Author: qldmuseum

Biodiversity

Tips for finding frogs around your home | World Frog Day

Every year March 20th marks World Frog Day which aims to bring awareness to amphibians across the globe. Frogs occupy every conceivable habitat. In Australia there are over 240 known species of frog, with 105 species found in Queensland. Some frogs are brightly coloured, others drab. There are smooth frogs, warty frogs, skinny frogs, fat frogs, frilled frogs, long-legged frogs, sharp-snouted frogs and many more. … Continue reading Tips for finding frogs around your home | World Frog Day

qldmuseum
Uncategorized

Brisbane floods at Queensland Museum

Flooding decimated many suburbs, businesses and homes across Brisbane in February 2022. Queensland Museum at South Bank and the Cultural Precinct Centre were closed on Sunday 27 February and will remain closed for 19 days. The recent rain wasn’t unexpected but it was unpredictable. Queensland Museum staff watched and waited in anticipation. Would the falls be larger than the floods of 2011 that closed the … Continue reading Brisbane floods at Queensland Museum

qldmuseum
Collection Management

How to preserve a flood-damaged item

The recent weather event and flooding in Queensland and northern New South Wales has sadly destroyed many homes and the personal items they contain including photos, important documents and valuables. All hope is not lost, if you act quickly now you may have a chance of recovering some of this items. While for many the immediate focus will be cleaning out homes, there is a … Continue reading How to preserve a flood-damaged item

qldmuseum1 Comment
Collections Uncovered, Discovery Centre

Collections uncovered: Giant fossil shark’s tooth

Among the numerous objects and specimens on display at the Queensland Museum are some with truly extraordinary stories! Today Dr Jonathan Cramb from the Discovery Centre team joins us to share one of his favourite specimens from the museum’s displays. When sharks ate whales This is a single fossil tooth of a very large shark called Otodus megalodon. These sharks are commonly called megatooth sharks … Continue reading Collections uncovered: Giant fossil shark’s tooth

qldmuseum
Antiquities, Archaeology

Insights from the Antiquities Revealed Exhibition visitor book

Ever wondered why we leave visitor books outside of exhibitions and what happens to them? We read them, and your feedback about our exhibitions helps us to develop better experiences! Here is some of what we have learned from the feedback from the Antiquities Revealed exhibition at Queensland Museum. Developing exhibitions   Museums routinely provide exhibitions, and these are developed by teams of people from … Continue reading Insights from the Antiquities Revealed Exhibition visitor book

qldmuseum
Biodiversity, New species

Museum cold case uncovers new species of sea scorpion

A fossil ‘cold case’ in Queensland Museum’s geosciences collection has led to the description of a new species of sea scorpion (eurypterid), Woodwardopterus freemanorum, which is not only the last known one of its kind in the world, but the first fossil evidence of sea scorpions in Queensland. The eurypterid was initially brought to the attention of the museum in 2013, having been discovered in … Continue reading Museum cold case uncovers new species of sea scorpion

qldmuseum5 Comments
Anthropology, Collection, Collection Management

Celebrating World Anthropology Day 

By Karen Kindt, Collection Manager Anthropology  What is Anthropology?  Understanding who we are, where we come from and our place in the world, is critical to humanity. We can find meaning and answers through the discipline of Anthropology. Applying this discipline, through studying human behaviours and societies, we are able to understand the affects, on our physical, cultural and social environments.  Anthropology helps us understand … Continue reading Celebrating World Anthropology Day 

qldmuseum
Queensland Museum, SparkLab, Sciencentre

Exploring Earth and beyond with Science on a Sphere

Science on a Sphere puts the world and the universe at your fingertips! Marvel at the beauty of our blue planet and blast-off into outer space when you explore Earth and beyond in SparkLab.   Our huge 1.8m diameter sphere suspended in the centre of SparkLab uses the latest digital technology to project global, environmental and planetary data onto its surface. Choose what to investigate … Continue reading Exploring Earth and beyond with Science on a Sphere

qldmuseum
Collection

Bushfire Brandalism and Australia’s Black Summer 

By Charlotte Lethbridge, Volunteer Researcher, Queensland Museum With the COVID-19 pandemic at the forefront of the news and minds of most Australians, it can be easy to forget that only two years ago, Australia was dealing with one of the deadliest bushfire seasons in Australian history. A collection of 41 posters in the Queensland Museum collection documents the artistic community’s response to the 2019–2020 Bushfire … Continue reading Bushfire Brandalism and Australia’s Black Summer 

qldmuseum
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Cultures, Collection, Exhibitions & Events, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Research

Curating ‘Connections across the Coral Sea’

