What's On @ Otago Museum | Week of 2 September 2019

Q&A with Weekend Supervisor STEVEN HIRD

Meet our Weekend Supervisor and Front of House Officer, Steven, who has been giving Otago Museum visitors a warm welcome since he joined the Museum three years ago.
 

What do you love about your job? 

I love my varied role, greeting visitors from all parts of the world on the Info Desk, and ensuring the smooth running of the Museum’s operations during weekends and public holidays. I enjoy playing a strategic part of the team delivering with pride the Museum’s offerings in terms of cultural heritage and our collections, to the Dunedin community and visitors from around the globe. Also I bring wider museum experience to my role, having worked 18 years with Leeds Museums and Galleries.
 

Which is your favourite gallery and why? 

My favourite would have to be People of the World because of its eclectic collections from history, and stories from around the world. For people in education or research, it’s a tantalising glimpse of other continents that may inspire future students to indulge in travel to see more of these fascinating cultures and learn their stories. And of course the Mummy is pretty awesome!

What are you especially interested in? 

I have always enjoyed artefacts from other places and from throughout history, and the possible stories they can conjure up (probably due to watching the Indiana Jones movies when I was young). Although I wouldn’t class myself as an expert, my particular interest was metal detecting back in the UK, and finding things dating from as far back as Roman, Viking and Celtic times (although I never found anything Celtic or Viking as these are a lot rarer). Some people I detected with did find artefacts from that era, and we had a look at others’ finds in the fields before they were registered as Antiquities.
 

If you could make any collection item come to life, what would it be and why? 

It would have to be the Mummy. It would be interesting to find out who she was, and what she did in ancient Egypt … the stories she could tell us! And what we could learn from this period would be so cool!

Steven Hird
Weekend Supervisor and Front of House Officer

THIS WEEK @ OTAGO MUSEUM

NEW ZEALAND SEA LIONS OF STEWART ISLAND

Massey University professor and Wildbase Oil Response co-director Louise Chilvers presents her research, undertaken on Stewart Island, on the recently discovered New Zealand sea lion colony. The first area to have a newly confirmed colony away from New Zealand's Subantarctic Islands in 200 years, this environment is vitally important for the New Zealand sea lion and their conservation.

Professor Chilvers also discusses this colony’s significant ties with the New Zealand sea lion population on the Otago Peninsula, and the importance of this to both populations.

Free | 5.30pm, Tuesday 3 September | Hutton Theatre
More information here

YOGA WITH THE BUTTERFLIES

Exercise with a difference, surrounded by the butterflies in our Tropical Forest!

Hot Yoga Dunedin instructors lead a gentle hatha yoga class focusing on moving slowly through basic poses, and using breath to remain present and mindful.

Suitable for all levels. Bring your own mat, towel, and drink.

The temperature in the Tropical Forest ranges from 22°C to 35°C.

Suitable for ages 14+.

TERMINATOR DOUBLE FEATURE

Two epic films from The Cameron Collection back-to-back – The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

These two James Cameron films are sci-fi classics, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a time-travelling robot from the (now not so) distant future of 2029. Robots have become sentient and are determined to wipe out humanity by going back in the past to erase John Connor, humanity’s last great hope in the fight against the machines.

The Terminator is rated M – Violence, offensive language & sex scenes. Run time 1h 48m. 
Terminator 2: Judgement Day is rated M – Violence & offensive language. Run time 2h 36m.

There will be a 15-minute intermission between shows.

Tickets are available from the Museum Shop, or online. Popcorn and drinks will be available for purchase.

The Cameron Collection screens on the first Thursday of each month during the exhibition (except January).

Oct 3: Titanic 
Nov 7: True Lies 
Dec 5: Aliens 
Feb 6: The Abyss

6.30pm and 8.35pm, Thursday 5 September 
Adults $15, Children $10 for one film, or Adults $25.50, Children $17 for both.
Tickets are available from the Otago Museum Info Desk, or book tickets here.

SEA MONSTERS: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE

Go back to the time of dinosaurs! Dive into the oceans of the Late Cretaceous to follow Dolly, a curious and adventurous dolichorhynchops, as she travels through the most dangerous seas in history.

Along the way, she encounters long-necked plesiosaurs, giant turtles, enormous fish, fierce sharks, and the most dangerous sea monsters of all, the mosasaurs!

LATE NIGHT PLANETARIUM

Join us for some late-night shows in the Perpetual Guardian Planetarium. We’ll have on offer:

7.30pm – Capcom GO! The Apollo Story (3D)
8.30pm – The Sky Tonight 
9.30pm – Sea Monsters

Capcom GO! is an immersive 3D planetarium show documenting the Apollo programme, and what it took to put the first person on the Moon 50 years ago. Discover the story behind this historic moment, which continues to inspire generations of explorers and dreamers.

The Sky Tonight is a live presentation by one of our Science Communicators, which details what you could see if you were to go stargazing in Dunedin that evening. Learn about stars and constellations and how to find them in the night sky, as well as hearing about some fascinating deep space objects.

Sea Monsters will take you back to the time of dinosaurs! Dive into the oceans of the Late Cretaceous to follow Dolly, a curious and adventurous dolichorhynchops, as she travels through the most dangerous seas in history. Along the way, she encounters long-necked plesiosaurs, giant turtles, enormous fish, fierce sharks, and the most dangerous sea monsters of all, the mosasaurs!