Tools of Tātau and the Marks of a Leader

A closer look at Taonga and specimens from across the Auckland Museum collection that feature in the Voyage to Aotearoa: Tupaia and the Endeavour exhibition - specifically Tahitian tātau (tattoo) tools - the uhi (chisel) and tā (beater).

Identifying Belwood: Searching for Sitters

Did you ever wonder what might have happened to the family photos you were made to pose for when you were a child? Did you ever suspect they could wind up in a museum?

Trade Beads and Nails

An examination of the surprising and illuminating tools of trade and exchange highlighted in the Voyage to Aotearoa: Tupaia and the Endeavour exhibition.

Collection Readiness Project

An Endeavour to Preserve

Swab the decks! Repair the rigging and dress down the sails! Read about the efforts taken to conserve and restore some of the intricate models of the Endeavour in Auckland Museum's collection.

Congratulations! Class of Carried Away

Carried Away: Bags Unpacked features bags from Auckland Museum’s Applied Arts and Design collection, alongside key pieces from the History, Māori and Pacific collections. Each bag is rich with stories, of innovative design, indigenous traditions and personal stories.

Uncovering Documentary Evidence of the New Zealand Wars

Collection technicians from our Documentary Heritage team have been improving the quality of the Museum's records relating to the New Zealand wars. In doing so, they have uncovered some previously untold stories from the period. By making these records available online and searchable they hope to inspire budding historians and researchers alike to learn more about this part of New Zealand's history.

Saving forests and furry animals: from conservation to Conservation

Auckland Museum's conservators help to play a part in conservation of New Zealand's native flora and fauna. Read on to find out how.

Saving Auckland's Spotted Shag

When Auckland Museum’s resident taxidermist, Mr Louis Griffin, collected (by shooting) spotted shags in the Hauraki Gulf in 1914 for a diorama at Auckland Museum he could not have known that by doing so he would indirectly contribute to the conservation of the same species more than 100 years later... Find out more in this blog.

Who am I? The mystery of the forgotten photographs

Help us uncover the mystery of these 110-year-old New Zealand photographs. Who are the people in them and who were they taken by?