The main attraction at Gould Bay – in fact the only reason the Gould Bay camp exists – is a large emperor penguin colony. On my first visit I counted just under 6300 live chicks, and estimated that there would have been about 7500 breeding pairs at the start ofRead more
Photographs tend to come to museums with little or no information attached. The ones below are planned for use in an upcoming Te Papa book on our photography collection. You can help us flesh out some detail on these old photos before it gets locked down in print. Military ManRead 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 second in a series of blogs about the project and the wildlifeRead more
On my second visit to the Gould Bay emperor penguin colony, I flew there in a Basler DC3T aircraft, and returned to Union Glacier in a de Havilland DH6 Twin Otter. These are the predominant fixed-wing aircraft used for travel within Antarctica, and are the only aircraft used by ANIRead more
Summer holidays are over. Some schools have re-opened and offices have filled up with workers returning to their routines. As for Christmas – well that feels like ancient history now. But you can relive past holiday happiness by reading these joy-filled diary entries written by Horowhenua farmer, Leslie Adkin, describingRead more
Union Glacier camp was bulging at the seams in mid-November, with an Ilyushin delivering 54 marathon runners (2 of whom pulled out before the event), a few support staff and organisers, and a Chinese film crew. The annual Antarctic Ice Marathon has become big business, with all available places bookedRead 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 first in a series of blogs about the project and the wildlifeRead more
Looking at the photos below, you wouldn’t expect these unstable rockslides, called screes, to be home to anything. But take the time to look a little closer and you’ll find a number of native New Zealand plants that have adapted to living in just such seemingly inhospitable environments. In earlyRead more
It is a long-established Antarctic fact that the southernmost penguin colony on the planet is at Cape Royds, on the west side of Ross Island, near McMurdo Station and Scott Base. Slightly anomalously, this is an Adélie penguin colony, being a few minutes further south than the ‘southernmost’ emperor penguinRead more
Emperor penguins are penguins of superlatives – largest, deepest diving, able-to-withstand-the-coldest-temperatures etc. But one rarely-mentioned fact is that they are the most curious penguin, as in possessing the strongest innate curiosity. This year’s ‘Emp camp’ at Gould Bay was established 2.3 km from the nearest corner of the colony, toRead more
Te Papa’s beautiful collection of early colour photographs made using the autochrome process is the focus of new article published by the online journal The Public Domain Review. The article can be accessed on either The Public Domain Review or OpenGlam. Lissa Mitchell – Curator Historical Documentary Photography More Photography?Read more
Here is a challenge for a hot summer day – try working out the message on this postcard of Auckland from 1903. Add your version in the comments box below. Lissa Mitchell – Curator Historical Documentary Photography More Photography? Follow Lissa on TwitterRead more
At the height of summer the sun does not set at Union Glacier. In mid-November it’s bright ‘daylight’ throughout the night, but the sun does disappear for a couple of hours in the early morning (2-4 am) when it dips behind nearby Mt Rossman. This is when the mercury dipsRead more
During December 2014, artist and designer Kerry-Ann Lee ran workshops at Te Papa to teach the art of ‘zine-making’. Zines are a sort of hand-crafted vehicle for the ideas and imagination of writers and artists. Working with a local designer, Vera Padhila, and with the story of our recent workRead more
My role at Te Papa revolves around creating opportunities for our visitors to engage with Te Papa content. I was part of the team that developed the DeClassified exhibition, which you can check out on level 3 at Te Papa. This exhibition has an additional interpretive layer which enables people toRead more
