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Past Events & Lectures
Cafe Scientifique and Cafe Humanities |
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The Horse & Trap
The Institute has located a comfortable lounge bar downstairs at The Horse and Trap, where members and the public can meet and take part in a range of discussions. Participants are free to buy food and beverages from the bar and talk with the speaker and each other, exploring the latest ideas in science, technology and the arts. In a new development, there will be two types of events: Cafe Scientifique and Cafe Humanities, depending on the topic.
Click here to go to the Cafe Scientifique page |
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Stevenson Dinomites Club members exclusive |
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Massey University Field Trip - great fun making and preserving custard
July 2010 |
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Past Lectures |
Spring 2011 |
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Behind the Scenes – Architectural Heritage Tour of Auckland War Memorial Museum
6.00pm - 7.00pm
Tuesday 25 October
Grand Foyer
Often referred to as the largest item in Auckland War Memorial Museum’s collection, the building has its own stories to tell. With its majestic columns and symmetrical design it is considered one of New Zealand’s best neoclassical buildings. This behind the scenes tour will take you through the building from the classic grand foyer entrance to the modern interior of the atrium designed around the museum’s heritage features. What do those neoclassical features mean and how does the museum maintain this incredible piece of history?
For bookings please email friends.events@aucklandmuseum.com or call Andrea 09 302 6249 or Greta 09 306 7923. |
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2011 Lucy Cranwell Lecture
The South Island high country tussock lands: ecology, conservation values and sustainable
Alan F. Mark, Department of Botany, University of Otago, Dunedin
7.00pm
Wednesday 5 October
Museum Auditorium
The extensive tussocklands and unique landscapes of the South Island high country were subjected to pastoral farming following European settlement. Serious degradation soon followed, associated with uncontrolled burning combined with high-density sheep grazing, and created concern among ecologists from the 1860s onward, despite government’s various attempts to address it. A committee of senior government ecologists in 1954 concluded from observations that the upland snow tussocklands were relic but later detailed studies revealed aggressive management was the main factor which is now being addressed with tenure review. This optional exercise allows free-holding of the more productive lands while less productive, usually the less modified higher areas, revert to full Crown control and conservation management. These issues will be outlined plus the many conservation values and ecosystem services, particularly water yield, as well as current threats, associated with the remaining indigenous cover.
For bookings please email friends.events@aucklandmuseum.com or call Andrea 09 302 6249 or Greta 09 306 7923. |
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***MEMBERS EXCLUSIVE***
UNDERGROUND TOURS
1 - 2pm, Monday 5 & 12 September FULL
6 - 7pm, Thursday 15 September FULL
Atrium
Ever wondered where the museum keeps the rest of its vast collections? For years this area has been closed off to the public but this behind-the-scenes tour will bring you into the museum’s basement and face-to-face with its hidden treasures.
Laura Vodanovich, who heads the collections team, will reveal how objects are stored, how we look after our priceless collections and how decisions are made about which items can be loaned out. This is a rare opportunity to see some of the incredible objects that aren’t on display in our galleries and exhibitions. Don’t miss out – limited spaces available.
For bookings please email friends.events@aucklandmuseum.com or call Andrea 09 302 6249 or Greta 09 306 7923. |
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Henry Fox Talbot – A History of Early Photography
by Larry J. Schaff
6.00pm
Tuesday 13 September
Gold Coin
William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), scientist, mathematician, author and artist, is credited with being the inventor of photography. Though Talbot was not the first to produce photographs he made a major contribution to photography by inventing the calotype process , whereby a positive print is made from a paper negative- the precursor to most photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Larry J. Schaaf, world authority on Henry Fox Talbot and specialist on early British photographic history and author of many books will view Auckland Museum’s Talbot collection which is the only significant collection in New Zealand. Dr Schaaf’s lecture will incorporate discussion of Talbot’s, achievements and his role in the early history of photography, as well as offering insights into the Museum’s own photographic collection.
For bookings please email friends.events@aucklandmuseum.com or call Andrea 09 302 6249 or Greta 09 306 7923. |
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***MEMBERS EXCLUSIVE***
Rainforest Express Field Trip
10.00am - 1.00pm
Thursday 22 September
Jacobsons Depot Train Station
280 Scenic Drive
Titirangi
$20 per person
Get a close up view of Auckland’s water and how we store it. Journey on the Rainforest Express through the Waitakere Ranges and hear about the hardy men who built the Nihotupu Dam in the early 20th century. Learn about the journey Waitakere water takes from the dams through the region before it returns to nature. Local experts will join us onboard the Express to discuss the heritage of the dams and waterways we pass along the way. Numbers are limited – book now so you don’t miss out! Please note this event is only open to members.
Please register your interest with Andrea Webley ph 09 302 6249 or Greta Bachmann-Fuller ph 09 306 7923 at Auckland Museum, or email friends.events@aucklandmuseum.com |
Winter 2011 |
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Auckland's Water Supply: An Engineering Heritage
7.00pm
Thursday 25 August 2011
Museum Auditorium
Gold Coin
Auckland is blessed with a world class water supply, thanks to the forsight of a succession of visionary engineers. the presentation will follow the development of the city's water systems starting with the Domain springs and then the pump stations at Western Springs and Lake Pupuke in the later 1800s.
