Science Researcher Rodrigo Salvador compares the squid fossils of a fictional Middle-earth and those found in the ‘real’ one, New Zealand. Middle-earth: Shadow of War is the latest Lord of the Rings game, released late last year for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. In it, you continue the adventure of GondorianRead more
Te Papa’s second colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, is part of the displays for the upcoming Te Papa Open House on 25th July 2015 – a part of the 150th celebrations for the Wellington City as capital of New Zealand. The squid was caught in the Ross Sea in early 2014, by Captain JohnRead more
During the early development of the DeClassified! exhibition we had a lot of conversations with Te Papa scientists about potential objects and narratives that would do the job of explaining that Te Papa does, in fact, do science. It’s sort of my job during this phase to think like aRead more
Veronika Meduna, presenter of Radio New Zealand’s Our Changing World, presented Te Papa’s #squidwatch event. In this blog, she reflects on the experience of presenting such a ‘colossal’ event and the role of museums in effective science communication. It’s been two months since Te Papa’s #squidwatch, a live-streamed event during which scientists had aRead more
On Tuesday 16th September Te Papa hosted a very special event. A colossal squid from the Ross Sea, was examined by scientists. You can watch the live stream of the event as it happened on YouTube. Squid scientists from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the University of Otago joined us. In this guestRead more
Thanks to everyone who sent in questions – our scientists answered as many as they could during the live stream. There were so many great questions we couldn’t answer them all during the event, so as promised, the most frequently asked questions are answered below. Visit the TONMO forum ifRead more
Over 380,000 viewers tuned in over the past 24 hours to watch the examination of our most recent colossal squid. If you missed it, you can still watch it on YouTube here: Watch Te Papa’s colossal squid examination What did scientists find? Digested stomach contents and jelly-filled eyes might notRead more
Today we’ve been hearing about the most recent addition to Te Papa’s scientific collections, a new colossal squid Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni. We’re playing host to a dozen or so media representatives as well as our own live-streaming film crew, who are following intently the activity of five visiting squid scientists fromRead more
It takes a forklift, a hosepipe and several dedicated scientists to get the colossal squid from the freezer to the tank. Scientists from Te Papa and Auckland University of Technology have assembled at Te Papa to begin defrosting the colossal squid. As the squid is such a large animal, it’sRead more
On Tuesday 16th September Te Papa will be hosting a very special event. A colossal squid, recently caught in the Ross Sea, will be examined by scientists and you can watch as we live stream the action on YouTube from 11am. Our presenter will be Veronika Meduna, from Radio NewRead more
Colossal squid are the heaviest invertebrates on Earth, with specimens reported weighing in at 495kg – that’s nearly eight times as heavy as the average human! Despite their size, large colossal squid specimens in good condition are rarely available to scientists. That’s why scientists from Auckland University of Technology (AUT)Read more
Te Papa is excited to announce that there’s something big – extremely big – in our freezer. It’s got eight arms and two tentacles, with some rather fearsome looking hooks. It’s got eyes the size of a soccer ball. It’s got a doughnut-shaped brain. Can you guess what it isRead more
We can all do with a check-up every so often – just to ensure things are going ok and we’re not falling apart. Today our team took the lid off the colossal squid tank and started to drain out the preservation fluid so we can give the colossal squid a check-up. WeRead more
A three-metre giant squid specimen washed up on a beach on Wellington’s South Coast yesterday (2nd April).Read more
Breaking news from our squid fix-it team – the work is complete and we are on track to reopen the colossal squid exhibition to the public from tomorrow 21 March 2009. Yesterday Robert Clendon our Conservator and Hutch Wilco, one of our exhibition preparators finished the last few tweaks to theRead more
