Sepia image of a woman sitting in the middle of a large white dress holding a fan

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Te Papa staff were very sad to hear of the recent passing of Marion Florence Mackenzie (née Rodie) on 9 Apr in Queensland (1919–2020). We knew her as Mollie Rodie, the creator of many beautiful costume sketches for fundraising pageants and carnivals in the Second World War (1939–45), now held in Te Papa’s collections.Read more

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‘Adkin’s photographs provide an honest, in-depth insight into rural life in New Zealand during the first half of the 20th century.’ Danielle Campbell, a Museum and Heritage Studies student at Victoria University, discusses her three favourite Leslie Adkin photographs that she came across during her summer internship at Te Papa.Read more

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Accompanying the portrait wall in Tūrangawaewae: Art and New Zealand are digital interactives that allow you to dive deeper into the conservation efforts that prepared the paintings for exhibition, and reveal hidden histories. Conservator Paintings Linda Waters writes about what the back of a painting can tell you.Read more

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Three species of forget-me-nots new to science have just been formally described by Te Papa Botany Researcher Heidi Meudt and colleagues. Heidi introduces us to their names, what they look like, and describes what makes them unique. In the latest volume of Australian Systematic Botany, Heidi Meudt (Te Papa) and Jessie Prebble (ManaakiRead more

Myosotis rakiura inflorescence from The Gutter, Stewart Island, December 2016. Photo by Heidi Meudt @ Te Papa.

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Field work is a key part of scientific research at Te Papa. Each year, Research Scientist Heidi Meudt spends about three weeks in the field collecting specimens for her taxonomic research on native New Zealand Myosotis. In December 2016, she recently traveled to the southern South Island and Stewart Island together with CollectionRead more

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An art gallery is a theatre where art takes centre stage. But it is also an archive, a refuge, even a hospital, says Te Papa’s Head of Art Charlotte Davy. A recent story highlighted the art collections held by Councils and the proportion of their art works on public display.Read more

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Over the Christmas holidays, Australian researcher Stephen Marshall visited Te Papa to view a little-known watercolour in our collection: John William Tristram’s ‘A Tremulous Dusk‘, painted in 1904. Stephen is currently writing a book on the artist, and wrote this blog to tell us more about the beautiful painting heRead more

Botany Collection Store: Te Papa has 300 000 botany specimens. Image: Antony Kusabs, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2015.

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Today is World Science Day for Peace and Development, but science is happening at Te Papa every day . In addition to research being conducted within Te Papa, each year we also loan hundreds of science collection specimens to researchers all around the world. Researchers study our specimens to improve our collectiveRead more

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During the recent expedition to central Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, my job was to document the ferns and lycophytes. This was at the invitation of Marika Tuiwawa (University of South Pacific) who led the expedition’s plant team. It built on my previous experience working with ferns in Fiji, NewRead more