As the city grew through the 20th century, the series of large dams and reservoirs in the Waitakere Ranges was complemented by even larger dams in the Hunaua ranges with associated treatment plants. the final development in response to the 1900s water shortage was to bring in Waikato river water with state of the art treatment.
The presentation will be made by senior engineers closely associated with water supply over the past 40 years. |
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Hochstetter Lecture 2011
Russ Van Dissen, GNS Science (on behalf of the It’s Our Fault team)
It’s Our Fault – Better Defining Earthquake Risk in Wellington
7.00pm
Tuesday 16 August
Museum Auditorium
The dire and far reaching impacts that earthquakes can have on our nation has never been more clearly demonstrated, and the importance of resilience never more apparent.
It’s Our Fault is a comprehensive study of Wellington’s earthquake risk. Its objective is to position the capital city of New Zealand to become more resilient through an encompassing study of the likelihood of large earthquakes, the effects of these earthquakes, and their impacts on humans and the built environment. The focus of my Hochstetter lecture is a presentation of key results to date which include better definition and constraints on: 1) active faulting in Cook Strait, 2) timing and size of past surface ruptures on the Wellington, Wairarapa, Wairau, and Ohariu faults; 3) current state of locking of the subduction interface; 4) stress interactions between these faults, including modelling of the rupture statistics of the Wellington-Wairarapa fault-pair; 5) conditional probability of rupture of the Wellington, Wairarapa and Ohariu faults; 6) geological, geotechnical, and geophysical parameterization of the near-surface sediments and basin geometry in Wellington City and the Hutt Valley, down to a few hundred metres depth; and 7) characterisation of earthquake ground shaking behaviour in these two urban areas. Work currently underway and/or planned for the near future includes: a) simulation of subduction interface earthquake motions; b) probabilistic liquefaction assessment; c) earthquake loss, and recovery-time estimation; and d) social ramifications.
It’s Our Fault has been running for six years, and is jointly funded by New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission, Accident Compensation Corporation, Wellington City Council, Wellington Region Emergency Management Group, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and Natural Hazards Research Platform. It’s Our Fault investigations, to date, have been the result of collaborative efforts of scientists and engineers from GNS Science, Massey University, NIWA, University of Canterbury, and Victoria University of Wellington. |
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2011 New Zealand Aronui Lecture Series
The Mysterious Maya - An ancient American civilisation
Professor Norman Hammond
Fellow of the British Academy and Archaeology Correspondent for The Times, London
6.00pm
Thursday 11 August 2011
Museum Auditorium
FREE
The Maya created one of the New World's most surprising and accomplished civilizations in the tropical forest of Central America and Yucatan. Over a period of 2500 years, ending with the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century, they moved from simple villages of maize farmers to great cities with impressive temples and palaces, adorned with sculptures and paintings praising their divine kings. Inscriptions in Maya hieroglyphics recorded history and the passage of time, precise to the day; the Great Cycle of the Maya calendar will end on December 23rd, 2012. Most of the cities were abandoned, afflicted by overpopulation, warfare and drought, by AD 900, but Maya culture, and the Maya people, have survived into the 21st century.
Norman Hammond is Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at Boston University, Associate in Maya Archaeology at the Peabody Museum, Harvard University and a Senior Fellow at Cambridge University. He was Irvine Chair of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences (1984-85) and has been a Visiting Professor at Jilin University (China), the Sorbonne in Paris, and the University of Bonn in Germany, as well as a Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks and a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford University.
Professor Hammond’s fieldwork in the Maya has been mainly in Belize, at the sites of Lubaantun, Nohmul, Cuello and La Milpa. He has also done fieldwork in Afghanistan, North Africa, and Ecuador.
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**EXCLUSIVE MEMBER EVENT**
Field Trip to MOTAT Pumphouse
11.30am - 2.30pm
Thursday 11 August 2011
FREE
Bring your lunch along to the Duck Pond in Auckland Domain and enjoy a short talk with our Historian curator Rose Young who will discuss the surprising places Aucklanders once got their water from.
After the talk on the history of Auckland's water supply we will make our own way to MOTAT for an exclusive tour of the Pumphouse and Beam Engine. In its day, the Pumphouse was considered one of the most advanced public water supply systems in the world. |
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Return from the Kermadecs
- Tom Trnski and Peter J. de Lange
7.00pm
Thursday 4th August, 2011
Auditorium
Gold Coin
In May 2011 a team headed by Tom Trnski, Head of Research at Auckland Museum journeyed to The Kermadec Islands to discover what this last remaining unfished area in New Zealand was hiding above and below sea level. The team consisted of several members from many agencies including Auckland Museum, Te Papa, Department of Conservation, NIWA and Australian Museum.
The main goals of this multi-agency, multi-disciplinary project were to:
- Document the marine biodiversity of the Kermadec Islands. The focus is on marine plants and animals within 200m of the surface, and on species occuring to 1,000m.
