A relatively little known but fascinating area of Te Papa’s vast collection is its coins and medals. Medals are not only used to recognise military achievements – many of the medals in the collection, and those that I have been looking at, commemorate other events and achievements. Some medals were madeRead more
“Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science…” – Edwin Powell Hubble. The natural world is full of amazing opportunities for exploration and creativity, and therefore an excellent platform on which to build and grow the scientific thinking, knowledge and confidence ofRead more
As the Science Collection Manager responsible for managing the botany collection, part of my job is to increase public access to the collection. One way to achieve this is through online narratives. This blog series will highlight some recent botany narratives. In this blog we introduce narrative topics of some recent, veryRead more
Te Papa Botany researchers Heidi Meudt, Jessie Prebble and Carlos Lehnebach have recently published a new paper in the scientific journal Plant Systematics and Evolution on New Zealand forget-me-nots (genus Myosotis). There are approximately 100 species of forget-me-not species in the genus Myosotis, about half of which are only foundRead more
Remembering comes in many different forms. In Te Papa’s commemorative display Remember: the Canterbury Earthquakes, we feature a number of beautiful objects made from materials salvaged from the quake damaged city – they are ‘material memories’. As people rebuild their lives, homes and businesses, many are seeking to incorporate elementsRead more
The DeCLASSIFIED! citizen science projects have been running for nearly three months. These projects are an opportunity to learn spiders and ferns with Te Papa’s experts, and to help us with our research. The Ferns with Te Papa project has gathered up more than 920 observations from 59 contributors. 365Read more
A museum exhibition? In our school? Not quite! But what about a museum case? For around 50 years in the 20th century, Te Papa’s predecessors delivered important, informational, and sometimes downright kooky exhibition suitcases to schools around the country. How do I know? My research project has had me rummagingRead more
New bird species are added to the New Zealand list at a rate of at least five per decade. In most cases these are lone individuals that have blown off course (mainly across the Tasman Sea), or migratory species that have apparently ‘got in with the wrong crowd’, and endedRead more
Kia ora – I’m Louisa Hormann and I am a History Honours graduate of Victoria University. With the 100 year anniversary of the First World War upon us, it has been my job this summer to research and update Te Papa’s First World War Collections Online. I have discovered thatRead more
Theft is an oft-romanticised crime in folklore and popular culture – think Robin Hood, Dick Turpin, Maui stealing fiery fingernails from Mahuika, or Bonnie and Clyde. We have a fascination with stories about people who beat the system, ‘democratise’ income gaps, or simply break the rules. Favoured tales generally justifyRead more
I’m Victoria Leachman, Rights Adviser at Te Papa. Thanks to support from National Services Te Paerangi and Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand I’m going to be on the road around the country in March. I’ll be talking with staff from heritage institutions about copyright, collections, and Creative Commons. If you’re aRead more
This Sunday marks the fourth anniversary of the devastating earthquake that shook the city of Christchurch, claiming the lives of 185 people and changing those of thousands of residents in ways that it is often hard to conceive unless experienced. In Te Papa’s commemorative display (20 February to 22 March 2015),Read more
Te Papa vertebrate curator Dr Colin Miskelly recently led a team that visited Takapourewa / Stephens Island Nature Reserve, to select and gather up 100 fairy prion chicks to move to Mana Island near Wellington. This is the sixth (and last) in a series of blogs about the project andRead more
I’ve written two blogs, Help Wanted and More Help Wanted, about photographs from Te Papa’s collection that need more information. Here are some more puzzlers you may be able to help with: Dream Car It would be good to pin down the year for this photograph by dating the cars. WeRead more
Last week Te Papa Botany curator Leon Perrie and I attended the Uawa BioBlitz in Tolaga Bay. Organized by the Allan Wilson Centre and Groundtruth, the BioBlitz was an intense 24 hours of species discovery. Scientists from a variety of organisations were joined by members of the local community, includingRead more
