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This feed currently contains the following newsitems (total count 1639):

    • The April Fool’s Day Files: Fashion in the field edition
      • April Fool’s Day isn’t just for prank‑loving humans – nature has its own little jokesters. But unlike our April Fool’s pranks, their tricks aren’t just for laughs, it’s a matter of survival. Lara Shepherd and Phil Sirvid introduce some amazing critters that use clever costumes, ranging from clear contenders for

    • ‘‘Āiga’ by Salome Tanuvasa and students of Tava‘e
      • Learning Specialist Martin Langdon shares insights into an artist and school project resulting in a new artwork now displayed in PlaNet Pasifika in Tangata o Le Moana on Level 4. He talks about ‘Āiga and the mahi involved from teachers, artists, tauira, and many Te Papa teams. The fabric of

    • Te Papa welcomes Maraenui Banner whānau from Hīkoi mō te Tiriti
      • Te Papa welcomed a Maraenui community group from Napier, Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay, in a to formally hand over four banners carried in the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti on 19 November 2024 in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, and collected by Te Papa. Curator History Stephanie Gibson describes the journeys the banners

    • Save a Spider Day 2026: The tunnelweb
      • March 14 was International Save a Spider Day, and this year, we’ve taken a closer look at an iconic group of New Zealand spiders – the tunnelwebs. Not only were these spiders the inspiration for the design of Shelob in Peter Jackson’s Return of the King, but their family is

    • Gifts to the nation: The National Art Collection at Te Papa
      • Many of the treasures in the National Art Collection have come into the museum as generous gifts – from collectors, artists, their families, and the public. To mark the Te Papa Foundation’s Annual Appeal, Curator Modern Art Lizzie Bisley looks here at some of the wonderful artworks and collections that

    • An eye for detail: The collected archives of Bruce Irwin
      • Humanities technician Cassandra Bahr has been working in the Collected Archives at Te Papa, cataloguing and rehousing papers from people connected to Te Papa’s collecting areas. Here, she highlights the archives of scientific illustrator and orchid specialist Bruce Irwin (1921–2012). James Bruce Irwin was born in Whanganui in 1921. As

    • Can AI appraise Te Papa’s public records?
      • Could Artificial Intelligence really appraise Te Papa’s public records? Collections Data Manager Gareth Watkins and Archivist Jennifer Twist tested it on thousands of records and got results that were faster, less resource-intensive, and more consistent than expected – until they weren’t. This post unpacks the experiment, the limits we encountered,

    • Breakthrough for conservation as threatened native orchid blooms in cultivation
      • Te Papa’s orchid specialist Carlos Lehnebach and research technician Jennifer Alderton-Moss from the Lions Ōtari Plant Conservation Lab are celebrating a major breakthrough after the threatened swamp greenhood orchid blooms for the first time in cultivation, marking a significant milestone for conservation and recovery efforts. The swamp greenhood orchid (Pterostylis

    • Kaumātua? More like pou matua
      • Last year, the Public Programming team embarked on a new area of programming for kaumātua, for people over 65. This was developed in collaboration with Age Concern staff and participants from a range of their groups to create tailored experiences that provide spaces for connection, knowledge sharing, and learning. Public Programming specialist Catherine Ayres, and Public Programming specialist – Kaupapa Māori Lucy Schrader-Manuera share their reflections on the programme.

    • Palaeo introductions #3 – Caring for the palaeontology collection
      • In the public sphere, the more ‘flashy’ parts of palaeontology tend to get all the press – excavating fossils in exotic locations and publishing new scientific discoveries. But equally important is how the fossils are cared for, so they are available for research and display, both now and long into the future.

    • Can you dig it? Exploring an archaeological rabbit hole
      • Earlier this year, Te Waipounamu iwi Kāi Tahu invited a group of its iwi members to join with Archaeology students from Otago University to take part in their first hands-on dig in Moeraki. Te Papa Host and Assistant Visitor Services Manager Robbie Titchener was on that dig and shares some of the experiences here.

    • Gathering rare mosses data
      • Curator Botany Leon Perrie was recently part of a panel that, for the first time, assessed the conservation status of all the mosses in Aotearoa New Zealand. Here, he introduces a few species you can report if you see them when you’re next mingling with moss. There are about 500

    • DNA identification of a putative South Island kōkako feather
      • The South Island kōkako is an elusive forest bird, famed for its haunting call. Despite numerous reported sightings over the past 50 years, no definitive evidence to prove its survival – such as a specimen, photograph, or droppings – has been found since 1937. In 1986, a feather discovered on

    • Butler Point Whaling Museum and archaeological excavation 2025
      • From 6 to 11 January this year, Mātauranga Māori Curator Dr Amber Aranui dusted off her excavation gear and joined Dr Monica Tromp and three Otago University students for a community-based archaeological excavation at Butler Point in Hihi. The excavation was led by Dr Justin Maxwell and Dr Jennifer Huebert

    • Fish of the day (carpe diem)
      • On the morning of Thursday 16 of October, Curator Vertebrates Alan Tennyson came in and asked Curator Fishes Andrew Stewart if he knew anything about the fish lying out in the carpark up at the Tory Street building. Worried that it might be a collection item, they went out and

    • Small heads and strange lives: studying the Acroceridae of New Zealand
      • Collections technician and PhD student Shaun Thompson has spent several years working with curators Julia Kasper and Phil Sirvid to study one of the most unusual and elusive groups of flies in Aotearoa New Zealand. He aims to create comprehensive species descriptions and distribution records of the Acroceridae, or “small-headed

    • A thoughtful man: the collected archives of John Edgar
      • Humanities Technician Cassandra Bahr has been working in the Collected Archives at Te Papa, cataloguing and rehousing papers from people connected to Te Papa’s collecting areas. Here, she highlights parts of the archives held at Te Papa of the sculptor John Edgar. Edgar was committed to being a full-time artist. He maintained

    • Keeping our collections data in good health
      • As part of the Digital Collections & Access team, Collections Data Manager Gareth Watkins supports kaimahi across the museum to input and maintain accurate information in EMu, Te Papa’s Collection Management System, ensuring it supports the documentation and management of more than a million collection taonga objects and natural history

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