- Discover and document new marine species and new records of marine species not recorded previously in New Zealand.
- Use molecular techniques to determine the connectivity of the marine fauna of the Kermadecs and adjacent South Pacific islands. That is, determine the source of the closest relatives of the Kermadec populations.
- Provide a baseline record of species diversity against which to monitor changes over time. This will be an important reference survey to track changes in species composition that may result from global warming changes to regional water temperatures and currents.
Come along to hear Tom Trnski and Peter J. de Lange, Plant Specialist from the Department of Conservation talk about how successful they were and relay stories about a trip of a lifetime!
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2011 New Zealand Rutherford Lecture
Professor Warren Tate
How to Make Life from the Primordial Soup
Why RNA is the key ingredient to human life
7.00pm
Thursday 28 July 2011
Auditorium
FREE
One of the biggest questions in life is how did we get here? How did a lump of rock and steam become our world, full of life and diversity?
The science community thought they had the answer with the achievement of the Human Genome Project in 2011 however ten years on it seems it is not DNA which is the star but its sibling RNA.
In this lecture, 2010 Rutherford Medallist Professor Warren Tate, of the University of Otago, will explain RNA's role 3-4 billion years ago in the origin of protein synthesis and the genetic code, and how understanding the history of this fascinating molecule can lead us into the future with the development of therapies for Alzheimers's Disease, HIV and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. |
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**EXCLUSIVE MEMBER EVENT**
Tech Talk - Behind the Scenes of AQUA
5.45pm, Monday 4th July 2011
Atrium, $10
One of the world’s most sophisticated interactive video systems is at the heart of the AQUA experience and in the driving seat of this technology are some of the same people that have brought the Cirque du Soleil shows to life.
AQUA technical director Martin Fassier, who has worked with Cirque du Soleil since 2008, is in New Zealand to install AQUA and has agreed to take a select group of people through the exhibition talking about the behind the scenes workings some of which include:
On this behind the scenes tour you will first experience the incredible effects, including a water wall and a huge 360-degree projection which responds to your movements. With a wave of a hand, you can create a stormy sea! Then the lights will go on and you will see how they make this all happen! Come along and truly experience the magic of AQUA.
Bookings are essential as we have limited places.
For bookings please email friends.events@aucklandmuseum.com or call Andrea 09 302 6249 or Greta 09 306 7923 |
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Show and Tell with Tom Trnski
2.00pm, Sunday 26 June 2011
Oceans Gallery, FREE
In May 2011 a team headed by Tom Trnski, Head of Research at Auckland Museum journeyed to The Kermadec Islands to discover what this last remaining unfished area in New Zealand was hiding above and below sea level. Come along and hear Tom talk about what they found and what the significance of these finds are for New Zealand and the rest of the world.
Tom will bring along with him some of the more interesting things we have under our sea for you to look at and if we are lucky he may even bring some “new discoveries’ to show and tell.
This will be a great opportunity for the budding science enthusiast in your family to get up close and personal with a real scientist who is at the cutting edge of his field.
Please register your interest with Andrea or Greta at Auckland Museum, ph 09 306 7923 or email friends.events@aucklandmuseum.com
PLUS if you become a Friend of the Museum at the talk you will go in the draw to win a Stevenson Dinomites Discovery Pack. We will also have a draw for another Pack for all existing Dinomite members who come along to hear all about Tom's adventure. |
Autumn 2011 |
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2011 Charles Fleming Lecture
Mountain tops to ocean depths: involvement with a range of ecological/environmental issues, mainly in the south.
7.00pm, Wednesday 17 May 2011
Auditorium, FREE
The Charles Fleming Lecturer for 2011 is Professor Alan Mark FRSNZ from the Department of Botany, University of Otao, Dunedin.
I describe a lifetime involvement with pure and applied ecological studies of the indigenous upland snow tussock grasslands (mostly with the Hellaby Indigenous Grasslands Research Trust). This has been aimed at understanding the grassland ecology, its sustainable management and ecosystem services, particularly the impacts of burning and mammalian grazing, and the unpredictably high water yields. This research has been interspersed with shorter-term opportunistic indulgences in ecopolitics, ranging from the conservation of indigenous grasslands and associated mountain lands (from the mid 60s to the current tenure review and government purchases of high country Crown pastoral leasehold lands), sustainable lake management (Lakes Manapouri, Monowai and Te Anau), conservation organisations (Forest & Bird Protection Society : notably the SWNZ World Heritage Area successful campaign), national park ecological surveys and long-term monitoring (notably Mt Aspiring National Park, Secretary Island in Fiordland National Park and the Waitutu Marine Terraces now in Fiordland N.P.). Several appointed roles (Fiordland Lake Guardians, Conservation Board, National Parks & Reserves Authority, Conservation Authority, Land Settlement Board, most recently Fiordland Marine Guardians), and a position as Deputy Director of the Temperate Grasslands Conservation Initiative of the IUCN, have allowed me to indulge quite widelym as I will briefly discuss. |
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2011 Royal Society of New Zealand Distinguished Speaker
Professor Robin Clark FRS Hon FRSNZ
"Science meets Art: Investigating Pigments in Art and Archaeology"
Wednesday 23 March 2011
5.00 - 7.00pm - Museum Decorative Galleries and Colombus Cafe open
7.00pm - Lecture Commences in the Events Centre
The procedure of Raman microscopy, along with modern analytical techniques, has added much to the conservation, restoration and chronological dating of historically valuable art, artefacts and relics, inclusive of verifying an item’s authenticity or fraudulence. The technique, today, enables careful measurements of patterns of laser light scattered at different wavelengths from surfaces of dyes or pigments, in non-destructive and highly sensitive ways to create distinctive “fingerprints’ typical of particular artwork or artefact. Artists’ palettes reflecting different civilisations and epochs can be established by Raman microscopy, and thereby greatly assist in accurately determining and identifying a work’s provenance. Rarely has an optical technique made such an impact on seemingly unrelated disciplines.
