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    • The Sāmoan Manumea – how can museums help to protect this national treasure?
      • The Manumea, or tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris), is an endemic bird of Sāmoa, currently on the brink of extinction. How can museums help to protect this national treasure? In this blog, Research Assistant Annika Sung examines how Te Papa’s collections can teach us about the Manumea and its entwined relationship to various aspects of Sāmoan life and culture.

    • Researching the research (expeditions)
      • As Wikipedian in Residence at Te Papa, Siobhan Leachman researched the research expeditions the museum has undertaken since the Colonial Museum was founded in 1865. Siobhan and Digital Channels Outreach Manager Lucy Schrader show how sharing this information through the open linked data platform Wikidata has made it easier to learn about the expeditions and what they discovered.

    • Online learning with Te Papa and Khan Academy
      • Te Papa is excited to announce a new partnership with Khan Academy, a not-for-profit educational organisation with a mission to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Online Course Content and Facilitation Lead Mel Thompson explores what courses are available.

    • Hidden pāua of Collections Online
      • Collections Online hosts over a million items from Te Papa’s collection, each with its own unique story. As part of an internship exploring how blackfoot pāua are represented in Te Papa, Sara Joyce Macdonald highlights a few collection items showing the varied uses of pāua and the importance of that unique taonga to Aotearoa New Zealand.Read more

    • Matariki kōrero: What’s in an exhibition?
      • As part of this year’s Matariki celebrations, Exhibition Experience Developer Dan Parke talks about creative storytelling in the Mānawatia a Matariki exhibition space on Rongomaraeroa, the marae here at Te Papa. This piece originally appeared in The Post on Wednesday 12 June.Read more

    • At Nancy Adams’ Desk: Juvenilia and wildflowers
      • As part of a summer research project, Lucia Adams from Botany and Annie Barnard from Art worked with Te Papa’s collection of Nancy Adams’ works. Annie and Lucia digitised botanical specimens that Adams collected, enriched catalogue records of her artworks and archival material, and did research and writing about her work and influence. They took a series of field trips to sites that were important in Nancy’s life and work. Here is the third and final in a series of blogs documenting these trips.Read more

    • Lya Riley (née Kleinmann), 1921–2024
      • Lya Riley passed away on 18 May, 2024, aged 103. In 2022, Lya generously gifted Te Papa a collection of treasures from her early years in Austria and her married life in Aotearoa New Zealand. Here, Curator New Zealand Histories and Cultures Katie Cooper shares some of Lya’s story and looks back on a very special day spent with Lya and her whānau.Read more

    • Matariki kōrero with Aroha Matchitt-Millar
      • As part of this year’s Matariki celebrations, Public Programming Specialist, Kaupapa Māori Aroha Matchitt-Millar (Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāi Tūhoe) talks about her connection to mātauranga Māori and shares her kōrero about this year’s theme, Matariki Heri Kai, the feast of Matariki. This piece originally appeared in The Post on Wednesday 5 June.Read more

    • ‘Ahu: Ngā wairua o Hina – Making for the past, present, and future
      • In 1787, a series of books composed of samples of barkcloths collected from Hawai‘i, Tahiti and Tonga were published by Alexander Shaw. James Cook collected the cloths during his voyages to the Pacific, and while the books contain only fragments of much larger creations, they highlight the variety of textures and artistry attained through the practices, knowledge and skills of Pacific peoples. Mātauranga Māori Curator Isaac Te Awa and Co-Director Pauline Reynolds take us through some of the makers’ reactions to the Shaw book at the recent wānanga in Tahiti.Read more

    • Mataaho Collective win the Golden Lion
      • Mataaho Collective have won a Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale 2024, for their large-scale installation Takapau. Curator of Contemporary Art Hanahiva Rose reflects on this remarkable achievement.Read more

    • Alexander Shaw’s Tapa Sampler at Te Papa
      • In 2019, Rachel Yates (Vaisala, Savaii), then Curator Pacific Cultures, lead the acquisition of one of Alexander Shaw’s tapa samplers into Te Papa’s collection, supported by Curator History Katie Cooper, Curator Historical Art Rebecca Rice, and Senior Librarian Martin Lewis. The sampler was presented as a gift by the TeRead more

    • Highlights from the 2024 City Nature Challenge in Greater Wellington
      • 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 highlights some of the interesting discoveries made during the challenge, in what isRead more

    • ‘Ahu: ngā wairua o Hina – a tapa making wānanga in Tahiti
      • In 2021, Te Papa acquired a rare book of tapa cloth (bark cloth) samples cut from larger pieces of tapa collected on Captain Cook’s voyages to the Pacific (1768, 1772, 1776) and represent tapa-making practices from various islands including Hawai‘i, Tahiti and Tonga. Rachel Yates (former Curator Pacific Cultures) initiated the collecting proposal and one of her key intentions behind acquiring the sampler was to ensure that it would be accessible to Pacific communities. In the first of four blogs about this kaupapa, Senior Curator Pacific Histories and Cultures Sean Mallon introduces the continuation of this project and a wānanga that happened in Tahiti in late 2023.Read more

    • Another PhD student flies the nest!
      • Each year, several biology and ecology postgraduate students are co-supervised by Te Papa natural history researchers. One of these students, Weixuan Ning, has completed his PhD at Massey University in Plant Biology. His co-supervisors – Botany Curator Heidi Meudt and Associate Professor Jen Tate – talk about his time as a Massey and Te Papa student, and the mahi he has been involved in.Read more

