Te Papa Learning

08/10/2026

🦈 🦈 🦈 🪸

07/10/2026

28/09/2026

Manuia te vaiaso o te 'Gana Tuvalu - Happy Tuvalu Language Week

Vaiaso o te 'Gana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week
27 September - 3 October 2026 🇹🇻 🌺

Celebrate the Tuvalu language, culture and community with free downloadable posters, language guides, graphics and more at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples website: https://bit.ly/4mCdEH1
The 2026 theme for Tuvalu Language Week is
→ Tuvalu, alofa ki tou fakavae, kae teugina tou iloga i tau kete fai malaga
→ Tuvalu, cherish your foundation, and carry your identity along your journey

An explore Te Papa resources here:
https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/digital-museum/explore-digital-museum/tuvalu

21/09/2026

🐦 Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau — Karure, the Chatham Island Black Robin! 🖤

With an incredible 25,610 votes, the karure has been crowned Bird of the Year by Forest & Bird! 🎉

This taonga has an extraordinary story — from coming back from the brink of extinction to taking out the title of New Zealand’s favourite bird 2026. 🌿

Today, the population remains stable on Maung’Re/Mangere Island, a testament to the incredible conservation efforts that helped bring this species back.

A true conservation success story. 💚🌏

ngā mihi Forest & Bird
..........Escape from extinction......
In 1972 wildlife officers could find only 18 black robins living on Little Mangere Island. In 1976 there were only seven birds left. These were all moved to Mangere Island where 120,000 trees had been planted to provide better shelter. By 1980 a further two birds had died, and none had bred.

There were only five black robins in the world in 1980, with just a single breeding pair left. The outlook was bleak, but a dedicated team of New Zealand Wildlife Service staff took the daring step of cross-fostering eggs and young to another species to boost productivity.

The last breeding pair named Old Blue (female) and Old Yellow (male), and a foster species, the Chatham Island t**s, ended up saving the black robin from extinction.

In early 2013, the black robin population was around 250. Numbers remain stable. In 2021 the numbers were around 300.

Attempts made to establish another population in a fenced convenant on Pitt Island have failed, possibly due to competition for food with introduced mice.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/black-robin/

image credits:
winning manu the Karure / Kakaruia / Chatham Island black robin is above right in the watercolour

“Black Tit(above left) / Black Robin (above right) / South Island Robin ( Toutouwai) (below left) / North Island Robin(below right)”
George Lodge; 1913-1914; United Kingdom
watercolour, paper
on loan from the Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1948
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/653234?page=1&rtp=1&ros=1&asr=1&assoc=all&mb=c

Karure, Black Robin (Petroica traversi)
Gift of the Wellington City Council, 1929
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/631747
Karure, Petroica traversi
New Zealand, South East Island, Chatham Islands
Gift of New Zealand Wildlife Service, -1987

https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/631829

NZ forest and bird illustration
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1500893195400351&set=pcb.1500893238733680

08/09/2026

how are your campaigns going? who are you voting for?
send us your class posters and we will create a collection to post

01/09/2026

Ngā mihi nui Masterton Intermediate School for visiting us and exploring the whare taonga. Both Jessica-Maraea and Martin said your tauira were amazing, and that they had heaps of fun while also asking heaps of great questions. It looks like a great trip. Ka kite anō mātou ki a koutou.

13/08/2026

"a fantastic way to combine creativity, technology, and storytelling in a hands-on learning environment"
We loved having your tauira/students with us and were amazing at their creativity. ngā mihi nui Scots College Wellington.

If this look like something you want to do with you kura/school book a Digital art programme here.
https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/learn/for-educators/education-visits/digital-art

03/08/2026

FREE download for those wanting to be inspired by Tīvaevae and learn some au kara (colours) this Cook Island Māori language week.
https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/digital-museum/explore-digital-museum/cook-islands/cook-islands-colouring-in-page-tivaevae
learn more about the taonga that inspired this activity
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/76685?page=1&rtp=1&ros=1&asr=1&assoc=all&mb=c
Te Papa Ministry for Pacific Peoples

02/06/2026

You cann still visit this amazing artwork - 'āiga - created by Salome Tanuvasa and 58 students from Tava'e - the sāmoan biligual unit at Naenae Primary School