Te Papa’s Curator of Terrestrial Vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly visited Taranga for a week in December 2010 as part of his research into the life and fieldwork of the naturalist Edgar Stead. Here, Colin describes the reptiles found on the island, along with reptile records from surrounding islands, and theRead more

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This summer, we ran a pilot project to transcribe the diaries of George Leslie Adkin, and put them online. Adkin wrote in his diary every day, and his 1913 diaries detail his courtship of Maud Herd, whom he later married. Adkin was also a talented photographer, and took many photographs ofRead more

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As part of the current Nga Toi Arts Te Papa season we are fortunate enough to work alongside our curators, some of the exhibiting artists, and scholars to help produce our audience engagement programme. One initiative is to ask writers, poets, visual artists, performers and musicians to produce artistic responses to works exhibited in Nga ToiRead more

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The paddle crab (Ovalipes catharus) of New Zealand. It lives just under water at sandy beaches and burrows leaving only its eyes visible, sitting in wait for prey (and swimmers’ toes!). Large males can reach 150 mm across the carapace. Photographer: WR Webber © WR Webber

New Zealand has a popular paddle crab (scientific name Ovalipes catharus) found at sandy beaches all round the country and often in fish shops, sometimes alive. I talked about paddle crabs and why they’re important during December’s episode of Science Live, Coastal Creatures.  Paddle crabs or swimming crabs are named for theirRead more

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Te Papa vertebrate curator Dr Colin Miskelly recently spent 12 days on Ohinau Island (east of Whitianga, Coromandel Peninsula) as part of a Te Papa seabird research team. This blog reports on some of the more impressive invertebrate species that he found on the island. Ohinau is a 43 haRead more

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Te Papa vertebrate curator Dr Colin Miskelly recently spent 12 days on Ohinau Island (east of Whitianga, Coromandel Peninsula) as part of a Te Papa seabird research team. This blog reports on the species of reptiles that he found on the island. Ohinau is a 43 ha forested island ownedRead more

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Te Papa vertebrate curator Dr Colin Miskelly recently spent 12 days on Ohinau Island (east of Whitianga, Coromandel Peninsula) as part of a Te Papa seabird research team. This blog reports on the landbird species found on the island. Ohinau is a 43 ha forested island owned by Ngati Hei,Read more

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Te Papa vertebrate curator Dr Colin Miskelly recently spent 12 days on Ohinau Island (east of Whitianga, Coromandel Peninsula) as part of a Te Papa seabird research team studying flesh-footed shearwaters. This blog reports on the seabird species found on the island and nearby Ohinauiti Island. Ohinau is a 43Read more

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Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy performance, Photographer: Te Papa, © Te Papa

Our string puppet shows, performed in November by professional puppeteer Anna Bailey, were such a success that we have decided to make Early Years events  a priority! On the 17th of January, and the 4th of February, many young visitors and their caregivers “trotted on down passed the shops and the parkRead more

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The silver fern is one of the favoured symbols for a new flag. Aside from being one of New Zealand’s icons, the silver fern is a real plant. But being on a nation’s flag deserves a background check – what is the silver fern? It’s also known as ponga (theRead more

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Huka Falls. Photographer: Jonathon Kelso © Jonathon Kelso

Te Papa is presenting an evening debate on water on 30 January in its 10-year series of Treaty Debates. This will be a provocative discussion which identifies the major issues in managing our freshwater resources and how these can be resolved.   A panel of speakers brings together a range ofRead more

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