)
See fur seal pups, prions, little penguins, and Fiordland crested penguins caught on camera through a burrowscope lens on Taumaka (Open Bay Islands).Read more
2016-10-10
Painting a Developing New Zealand: The Watercolours of James Crowe Richmond
For most New Zealanders, the name James Crowe Richmond is an unfamiliar one. Yet the landscapes he captured during his travels through southern back country evoke a quiet nostalgia for a rugged, untamed colonial New Zealand.Read more
2016-10-08
Fascinating forget-me-not pollen
Now that springtime is upon us in New Zealand, many plants are starting to flower, producing pollen. Many of us have a negative association with pollen due to its role in causing allergies [PDF, 172KB]. But not all pollen causes allergies, and pollen is of course extremely important to the biology andRead more
2016-10-07
Birdlife of Taumaka (Open Bay Islands)
Taumaka is a 20 ha Māori-owned island lying off the South Westland coast. Administered by the Taumaka me Popotai Trust, the island is well-known as a breeding site for kekeno / New Zealand fur seals and tawaki / Fiordland crested penguins. Both species were studied on the island by studentsRead more
2016-10-03
The joy of dressing up – a look through our photography collection
With the World of Wearable Art Show (WOW) in town, and fantastic costume art in Te Papa’s store windows, we were inspired see what creative costumes we have in our photography collection.Read more
2016-09-30
Object Conservation: A technical examination project
Join me, Cat Williams, over the coming months as I investigate and conserve one of Te Papa’s recent acquisitions – a painted wooden shield from Papua New Guinea. Yes, it is decorated with The Phantom! Items in our national collection have fascinating biographies and often there is still much toRead more
2016-09-29
The power of lace – making European Splendour 1500-1800, Te Papa
Lace is fascinating for its changing and divisive role in history. Desired for its beauty and admired for its technical expertise, the best quality was restricted in use for monarchs and nobility. While sumptuary laws during the 1500 and early 1600s claimed to protect local industries, lace actually helped identifyRead more
2016-09-28
Two new birds for New Zealand – Herald petrel and red-footed booby
Finding a new bird species for their country of residence is the holy grail for many birdwatchers. Over the last decade, new species have been detected in New Zealand at an average rate of one every 15 months. The finding of two new bird species within 2 days by the same team of observers was unprecedented – but that is what happened.Read more
2016-09-28
Te Papa Māori museum educators meet Tairāwhiti
My name is Pania, I’m the freshman. Straight out of the classroom, I had never worked in a Museum before, let alone the museum of all museums – Te Papa!Read more
2016-09-28
The Rhodes Family’s 164-year-old wedding dress and waistcoat
Tuesday 27 Sep was an exciting day for the History team, as we welcomed descendants of prominent nineteenth-century Wellington entrepreneur William Barnard Rhodes and accepted two remarkable items into our collection. Rhodes’ great, great, great grandson Rupert Ryle-Hodges travelled from England to present to Te Papa a silk brocade weddingRead more
2016-09-27
Bring on the bum roll… Dressing for Splendour
Bottoms have been in the news again lately. The conversation has been around what must be the 21st century’s most famous derrière, that of American celebrity Kim Kardashian. Indeed, in May she received a Webby award for ‘breaking the internet’ – a feat achieved with a bare-bottomed shoot for Paper Magazine. More recently British actress Helen Mirren chimed in,Read more
2016-09-25
The Fishes of New Zealand wins top international award
Our fishes team have won with the highest award for zoological publishing – the first time a Kiwi book has even achieved this honour.Read more
2016-09-23
Queer History objects
As we near the end of Queer History Month, I’ve been thinking about how objects at Te Papa work together to illuminate aspects of LGBTQI+ life in New Zealand.Read more
2016-09-23
It’s a Bug’s Life: Our journey with science by Kiwi Kids ECC
In this post, we hear from Mia Wynyard, kaiako at Kiwi Kids ECC. Let’s find out what the ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ project has meant for this Centre one year on… We are one year on from our ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ experience and we can’t express just how much our thinkingRead more
2016-09-22
It’s a Bug’s Life – Impact of the project for Imagine Childcare
The ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ education resource is on its way – but what has been the impact of this project so far? In this post, we hear from Imagine Childcare – one of our three ECE partnership groups. They are using the expertise they gained through our research to inform their Department ofRead more
2016-09-21