    • Jellies, clowns, and stars: spectacular wildlife beneath Wellington’s waves
      • Wellington is known for being a biodiversity-rich city with many of its surrounding hills protected in reserves and birdlife booming from active predator control. But Wellington is also a harbour city with spectacular wildlife concealed beneath its waves. Luckily, Wellington is also home to numerous talented underwater photographers, providing glimpses of these otherwise hidden treasures. Te Papa researcher Lara Shepherd shares her favourite photos of Wellington’s amazing underwater life and, just in time for the upcoming iNaturalist 2024 City Nature Challenge (April 26–April 29), provides suggestions for how to learn more about the oft-overlooked critters in our marine ‘backyard’.Read more

    • Sāmoan Portraits: an exhibition celebrating change and continuity
      • As part of the Sāmoan Multiplicities research project, Research Assistant Annika Sung curated an exhibition at The New Zealand Portrait Gallery using Te Papa’s historical photography collection and the works of contemporary artists. In this blog, Sung explains some of the background and themes of the exhibition. Here, Annika takes us through the work involved in the exhibition and the results. This post was first published on IndeGen, 2 April, 2024. Read more

    • Hebes and speedwells all together again after 100 years
      • A definitive new reference for New Zealand hebes and speedwells has been published in the Flora of New Zealand Online. This is the first complete account of this group of related species since 1925. Botany Curator Heidi Meudt talks about the achievement here. Read more

    • One million records – we’re shellebrating the occasion!
      • On April 10, 2024, Te Papa reached a significant milestone by publishing its one-millionth catalogue record on Kohinga Ipurangi Collections Online – a rare seashell. This milestone showcases our dedication to preserving Aotearoa New Zealand's diverse collection of taonga Māori, art, history, Pacific, and natural sciences. This achievement reflects the collaborative efforts of multiple teams involved in collecting, identifying, processing, data management, photographing, licensing images, and iwi consultation. Mollusc curator Kerry Walton highlights the intricate work involved and the beauty of the one-millionth item on Collections Online.Read more

    • Discoveries from the deep – the Bounty Trough expedition
      • Te Papa fish experts Andrew Stewart and Thom Linley, and mollusc expert Kerry Walton, are part of a team that discovered well over 100 new animal species in the depths of the Bounty Trough, east of the South Island. The expedition was led by Ocean Census, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), and Te Papa. We caught up with Andrew, Thom, and Kerry to hear why this expedition was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.Read more

    • The April Fool’s Day Files: Natural born liars
      • April Fool’s Day is a time when fibs, fabrications, and falsehoods come to the fore! While we humans do this in (mostly) good fun, in nature deception is a serious business, often with life-or-death stakes. In this post, Phil Sirvid and Lara Shepherd share some of their favourite liars fromRead more

    • Te Papa’s got a lovely bunch of coconuts – or do we?
      • Te Papa recently imaged its Miocene plant fossils and made the images available online. Amongst these are the tiny fossilised fruit of a coconut-like plant that grew in Aotearoa New Zealand millions of years ago. Natural history researcher Lara Shepherd discusses what we know (and don’t know) about these ‘mini-coconuts’.Read more

    • The authors of ‘Te Ata o Tū The Shadow of Tūmatauenga: The New Zealand Wars Collections of Te Papa’ answer our ten-question Q&A
      • On 13 March 2024, Te Papa Press launched Te Ata o Tū The Shadow of Tūmatauenga: The New Zealand Wars Collections of Te Papa a book developed in partnership with iwi, which delves into Te Papa’s Mātauranga Māori, History, and Art collections to explore taonga and objects intimately connected with the key events and players associated with the New Zealand Wars. Here, the authors – Curator Mātauranga Māori Matiu Baker (Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whakaue), Curator New Zealand Histories and Cultures Katie Cooper, Research Associate Michael Fitzgerald, and Curator Historical New Zealand Art Rebecca Rice – answer ten questions about the book and the mahi involved to publish it.Read more

    • Birds of Te Araroa 19 – Te Anau Highway to Bluff
      • Between November 2023 and March 2024, Natural History curator Colin Miskelly walked the length of Aotearoa New Zealand on Te Araroa Trail – counting every bird seen or heard along the way. In this twentieth blog in the series, Colin describes birds encountered while walking the final section, through the Takitimu, Woodlaw, and Longwood Ranges to Colac Bay, then east along the coast to Invercargill, and south to the trail end at Stirling Point, Bluff.Read more

    • Save A Spider Day 2024 🕷️
      • You may be surprised to learn March 14 is Save A Spider Day. As they are not always the most popular of animals, some readers may be wondering why on Earth anybody would want to save spiders at all! In this blog, our spider man and spider fan Dr PhilRead more

    • Nancy Adams and the art of seaweed; a conversation with Wendy Nelson, and a trip to Days Bay
      • As part of a summer research project, Lucia Adams from Botany and Annie Barnard from Art are working with Te Papa’s collection of Nancy Adams’ works. Annie and Lucia are digitising botanical specimens that Nancy collected, enriching catalogue records of her artworks and archival material, and doing research and writing about her work and influence. They are taking a series of field trips to sites that were important in Nancy’s life and work, as well as interviewing people who were important in Nancy’s life.Read more

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