Connections across the Coral Sea reveals the latest archaeological research around the earliest movements and trade between the seafaring cultures of Papua New Guinea, Torres Strait and the northeast coast of Queensland. Every new exhibition gives us an opportunity to reassess how we curate and develop displays. How can objects be used to tell a story? More importantly, whose story, and which story are we … Continue reading Curating ‘Connections across the Coral Sea’

qldmuseum
Exhibitions & Events, Queensland Museum

5 interesting Queensland animals to see at Wild State at Queensland Museum

Queensland is the most biodiverse state of Australia, with 70% of Australia’s mammal species, 80% of Australia’s birds, and 50% of Australia’s reptiles and frogs. How incredible is that! Our Wild State exhibition celebrates Queensland’s unique animals and their habitats, and highlights their remarkable adaptations. Here’s five Queensland animals you can see on display at Wild State: Albert’s Lyrebird, Menura alberti This is the lesser … Continue reading 5 interesting Queensland animals to see at Wild State at Queensland Museum

qldmuseum
Anzac, Exhibitions & Events, Queensland Stories, War

5 things to see at the Anzac Legacy Gallery at Queensland Museum 

Our Anzac Legacy Gallery tells the fascinating story of the First World War in Queensland; the people and the things they held close – objects of war and warfare, and personal items belonging to those on the front line.   Here’s five objects you can see on display at the Anzac Legacy Gallery:   Mephisto   Mephisto is the sole surviving German A7V Sturmpanzerwagen tank in the world, and one of the rarest items in our collection. Named by its crew, … Continue reading 5 things to see at the Anzac Legacy Gallery at Queensland Museum 

qldmuseum
QMN History

Chapter 4: A museum of the future… 2000 to present | QMN History

Heading into the new century, the future is bright for Queensland Museum, with the new location at South Bank proving to be popular with visitors and cementing its place as a cultural icon in Brisbane. In 2002, The Workshops Rail Museum was opened on 30 August and joined Cobb+Co Museum in Toowoomba and Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville. At South Bank, the Molecular Identities … Continue reading Chapter 4: A museum of the future… 2000 to present | QMN History

qldmuseum
Discovery Centre

10 interesting things to see at the Discovery Centre at Queensland Museum 

With every visit to the Discovery Centre, we promise you’ll walk away having learnt something new.    There’s over 1300 objects and specimens to explore at your fingertips in this interactive space, so it was quite the challenge to narrow down this list!    Here’s ten interesting things you can see on display at the Discovery Centre:   Grindstone   Why’s it special? It’s one of the oldest forms of evidence of continuous human occupation of Australia. The larger stone … Continue reading 10 interesting things to see at the Discovery Centre at Queensland Museum 

qldmuseum
Archaeology, Queensland Museum Library

Fishy stories from the Queensland Museum Archives

By Dr Brit Asmussen, Senior Curator, Archaeology, Queensland Museum It’s funny the weird and wonderful things you come across in the correspondence, held in the Queensland Museum Library and Archives! Searching through the archives Part of the work of a curator is to research the histories of objects in the State Collection and how we come to care for them. Part of this work often … Continue reading Fishy stories from the Queensland Museum Archives

qldmuseum
Discovery Centre, Mystery of the month

Mystery object: Long in the tooth

Identifying obscure and bizarre objects is all in a day’s work for staff in the Queensland Museum Discovery Centre! Today Kieran Aland joins us to share his mystery object of the month. This object came from the Torres Strait. It was gift from a family friend. It is remarkably heavy and shows a polished surface where it has been exposed to use, forming a sharp … Continue reading Mystery object: Long in the tooth

qldmuseum
SparkLab, Sciencentre

Humans of SparkLab – Chelsea

Chelsea – SparkLab Learning Officer at Queensland Museum Chelsea is a passionate science communicator with a Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Clinical Sciences) from Griffith University. Chelsea loves working in SparkLab because she discovers something new and exciting every day through the perspectives of visitors as they lead their own investigations. What first sparked your interest in science? I have always adored learning, … Continue reading Humans of SparkLab – Chelsea

qldmuseum
Research, SparkLab, Sciencentre

Understanding the world through a child’s eyes

Have you crossed paths with researchers from the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Early Cognitive Development Centre (ECDC) at Queensland Museum before? Queensland Museum hosts ECDC researchers each week as they test theories about inquiry-based learning and development patterns with some of the children visiting the museum. This world-renowned research is facilitated as part of an established academic partnership between SparkLab and UQ and reveals important … Continue reading Understanding the world through a child’s eyes

qldmuseum
Collection, Guest Posts

A Glimpse into the Porcelain Cabinet: Ceramics & Antiquity in the Ben Ronalds Collection 

By Alessandra Schultz, Cultures & Histories Volunteer, Queensland Museum Take a look into the cabinets of the Ben Ronalds Collection of Fine Ceramics and Glassware, in the State Collection, with Cultures & Histories Program Volunteer, Alessandra Schultz.  For many of us, gazing into the prized porcelain and china cabinets of a mother or grandmother is a fond and familiar childhood memory. As a volunteer, researching the Ben Ronalds Collection in the Cultures and Histories Program at Queensland Museum, I have found myself … Continue reading A Glimpse into the Porcelain Cabinet: Ceramics & Antiquity in the Ben Ronalds Collection 

qldmuseum
Antiquities, Archaeology, War

Ancient Middle Eastern Antiquities and the First World War

By Mr James Donaldson (Manager/Curator, R D Milns Antiquities Museum, The University of Queensland) and Dr Brit Asmussen (Senior Curator, Archaeology, Cultures and Histories, Queensland Museum). The First World War Antiquities Project (Queensland) This blog is one in a series developed from research conducted during “The First World War Antiquities Project (Queensland)”, a collaborative project between the R D Milns Antiquities Museum, The University of … Continue reading Ancient Middle Eastern Antiquities and the First World War

qldmuseum