Bookings are recommended. Reserve your seat here and for all other enquiries phone 04 470 5770. |
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Professor Ian Kirk, PhD
"Being Human: the Science of Memory, Personality and Consciousness"
Wednesday 16 March 2011
5.00 - 7.00pm - Outrageous Fortune Exhibition and Colombus Cafe open
7.00pm - Lecture Commences
It is generally accepted that the workings of the human mind are different from those of even our closest relatives, the great apes. There remains some debate however, about what is critically different about the human brain that makes this so. Ian will discuss some of the major theories regarding anatomical and functional features of the human brain that make us unique. He will also consider the extent to which human brains (and therefore minds) might be different from each other.
Come along to find out whether the Westie mind really is different from the rest of us!
Professor Ian Kirk obtained his PhD in Psychology and Neuroscience from University of Otago. Subsequent to his PhD he held post-doctoral fellowships at the Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Calgary in Canada, and at the Centre for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences at Florida Atlantic in the USA. | |
Summer 2010/11 |
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Join the Ship to Shore call from the JOIDES Resolution
Every Monday until 7th Feburary, 2011
Come and talk to scientists who are working in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean on the research drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution. Using web cams and satellite connections we are able have live conversations with the scientists and find out what they are doing and how they are doing it!
What: Live video ship to shore call with scientists in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean
When: every Monday until 7th February, 2.00pm
Where: Oceans Gallery, Auckland Museum.
Background Info:
Exploring Beneath the Ocean Floor — The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program comes to Auckland
On 17 December, scientists set sail from Auckland on the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program’s (IODP) “Louisville Seamount Trail” expedition. The expedition has brought together some of the world’s top scientists. For two months, the research vessel JOIDES Resolution will drill as deep as 350 metres below the seafloor, recovering geological samples of four extinct volcanoes that form part of an underwater volcanic chain known as the Louisville Seamount Trail. Read more - http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/4452859/Half-of-life-could-be-hidden-undersea. |
Winter/Spring 2010 |
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2010 RNSZ Distinguished Speaker - Richard Faull
The Challenge of the Human Brain
Wednesday 13 October, 2010
6.30pm - Doors open from 6pm: No charge
Auditorium
The human brain is the most complex and marvellous organ in the human body. Recent research has shown that, contrary to all dogma, the adult human brain contains stem cells and has the capacity to repair itself throughout life. These findings have completely changed our perception of the human brain and opened up new strategies for fighting brain disease.
Professor Faull is recognised internationally as a leading expert on neurodegenerative diseases of the human brain. His research spans 35 years and encompasses all major regions of the brain and spinal cord, the science of the diseased human brain in Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and epilepsy. His world-leading research provided the first evidence the diseased human brain can repair itself by the generation of new brain cells and led to new insights into the treatment of brain disease.
Professor Faull is Director of the Centre for Brain Research and founder of the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand Human Brain Bank. |
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FAMILY FIELD TRIP - Food Under a Microscope
Members Only: For school aged children and their families
Saturday 21 August 2010, 1.30pm
Auckland University
What does food really look like? A Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) lets you see things at the micrometre scale (that’s really, really close). Join Director of The Research Centre for Surface and Materials Science, Dr Bryony James, at her lab and see what food looks like under extreme magnification. She’ll even let you work the controls. For ages five and over. For 5 - 12 year olds.
