School holidays, and the Museum is abuzz with activity! October offers plenty of events and activities to inspire and excite!
The absolute highlight is the fantastic Life before Dinosaurs: Permian Monsters exhibition – a travelling exhibition from Gondwana Studios. It brings the past back to life with fossilised skeletons and life-size animatronic models of the animals that ruled the world millions of years before the age of dinosaurs. The exhibition also blends art and science with a collection of new artwork that offers a glimpse into the deep past through the eyes of award-winning paleo-artist Julius Csotonyi. Not to be missed!
Special Exhibitions Gallery. Paid admission.
Flying monsters: As dinosaurs began their domination of Earth, another group of reptiles, the pterosaurs, were taking control of the skies. In Flying Monsters, Sir David Attenborough, the world's leading naturalist, sets out to uncover the truth about the enigmatic pterosaurs, whose wingspans of up to 40 feet were equal to that of a modern day jet plane.
Perpetual Guardian Planetarium. Paid admission.
Permian Prowlers and more… Kids love our gallery trails! Bring them in to prowl through the Museum galleries to find the answers to our questions and discover facts from the past. Collect a free Gallery trail from the Info Desk.
Saturday 30 September – Sunday 15 October
A monstrous time! Life and death in the Permian. In this science show you can travel back in time with us to the Permian period, 290 million years ago, a time that ended with the greatest mass extinction ever to have happened on Earth. What caused it and how did it impact the direction that life took afterwards?
Free. 11am and 2pm, weekends and holidays from Saturday 30 September
Pre-dino disco – a family-friendly children's dance suitable for ages 3 to 12 years will be a fun
dino disco of prehistoric proportions. Kids can learn how to move like different dinosaurs and try disco-move favourites from the ages. There’ll be spot prizes for themed costumes and dino dance-offs. All children must be accompanied by a guardian.
3–5pm, Friday 13 October
For families who love making things at the Museum, we have creative fun with Permian Makerspace. Make your own creation inspired by dinosaurs and bizarre Permian monsters; throughout the day, Monday 9 – Thursday 12 October. These Makerspace activities are self-guided, family-friendly, and free.
For those of you who are inspired by our wide-ranging specialist talks, we have some interesting ones coming up.
Sounding – symposium is the chance to hear from artists, scientists, and Museum professionals about their varied work with whales and dolphins. Join us for a morning of presentations, observations and conversations. There will also be a film screening of Sonic Sea, a one-hour multiple award winning documentary about protecting life in our waters from the destructive effects of oceanic noise pollution. This will be followed by a panel discussion. There are also pop-up performances by that you can be part of, and a workshop to help assemble electronically enhanced umbrellas that respond with sound when entering Dunedin’s wi-fi ‘oceans’.
10am, Saturday 7 October
For heritage buffs the 2017 Dunedin Heritage Festival: Harbour City programme includes an Otago Museum tour with a Museum Guide to discover the treasures in our Maritime gallery and hear about the Union Steam Ship Company, founded in 1875.
2pm, Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 October
When Things Are Not Always What They Seem – Authentication and Attribution in Cultural Identity. Robyn Sloggett, Director of the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne, explores how authenticity and attribution affect how we see the value of cultural material.
5.30pm, Thursday 17 October
Latafale Auva'a will be performing at October’s Live @ OM so come along and enjoy a blend of Pacific, jazz and contemporary music with the multi-talented former Miss Samoa.
1pm, Sunday 22 October
There’s something here for everyone! See you at the Museum this month!