Yesterday, the Beautiful Science Gallery at Tūhura Otago Museum was filled with children clutching their ‘‘injured’’ stuffed animals while they learned how to patch up their friends.
The lesson started with a story and some songs from New Zealand entertainer Suzy Cato, a lesson on some of the past and present patients of the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital, and ended with a bandage lesson.
The event was part of the 2026 Wild Dunedin Festival.
Hospital general manager Suzanne Stephenson said many children had a fascination with bandages.
‘‘When you break you arms as a kid, its almost a badge of honour ... and the bandages they're using are literally exactly what we use in the hospital,’’ she said.
The technique to bandage their stuffed animals would not necessarily help them much if they did come across a wounded giraffe, but many children were chuffed with their new accessories, she said.
Some of the hospital’s best supporters were Dunedin children.
‘‘We obviously have people that give us a lot of money ... right down to the young kids who will fundraise for us.’’
She said she would often get a call from a school to let her know that it was their charity their pupils had decided to support with fundraising efforts.
