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This feed currently contains the following newsitems (total count 1616):

    • 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

    • Kiore, Whit! The Collected Archives of Tony Whitaker
      • 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 discusses the archive of Tony Whitaker, a renowned herpetologist who donated his collection of specimens to Te Papa. For an introduction to Tony Whitaker, read Anthony Hume Whitaker, MNZM (1944–2014) – a tribute, and to understand more of the importance of his work, see A gift of lizards – 35 years to completion.

    • Fred Graham CNZM, 1928–2025
      • Kia haere mai, te atakura, he tio, he huka, he hauunga Let the red-tipped dawn come with the sharpened air, a touch of frost and the promise of a glorious day… In May this year, leading Māori artist Fred Graham was lost to us. He was a central figure in

    • Introducing Koekotroides, a new genus of landhopper with six new species
      • Landhoppers are tiny, jumping crustaceans that live in the leaf litter on the forest floor. Northland entomologist Olly Ball, University College Cork’s amphipod expert Alan Myers, and Te Papa geneticist Lara Shepherd recently revealed that New Zealand’s landhoppers are far more diverse than previously thought [1], with many new species

    • As Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War reopens, look at it with fresh eyes 
      • Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War is reopening after essential maintenance on Saturday 13 September. In this blog, Education Specialist Laura Jones and Curator History Stephanie Gibson reflect together on recent changes to the exhibition and the critical thinking behind their work with students and history. Learning programmes can be

    • What to expect at the Grand Kiki House of Marama Ball?
      • The trailblazing Kiki House of Marama will be hosting the Grand Kiki House of Marama Ball at Te Papa on Saturday 4 October. The House goes into detail about the history of the Ballroom scene internationally and in Aotearoa New Zealand, who the Kiki House of Marama are, and what

    • A cheeky weka: Documenting te taiao through art
      • As part of their coursework in COMD211 Tuhi Pikitia I Drawing I, Te Herenga Waka University students recently had the unique opportunity to visit Te Papa for a session led by Curator Art Lizzie Bisley, focused on the rich history of animal illustration. Held in an intimate reading room, the visit

    • Out with the old, in with the green: Te Papa’s new Host uniforms
      • Today marks a special milestone for Te Papa. Our beloved Hosts and Tour Guides are stepping into brand new uniforms – the latest evolution of what we’ve always called our “Fun Shirts”. Te Papa’s Tumu Whakarae Chief Executive Courtney Johnston reflects on the evolution of the museum’s iconic Host uniforms

    • A new record for the books: How to use Te Papa’s publication records on Collections Online
      • One of the best ways to explore Te Papa’s collections is through the dozens of books published by Te Papa Press. The objects discussed within their pages also appear on Collections Online, which records over a million items from Te Papa’s collection. Seeing an opportunity to connect its titles with these digital object records, Te Papa Press is creating publication records for its titles on Collections Online.

    • Not that knotweed! Common names can cause communication confusion
      • Recording the distributions of weeds both in Wellington and further afield is an ongoing interest for Te Papa’s Botany Curator Leon Perrie and Researcher Lara Shepherd. Together they have added hundreds of weed specimens to Te Papa’s herbarium since the Covid lockdown. One recent weed collecting trip to Upper Hutt demonstrated how the use of common names can lead to confusion.

    • The power and potential of Wikidata for botany
      • A new paper entitled Wikidata for Botanists: Benefits of collaborating and sharing Linked Open Data has been published in the Annals of Botany. This publication is the result of a collaboration of four researchers (who are all also Wikidata editors) from three countries. Curator Botany Heidi Meudt talks about how did this unique international collaboration come about, and what does Wikidata have to do with Botany?

    • A new genus and species of landhopper for New Zealand
      • Landhoppers—tiny, jumping crustaceans—are a vital yet often overlooked part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s invertebrate fauna. Northland entomologist Olly Ball, University College Cork’s amphipod expert Alan Myers and Te Papa geneticist Lara Shepherd have just described a new species and genus of landhopper from Manawatāwhi Three Kings Islands in Northland. A

    • A new bird for New Zealand – MacGillivray’s prion
      • Prions are a group of small seabirds that are very difficult to tell apart. This is part of the reason why it took more than 70 years to identify New Zealand’s first MacGillivray’s prion. Bird curator Colin Miskelly describes how modern genetic methods were used to identify old museum specimens – and to add a new species to the New Zealand and Australian lists.

    • Palaeo introductions #2 – The Fossil Preparation Laboratory
      • For the second blog in our series introducing places, people, methods, and species important to palaeontological research at Te Papa and beyond, curators Felix Marx and Alan Tennyson, along with Researcher William Parker and Collection Manager Hazel Richards, introduce us to the new Te Papa Fossil Preparation Laboratory. We’re very happy to introduce you to the

    • An eventful City Nature Challenge 2025
      • The iNaturalist City Nature Challenge is an annual event where cities around the world compete to record the most observations and species, and have the greatest number of participants over a four-day period. Science Researcher Lara Shepherd, Invertebrate Curator Kerry Walton, and Vertebrate Curator Andrew Stewart discuss some of the events held in Wellington during this year’s Challenge, where they were able to share their expertise to help people explore nature.

    • Highlights from the 2025 City Nature Challenge in Greater Wellington
      • Each year, cities across the globe gear up for the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge – a thrilling four-day race to document the most wildlife observations, uncover the widest array of species, and rally the highest number of participants. It’s a celebration of biodiversity, citizen science, and the unexpected wonders hiding

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