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BEHIND THE SCENES at AUCKLAND MUSEUM
Members Only
Weaving in the Museum
Saturday 14 August 2010, 2pm
$10 (includes afternoon tea in the Members' Lounge)
A chance to discuss weaving with members of the Professional Weavers’ Network of New Zealand and Auckland Museum’s Curator Maori, Chanel Clarke. Weavers’ Network members will bring their own weaving to discuss and Alison Francis will present images from their beautiful 2008 Lightwaves exhibition held at Pataka Museum of Arts and Culture in Porirua, which show cased traditional weaving in exciting new displays. We will look at examples of weaving from the Museum collection including traditional and contemporary Maori articles. Members are invited to bring along any special cloth or woven item and briefly tell us its story over afternoon tea in the Members’ Lounge. |
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2010 Lucy Cranwell Lecture: Plants of the Canoe People
Dr Art Whistler, author of “Plants of the Canoe People”
University of Hawaii
Wednesday 4 August 2010, 7-8.30pm
In order to establish themselves on islands largely devoid of useful plants, ancient Polynesian seafarers had to transport plants vast distances. Only 27 canoe plants could be established in the north-easternmost corner of Polynesia. Hawai‘i and temperate New Zealand had just a handful of successfully established canoe plants. This lecture is held annually in Association with Auckland Botanical Society. |
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2010 Hochstetter Lecture: A Geochemist's Window into Earth's Origins, Past and Future
Professor Joel Baker
Victoria University
Tuesday, 20 July 2010, 7-8.30pm
Using newly collected data, Professor Baker covered topics as diverse as the origins of our solar system, what happens to volcanic rocks just before an eruption and the use of ice cores in the study of past climate change. This lecture was held in association with the Geoscience Society of New Zealand. |
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OCEAN VOICES
6pm Saturday April 17th 2010
Ocean Voices was a wonderful opportunity to find out more about the Past, Present and Future of our humpback whales and to celebrate the conservation successes achieved by 10 Pacific Island nations. More >> |
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2009 Lucy Cranwell Lecture
Lessons from the Coastal Wetlands of Great Barrier Island
John Ogden
Associate Professor (Forest Ecology)
School of Geography and Environmental Science
University of Auckland
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 7pm
The wetlands of New Zealand represent a series of unique ecosystems and also act as repositories of information about the past. Associate Professor John Ogden from the University of Auckland will talk about the vital processes involved in shifting a landscape from marine to coastal wetland and then to alluvial plain with special reference to Kaitoke swamp and Whangapoua Estuary on Great Barrier Island. Plant colonisation will be illustrated and historical changes on the wetlands described using palynology and the final discussion will focus on the environmental effects of drainage and describe the need to recognise the role of wetland systems in coastal hydrology and carbon sequestration.
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Winter 2009 |
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Professor Peter Lockhart
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2009 RSNZ Leonard Cockayne Memorial Lecture:
A DNA Story of New Zealand Plants
Professor Peter Lockhart FRSNZ
Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution Institute of Molecular Biosciences
Massey University, Palmerston North
Wednesday, July 8
The fossil records of plants and their pollen have long been recognised as a kind of black box recorder or diary for the evolutionary history of New Zealand. Its interpretation has been corroborated only recently through reading the stories in DNA. This voice was unknown to Leonard Cockayne, who lamented when writing his famous story of New Zealand plants that "Perhaps, ..could they speak, we might learn.." He would be amazed at what we can learn from studying the genes and genomes of living plants. Peter Lockhart’s talk will outline some of the recent discoveries and describe how new sequencing technologies are being used to further our understanding of the nature and future of New Zealand plant species.
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Professor David Parry
Photo supplied by Massey News
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2009 Royal Society of New Zealand Rutherford Lecture: Reminiscences of a Lifetime in Fibrous Proteins
Professor David Parry FRSNZ
Massey University, Palmerston North
Wednesday, June 10
Most of the human body is made up of water so what keeps this medium in place and gives us our overall form and shape? Why does light enter our eyes and allow us to see what we are doing and where we are going? Why are we covered in hair? The presentation will be framed in terms of the people and events that have shaped Professor Parry’s personal life and scientific career. It will provide an unusual opportunity and insight into what makes a scientist “tick”.
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Autumn 2009 |
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Black Hole Horizons
Dr Fulvio Melia
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
University of Arizona
Wednesday, May 20
2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and Professor Fulvio Melia is the keynote speaker at the 2009 Royal Astronomical Conference in Wellington. Professor Melia works on the astrophysics of cosmic phenomena at high energies, including supermassive black holes, relativistic particle acceleration, and the nature of the cosmological space-time. He is especially known for work on the Galactic center, developing a theoretical understanding of the central supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A*. More recently, he has started to explore the properties of the cosmological space-time, focusing on the significance of our cosmic horizon. A key question he is addressing with this analysis concerns the nature of dark energy”.
His latest publication Cracking the Einstein Code is due for release this year and is the story of how New Zealand astrophysicist and mathematician Roy Kerr and his fellow general relativists finally solved Einstein’s previously unfathomable equations of general relativity.
