The blog is where we'll post news, updates, information about objects in our collection, #betterworkstories, profiles of staff members and visitors, pictures and videos, and really anything we think you'd find interesting. We hope you enjoy.
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Kia Rapua Pop-up Science Playground Launch
Kids love playing and this is play with a difference! A playground of science-themed fun is launching this weekend on the Museum Reserve. The ‘Kia Rapua’ Science Playground is designed to encourage children’s natural curiosity and sense of exploration. Aimed at children between three and seven years old, it introduces the concepts of sound, colour, textures, ramps and building – all through hands-on play.
The free playground will be open to the public only on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 January on the Museum Reserve from 11am until 4pm.
Leopard seal pup to be added to Otago Museum collection
A leopard seal pup which was born and died at St Kilda Beach, Dunedin , on 26 September 2017, is about to be taxidermied and eventually put on display at Otago Museum.
Peter Wells, who has been contracted to undertake the work, is one of New Zealand’s leading bird and fish taxidermists. Wells is visiting from Blenheim to complete the initial preparation work, and will then return to his workshop where, the seal pup’s skin will be tanned, treated and fitted to a custom-made mount to complete the taxidermy.
The opening of Tūhura Otago Community Trust Science Centre
After four years of planning and five months of construction, Tūhura Otago Community Trust Science Centre is nearing completion, with the doors set to open to the public on Saturday 16 December at 10am.
2018 Otago Wildlife Photography Competition
The 19th annual Otago Wildlife Photography Competition opens for entries from Otago residents on Monday 13 November 2017.
Open to all amateur photographers and videographers living in Otago, the 2018 competition is once again open for submissions across Animal, Plant, Human Impact on the Environment, Pets, and Night Skies photo categories, as well as the Wildlife in Action video category.
Supported by Jonathan’s Photo Warehouse, Canon, and the Otago Daily Times, the competition is a stage to showcase your creative talent behind the lens as you explore the natural world.
The overall photography winner will receive a Canon EOS 77D 18-135 kit, worth $2,299, with the individual photography category winners and highly commended entries being awarded vouchers from Jonathan’s Photo Warehouse. The video category winner will receive a GoPro camera.
Egyptian mummy press release
Press release for the facial reconstruction of resident Egyptian mummy
New science centre name – Tūhura Otago Community Trust Science Centre
Arrival of interactives Media release Otago Museum’s former Discovery World Tropical Forest is undergoing a $2.5 million redevelopment and will reopen in December chock-full of exciting new interactives and with a new name: Tūhura Otago Community Trust Science Centre. This name reflects the dual knowledge bases of scientific understanding and Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) to explore and explain the world we live in. Tūhura Otago Community Trust Science Centre is supported by $500,000 in funding from the Otago Community Trust. It will be home to 50 new hands-on science interactives and a refreshed Tropical Forest butterfly house. The centre will also...
Leopard seal pup’s lungs were failing, CT scan shows
A leopard seal pup born off St Kilda Beach, Dunedin, on Tuesday has been found to have had only ten percent of normal lung capacity. The pup was euthanised on Wednesday after a vet determined it could not be saved. NIWA cetacean biologist and leopard seal expert Dr Krista Hupman was part of a team that arranged for a CT and MRI scan of the pup – the first MRI scan carried out on any seal worldwide. Dr Hupman said results showed the pup’s lungs were filled with fluid and were barely working. “Unfortunately this meant if the seal hadn’t been euthanised it would...
Rare striped dolphin stranding death on Warrington Beach
A rare species of dolphin was found dead on Thursday 21 September at Warrington Beach, 30 km north of Dunedin. Footage of what appears to be the same animal being encouraged away from the shore by members of the public at Doctors Point on Wednesday has also since appeared on social media. Thursday’s high tides and a heavy swell meant that Department of Conservation rangers and local rūnaka representatives for Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki needed to act quickly to collect the animal from the beach. The dolphin was taken to the Otago Museum to complete the stranding report, which include...
Donation of Museum’s Discovery World interactives
The Discovery World interactives being handed over and installed With the development of the new science centre well underway, exhibits from the now-closed Discovery World are being relocated to new homes. The air cannon and the magnetic crane from the original Discovery World at Otago Museum are being donated to the children’s ward at Dunedin Public Hospital, with the install set to take place on Tuesday 26 September. “The Paediatric inpatient unit uses distraction therapy as part of the holistic care it provides to the children in our service. We are extremely grateful to the Museum for the donation of such items....
2017 Otago Wildlife Photography Competition’s People’s Choice announced
Museum visitors and photography fans have had their say, submitting 3,038 total votes for this year’s Otago Wildlife Photography Competition’s People’s Choice Award across all competition entries.
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Our blog aims to keep you informed of the latest happenings at the Otago Museum, through posts about our collections, our people and our work.
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The views expressed here are those of our individual contributors, and are not the views of the Otago Museum.
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All content of this blog is Copyright Otago Museum, 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the Otago Museum, except for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review, or education, as provided for in the New Zealand Copyright Act 1994.