Written by Dr Peter Cowman, Principal Scientist and Curator, Biosystematics “I always wanted to be a marine biologist!” is the refrain I get when I tell people I am one. But like most career paths, there is more to it than people think. ‘Marine biologist’ sounds like a career that involves visiting exotic places, scuba-diving every day and seeing amazing underwater animals. But marine biology … Continue reading Careers in Coral Reef Science
Love 😍 them or hate 😡 them – emoji are a universal picture language understood by all. They just magically appeared on our devices one day, right? In fact, the first emoji were designed in 1999 but that’s a whole other (very interesting) story. As more and more emoji inserted themselves into daily life, people began to lament – why don’t they have a ‘#insertwhateveremojiyouwishforhere? … Continue reading Spawning the new coral emoji
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’
I have yet to meet anyone that isn’t fascinated by venomous creatures and their potential to… well, kill you. Australia is full of them and some are not always what you would expect! Working at the museum means I have access to a whole host of natural history objects. Recently I had to do a photoshoot featuring some of the venomous animals I work on. … Continue reading Trolley of Death
Ancient Rome has had a lasting impact on the world, particularly on Western cultures. You may be surprised to hear that many of the objects, concepts, technologies and machines from Ancient Rome are still part of our contemporary lives. Ancient Rome: The Empire that Shaped the World exhibition includes working reconstructions of ancient machines and other technical innovations using materials of the era – wood, … Continue reading Ancient science in contemporary times
In honor of the 230th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Pandora, Dr Maddy McAllister, Senior Curator of Maritime Archaeology has selected three objects rarely seen from the extensive collection held at Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville. _______________________________________________ HMS Pandora was the British Royal Navy warship dispatched to the South Pacific in pursuit of the infamous Bounty mutineers. On its return journey, approximately 140km east of Cape York, … Continue reading Small things sometimes mean a whole lot
Queensland Museum Network’s Museum Development Officers provide vital support for regional community collections across Queensland. The Museum Development Officer program is an important partnership between the Queensland Museum and Arts Queensland. The program employs five professionally qualified Museum Development Officers, known as MDOs, who are based in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Ipswich and Toowoomba. For the last 12 months, Cairns MDO Dr Jo Wills has been working … Continue reading More than just tea towels: the migrants, makers and merchandise of Reef Productions
In 2021, Museum of Tropical Queensland commissioned an artwork from local Townsville Indigenous artist, Jumbo Prior. Jumbo Prior is a Bwgcolman, Birri-Gubba and Mamu man. Jumbo was born on Palm Island and grew up in Cherbourg. A self-taught artist, Jumbo has been painting for around eight years. He recently designed the Toyota Cowboys 2021 NRL Indigenous Jersey, with his work, ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander … Continue reading Connections to the land and sea
In her position as Assistant Curator, Anthropology Sophie manages and cares for the unique, complex and extensive anthropology and social history collections at Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville. What is your favourite object/species in the collection and why? This is always a hard question – I have too many favourite objects to count! One of them is this incredible protest sign that we collected … Continue reading 5 minutes with Sophie Price, Curator of Anthropology
This blog post is part of an ongoing series titled Connecting with Collections. There are so many ways to celebrate and honour incredible women around the world. In the museum, we’re always looking for opportunities to bring out objects and tell their stories – and this month, it’s time to feature some of the iconic items held at Museum of Tropical Queensland, that were made, … Continue reading Women’s History Month
Sue-Ann is Senior Curator, Marine Invertebrates at the Queensland Museum Network, based at the Museum of Tropical Queensland campus in Townsville. Her position is co-appointed with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University. What is your favourite specimen in the collection and why? At Museum of Tropical Queensland we have a very large giant clam shell. This … Continue reading 5 minutes with Sue-Ann Watson, Senior Curator Marine Invertebrates
The 60m long steam ship Gothenburg was built in Essex (UK) in 1854. In 1862, Gothenburg began operation in an Australian-New Zealand run as a passenger steamer and later travelled the route from Port Darwin to Melbourne with a crew of 37 and 98 passengers including some prestigious members of society. Much like the infamous Titanic, Gothenburg’s last trip focused on making the best possible … Continue reading SS Gothenburg – A haunting watery grave
Take a deep dive virtually into the Great Barrier Reef this week as Dr Tom Bridge, Senior Curator of Corals spends 5 minutes chatting about his favourite parts of the collection and his research. What is your favourite species in the collection and why? Since I started at Museum of Tropical Queensland we have collected a number of new species. They are not yet registered … Continue reading 5 minutes with Dr Tom Bridge
1. Scales & Tales Reptile Workshop Come and join herpetologist and wildlife photographer Steve Wilson at the museum in a small group workshop experience like no other, exploring the amazing diversity and incredible adaptations of reptiles. Experience first-hand how the Museum scientists identify different species. Sessions available from $35 per participant on Thursday 24, Friday 25, Monday 28 & Tuesday 29 September Learn More 2. … Continue reading 7 things to do these school holidays
This blog post is part of an ongoing series titled Connecting with Collections. The series offers readers a peek inside the collections at Museum of Tropical Queensland, highlighting objects and their stories. “I am giving you this gift – not to buy a bride – but to remember the Purpuruk Family and our beautiful Country.” Between 1980 and 1984, Jenny Sebba and Arnold Young lived … Continue reading Still more important than anything money can buy
In 1982, a dwarf minke whale was discovered swimming in a small ocean lagoon on Hook Reef in the Whitsundays. At the time, the story of the whale made headlines and recently as Collections Manager at Museum of Tropical Queensland, I provided a recount of the whale’s story. If you missed The Saga of the Minke Whale on Hook Reef you can watch it on … Continue reading It’s a whale of a tale
For decades across the Queensland Museum Network, hundreds of volunteers have generously given their time and knowledge to ensure visitors to our museums enjoy an experience to remember. This year for National Volunteer Week, we celebrate the theme, “Changing Communities. Changing Lives”. We know our volunteers do exactly that, with visitors often speaking of the lasting impression left after an encounter or tour with a … Continue reading CHANGING COMMUNITIES. CHANGING LIVES.
This blog post is part of an ongoing series titled Connecting with Collections. The series offers readers a peek inside the collections at Museum of Tropical Queensland, highlighting objects and their stories. What springs to mind when you think of museums? How about words like old, ancient, artefact or taxidermy? That’s not surprising. Museums have a long history of collecting and displaying ‘curiosities’ just like … Continue reading Contemporary collecting: Recording history as it happens
This is the third installment of a blog monitoring a bleaching event currently occurring in reefs off Magnetic Island, 14kms from the coast of Townsville in North Queensland. Since February 2020, a team of local marine biologists have been monitoring 14 giant clams along the snorkel trails of Geoffrey Bay which were showing signs of severe bleaching. The team returned again in March and observed … Continue reading A step in the right direction for Magnetic Island’s giant clams
This blog post is part of an ongoing series titled Connecting with Collections. The series offers readers a peek inside the collections at Museum of Tropical Queensland, highlighting objects and their stories. In 2016, the Queensland Museum purchased a collection of items from Jirrbal Elder, Dr Ernie Grant. The Ernie Grant Collection, now housed at Museum of Tropical Queensland, represents the cultural and social life … Continue reading In Focus: The Ernie Grant Collection
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