Sponsored by: The Embassy of the United States of America; Physics Department, University of Auckland; Auckland Astronomical Society. |
Summer 2008 |
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2008 Royal Society of New Zealand Distinguished Speaker
Professor C Mary Rutherford Fowler
Earth Sciences Department,
Royal Holloway, University of London
“Rutherford in the 21st Century”
Thursday 20 November
MARY FOWLER is Professor of Geophysics in the Earth Sciences Department at Royal Holloway, University of London which she led from 2002 to 2008. She is from a scientific family: her father Peter Fowler was Royal Society Research Professor of Physics at the University of Bristol, his father was Ralph Fowler, the Plummer Professor of Theoretical Physics at Cambridge, who was married to Eileen, Ernest Rutherford’s only child. In this lecture Professor Mary Fowler, Rutherford's great-granddaughter, assesses his legacy. The discoveries made by Ernest Rutherford and his colleagues played a major part in shaping the 20th century. The impact was far beyond science and not only in the high politics of war and power - the new understanding of the atom underpins much of what we now do in our daily life. |
Spring 2008 |
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Ancient NZ Moth |
BOTANY
2008 Lucy Cranwell Lecture
In association with the Auckland Botanical Society
The Origin of New Zealand’s Flora: How Much Do We Really Know?
Dr George Gibbs
Scientist and Author
Wednesday, 1 October
As the distinguished historical biogeographer Gareth Nelson once wrote ‘explain New Zealand and the rest of the world falls into place’ (Nelson, 1975). Despite the efforts directed towards this question, science is still far from a satisfactory answer. The suggestion from some geologists that perhaps there was no emergent land here 23 million years ago has stimulated fresh interest in the question of origins. Our plants tend to support the ‘drowning’ hypothesis, but many of our characteristic animals do not. Is there a consensus in sight? |
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MARINE CONSERVATION
The New Zealand IPY-CAML voyage to the Ross Sea, Antarctica
Dr Stuart Hanchet
NIWA, Nelson
Tuesday, 23 September
On 31 January 2008 New Zealand commenced one of the largest ever marine research voyages into the Ross Sea region in support of the International Polar Year Census of Antarctic Marine Life (IPY-CAML). The 50 day voyage on NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa involved an extensive survey of marine organisms from viruses to blue whales in depths from the surface down to 3500 metre. The NIWA research vessel, the Tangaroa, recently returned from an eight-week voyage to the Antarctic. Twenty-three national and international scientists were part of the on-board team. Samples of living organisms from the sea floor to the sea surface have been collected and images captured down to 4000m, including in areas previously unexplored. This talk will give provide an opportunity to hear first-hand about the voyage and some of the preliminary findings. It will be illustrated by still and video footage of images never screened before.
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GEOLOGY
2008 Geological Society Hochstetter Lecture
Sponsored by the Geological Society of New Zealand
Tuesday, 16 September
Learning from Lahars: New Insights from the March and September Flows at Ruapehu
Dr Vern Manville
GNS Science (Wairakei Research Centre).
The Hochstetter Lecturer is chosen each year by the Geological Society of New Zealand and must present recently completed and largely unpublished findings. This year’s speaker, Dr Vern Manville has been with GNS for 12 years, arriving the week of the onset of the 1995 Ruapehu eruption. He will speak about last years lahars at Ruapehu, which had been brewing for over 10 years giving scientists enough warning to install a huge array of monitoring instruments. Findings are already informing improvements in systems for detecting and mitigating against future lahar hazards at Ruapehu, and overseas. |
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CONSERVATION WEEK
RSNZ 2008 Charles Fleming Lecture
In association with the RSNZ
September 2008
Science for Conservation
Professor Mick Clout
Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity
University of Auckland
Invasive alien species are now considered to be one of the most serious threats to natural ecosystems and native species worldwide, and in isolated archipelagos such as New Zealand, the threat is particularly serious. Active conservation and direct intervention are urgently required. This talk will use a series of examples to illustrate how ecological science can help with the practical business of conservation. |
Winter 2008 |
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Grave Secrets of the Dinosaurs
Sunday, August 2008
Dr Phillip Lars Manning
Lecturer in Palaeontology & Research Fellow
School of Earth, Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences
The Manchester Museum
University of Manchester
Dr Manning is an author and has also made documentaries with the BBC, National Geographic (Dino-Autopsy this past Christmas) and Discovery Channels. This was a family lecture, investigating the story of a 65-million-year-old hadrosaur mummy discovered in the Hell Creek Badlands of North Dakota in 1999, and the NASA technology used to understand its secrets. |
Autumn 2008 |
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The Smithsonian in 1865
Darcy Nicholas |
Place in the Museum Space: The Smithsonian Museum and NZ Cultural Institutions
May, 2008
Professor Sally Gregory Kohlstedt,
University of Minnesota
and Darcy Nicholas,
General Manager of Community Services for Porirua City Council
Chaired by Assoc. Professor Linda Tyler
Director of the Centre for New Zealand Art Research and Discovery
Gus Fisher Gallery, University of Auckland
In a shared lecture facilitated by Associate Professor Linda Tyler, the influence of cultural institutions on historic and contemporary culture will be explored.
Professor Gregory Kohlstedt, visited New Zealand as a Fulbright Fellow in the History Department at the University of Auckland to co-teach a course with Associate Professor Ruth Barton. The second part of the lecture was delivered by Darcy Nicholas, General Manager of Community Services for Porirua City Council, and responsible for the development of the Pataka Museum in Porirua. |
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Consumption and Happiness - In Association with the RSNZ
Professor Sir Brian Heap CBE ScD FRS
St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, UK
April, 2008
This was a rare opportunity to hear from a leading European academic and policy advisor as he visits New Zealand. A biologist, whose main current research interest is in the area of sustainable consumption and production and environmental policy, Professor Sir Brian Heap, works with the British Government’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He also chairs a group of European academics working on the future of energy in Europe, including studies on managing energy use and demand, with long term research projects on the generation of power using nuclear fusion.
In this lecture, he addressed the problem of unsustainable patterns of consumption and production; the Western drive to consume despite the relatively low impact such consumption has been shown to have on individual well-being and happiness. |
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Guido Reni (1575-1642)
St Sebastian c.1618.
oil on canvas, 167 by 127.6 cm
Mackelvie Trust Collection
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Gift of James Tannock Mackelvie, 1882 |
Painting for the Papacy in 16th and 17th Century Rome and the Mackelvie Collection
Mary Kisler, Mackelvie Curator of International Art, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
April, 2008
Mary Kisler has been the Mackelvie Curator of International Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki since 1998. Touching on the careers of Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci, particular attention was given to Guido Reni's, "Saint Sebastian", part of the Mackelvie Trust Collection at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, which has been the subject of extensive research by Mary. |
Summer 2007/2008 |
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Metazoa - Art and Technology: Where New Worlds Meet
Presentation by Angela Main
March , 2008
Angela Main's work Metazoa was installed at the Museum and is a game of evolution, where 500 million years is distilled into less than seven minutes. Participants are required to physically move and engage with the on-screen character their bodies are mobilizing and also with each other as they move through seven evolutionary stages. |
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PANEL DISCUSSION
Being a New Zealander
In association with the RSNZ and the Council for the Humanities
February, 2008
The Council for the Humanities awards two Humanities Awards each year to winners of their writing competition for Year 12 and 13 secondary school students. In 2007 the topic was “Being a New Zealander”. As the New Year begins, the Institute invited a group of thinkers/writers to discuss this concept further. The panel discussion was held in association the RSNZ who sponsored Jo Randerson’s appearance.
Panelists were: James Griffin, Rod Oram, Jo Randerson, Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, Tamasailau Suaalii-Sauni and Gilbert Wong (panelist and facilitator). |
Spring 2007 |
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Beyond the farm and the theme park
In association with the RSNZ
Professor Paul Callaghan FRS, FRSNZ the Royal Society of New Zealand Distinguished Speaker
November, 2008
Converting most of our forest into greenhouse gas has given us an abundance of grass and a thriving dairy industry. Yet through good fortune and some wise heads, we have, notwithstanding attempts to subdue it, sufficient residual natural environment to claim the label "clean and green". In association with the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Auckland Museum Institute and Auckland Museum.
Click to go to www.hotscience.co.nz for a video recording of the lecture. |
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Darwin and Medicine
Prof Peter Gluckman FRS
Director of the Liggins Institute
Professor of Paediatric and Perinatal Biology University of Auckland
November, 2007
The research activity undertaken by Prof Gluckman and colleagues at The University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute is based around the concept that environmental effects during foetal life influence adult health. He has recently published Mismatch - Why our World No Longer Fits Our Bodies. |
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Evolution Wars: Science and Religion in Darwin's Century
Assoc. Prof. John Stenhouse Department of History, University of Otago
October, 2007
Many believe that Darwin's Origin of Species triggered all-out warfare between science and religion. By revisiting some of the key players, incidents and issues, this lecture endeavours to show what is wrong with this traditional 'science-versus-religion' interpretation, illustrating the value of the newer, contextual approaches to the history of science-and-religion by reference to the evolution debates in New Zealand. |
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Darwinian Biogeography: Has it stood the test of time?
Dr George Gibbs, Senior Research Associate School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University
October, 2007
The burgeoning science of historical biogeography, which has taken over where Darwin left off, has lifted New Zealand into the limelight as the most challenging place in the world to explain. Dr Gibbs was the Montana Book Awards 2007 Environment Finalist for Ghosts of Gondwana: The History of Life in New Zealand. |
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The Mathematics of Evolution
Prof Ian Stewart FRS, Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, UK
October, 2007
Darwin’s theory of evolution is widely recognised as one of the key ideas in biology. It is less well known that evolution has also inspired a number of developments in mathematics, through attempts to model the evolutionary process and to understand some of its more puzzling features. The lecture focused on the problem of the evolution of new species or, as Darwin put it, "The Origin of Species". |
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ANTARCTIC REPORT 2007
South Pole to North Cape - Antarctica's Influence on New Zealand's and the World's Oceans
Prof. Lionel Carter, FRSNZ, Marine Geology, Victoria University
Sept 2007
Using imagery and animations, we will explore how Antarctica shapes the world’s oceans and climate, emphasizing its influence on the New Zealand region. |
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Biography Through Bookplates - Every Picture Tells a Story
Ian Thwaites, Former Auckland Museum Librarian and Author
September, 2007
Former Auckland Museum Librarian Ian Thwaites is also a bookplate expert and ex-Libris Society member. Ian Thwaites will give a lecture on bookplates to coincide with the Pictorial Gallery Bookplate exhibition. |
Winter 2007 |
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Science in Society: The Use and Misuse of Technology
Professor Lord Robert Winston, University of Auckland Hood Fellow 2007
August 2007
Robert Winston believes that the future of any society depends on its use of scientific knowledge. Public engagement with science therefore, is vital. It is largely scientific understanding that has led to the development of modern technologies which have the potential to change the way we live in this world. These technologies are opening the way for huge improvements in our health, our food supplies and our capacity to generate wealth. Misused, however, they could change the very fabric of life by taking us past natural boundaries and leading to irreversible change. |
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Whale Tales of the South Pacific and the Bahamas
Nan Daeschler Hauser, President and Director of the Centre for Cetacean Research and Conservation
Principal Investigator of the Cook Islands Whale Research Project
Director of the Cook Islands Whale Education Centre
August, 2007
Nan Hauser works in Rarotonga where she has undertaken studies on the biology, behaviour, and ecology of a variety of cetaceans for the past 10 years. She was a key player in the creation of a 2 million square kilometer whale sanctuary in the waters of the Cook Islands. This was a family lecture. |
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RSNZ Leonard Cockayne Lecture: Birds in Paradise
The Role of Birds in Shaping New Zealand’s Terrestrial Biodiversity
Dr William G. Lee, Landcare Research, Dunedin
August, 2007 (Conservation Week)
The native birds of New Zealand are highly unusual in several respects. They have dominated terrestrial ecosystems for millions of years in the near absence of mammals, and have evolved some extraordinary life-history features.
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The Lucy Cranwell Lecture for 2007: Thomas Frederick Cheeseman
Ewen K Cameron, Curator of Botany, Auckland Museum
August, 2007
Sponsored by the Auckland Botanical Society and Auckland Museum
Ewen Cameron manages the Museum herbarium and specialises in the northern New Zealand vascular flora. He discussed Cheeseman's many botanical accomplishments. |
Autumn 2007 |
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Propaganda: Then and Now
Nicky Hager, Author
May, 2007
The WB Sutch propaganda poster exhibition Towards the Precipice is a collection of Spanish, German, British and Soviet posters from the period 1935 to 1942. To coincide with this exhibition, Nicky Hager,author of The Hollow Men: A Study in the Politics of Deception discussed the characteristics of propaganda and its origins, and provided examples of modern day propaganda that have had an effect on New Zealand society.Read entire notes |
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Members' Saturday |
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Behind the Scenes - the Natural History Collections
Diversity and Variation – Understanding Evolutionary Pathways
Saturday 27 October, 2007
10.30am Registration
Session times: 11am, 12pm and 1.30pm (Lunch at 12.45pm)
The workshops are free, but if members would like to include a catered lunch the cost will be $15 per person.
What is a species? How are collections important? Using New Zealand examples and spending time with Curators in their own collection areas, the focus was evolutionary diversity and variation. |
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Past Field Trips |
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PAST FIELD TRIP - GREAT BARRIER AND MOTUKAIKOURA ISLANDS Easter 2010
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity members spent Easter 2010 at the Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre on Great Barrier Island in the company of DOC staff and Motu Kaikoura Trust enjoying hikes, a boat trip to Motukaikoura Island and some elected activities such as kayaking with Pursuits Centre instructors. |
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PAST FIELD TRIP - PIHA ROCK POOLS
FOR STEVENSON DINOMITES AND THEIR FAMILIES
As part of the 2010 International Year of BioDiversity we spent an anfternoon investigating some of the amazing marine life to be found in the rock pools at Piha with Museum Research Manager and Marine Curator, Tom Trnski. |
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ORCHID HUNTING ON THE AWHITU PENINSULA
On November 7th, 2009, members travelled to Matakawau on the Awhitu Peninsula with local New Zealand native orchid expert, orienteer and author, Tricia Aspin, orchid photographer, Eric Scanlen, whose work features in the Wonderland: Mystery of the Orchid exhibition and Ewen Cameron, Museum Botany Curator. |
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Otuataua Stonefields Members Field Trip
Sunday, October 19, 2009
Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve is an important archaeological site where one can see clearly how people used to live and interact with their environment. Apart from signs of successive human habitation, visitors can also explore aspects of the volcanic history of the area and see examples of the native cucumber and the last remnants of Auckland's forests of titoki and kanuka. Auckland Museum Curator Botany, Ewen Cameron, discovered the native cucumber (mawhai) there in 1991 and lead the field trip with geologist Bruce Hayward, principal scientist, Geomarine Research. |
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Institute Field Trip to Motutapu
Sunday 16 March 2008
Members enjoyed the opportunity to join the Motutapu volunteers and help on this far reaching conservation project. |
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Flinders Ranges: Geology, History, Flora & Fauna Tour, South Australia 2008
September 1 - 12, 2008
A wonderful field trip to a fascinating part of the globe. |
Past Previews |
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Preview Wonderland: Mystery of the Orchid
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
Family members enjoyed a special opening of Wonderland with a children's activity.
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