One of the most significant objects in the Australian Museum’s collection is a humble, hand-crafted bird-shaped pestle. Its invention marked a crucial moment in human history, upon which entire civilisations grew. The influence of the simple stone object stretched all the way to the Pacific, where this story takes a sudden, violent twist. Behind every object is a story – join Charles Wooley and Kim McKay as they reveal some of the Treasures at the Australian Museum.
Apr 15, 2018•10 min
The wilful and wanton destruction of the Tasmanian Tiger is a sad reminder of the importance of conserving our natural history. Charles Wooley reveals the tragic tale of the man who shot the world’s last Tasmanian Tiger in the wild. And the team tells the story of resurrecting the world’s rarest insect, now living on a lonely volcanic rock at sea.
Apr 08, 2018•10 min
Mel Ward started life on the stage as an acrobat and comedian. But something about the creatures he found on the beach as a child kept calling him back to the sea. But what drove him to collect 25,000 crabs from around the world? And what exactly is eccentric dancing? Behind every object is a story – join Charles Wooley and Kim McKay as they reveal some of the Treasures at the Australian Museum.
Apr 02, 2018•11 min
Working in a museum in the 19th century was a hazardous occupation. In 1831, the Australian Museum’s inaugural custodian William Holmes accidentally shot himself with his own shotgun, while collecting a cockatoo. But the sudden demise of museum curator, Darwinian and “guardian angel” Gerard Krefft, was more curious still. Behind every object is a story – join Charles Wooley and Kim McKay as they reveal some of the Treasures at the Australian Museum.
Mar 26, 2018•11 min
Sydney in the early 1800s was a fledgling colony, full of convicts, soldiers, settlers and social climbers – the kind of town where you might win and lose your fortune in a single day. With the release of Australia’s first bank note and the subsequent gold rush in NSW came the whiff of financial security. But how did a large gold nugget go from an abandoned mine shaft to a government office corridor game of cricket? Behind every object is a story – join Charles Wooley and Kim McKay as they revea...
Mar 18, 2018•10 min
Step inside the treasure that is the Westpac Long Gallery, Australia’s oldest gallery in the nation’s first museum. When it opened to the public, in 1857, a quarter of Sydney’s population queued to witness its wonders of nature and culture. The gallery now houses the 200 Treasures of the Australian Museum. Behind every object is a story – join Charles Wooley and Kim McKay as they reveal some of them.
Mar 12, 2018•10 min
Michael Mel by Australian Museum
Feb 27, 2018•21 min
Live at the AM: Journeying to Jordan - Adventures in Archaeology by Australian Museum
Nov 20, 2017•1 hr 10 min
The AM held its annual AMRI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony on Wednesday 9 August 2017, designed to recognise eminent researchers and science communicators who have made outstanding contribution to science and biodiversity conservation. This year, the 1971 Lord Howe Island Environmental Survey Group led by ex-AM Ecologist, Dr Harry F. Recher has been awarded the 2017 AMRI Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sep 05, 2017•1 hr 11 min
Kids are full of difficult, challenging questions. Why are we destroying the reef? Why won't we accept refugees on our shores? Is it ever ok to tell a lie? Each of our minor and momentous decisions shape the world we’re making for our children. In this episode of AM Live, Dr Simon Longstaff offers engaging approaches to teaching children how to think and behave ethically. Dr Simon Longstaff is the Executive Director of The Ethics Centre, co-founder of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, and author ...
Jul 26, 2017•40 min
Kim McKay talks to Laura McBride, Creative Producer, Programs, Exhibitions and Cultural Collections at the Australian Museum in the latest episode of AMplify for NAIDOC Week.
Jul 12, 2017•15 min
Kim McKay talks to Sharni Jones, Manager, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Collection at the Australian Museum in this latest episode of AMplify.
Jul 04, 2017•15 min
In the latest episode of AMplify, Kim McKay talks to Gillian Scott, Manager, Exhibitions at the Australian Museum.
May 17, 2017•16 min
A live panel discussion with former Eureka Prize winners, hosted by Robyn Williams. In this live recording hosted by The Science Show's Robyn Williams, Dr Michael Bowen, Dr Richard Major, Professor Angela Moles and Sonya Pemberton share their Eureka Prize-winning work and discuss the big issues facing Australian science. This lively panel discussion covers a diverse range of topics including psycho-pharmacology, rapid evolution in introduced plant species, making compelling and challenging scien...
Apr 19, 2017•55 min
'Dark Emu' author Bruce Pascoe detailed his research into early colonial diaries and records of Indigenous life in this episode of Live at the AM. His work indicates that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating and storing – behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer assessment. In this lecture, he also addressed the underlying agendas that have shaped the narrative regarding Australia’s 60,000 years of history. Pascoe was...
Apr 12, 2017•58 min
In this episode of AM Live, join our panel of experts featuring Sophie Li, Clinical Psychologist; Nicole Wright, Pharmacist and Specialist in Poisons Information; and Lachlan Manning, Naturalist and Live Exhibits Officer at the Australian Museum as they examined the dangers – real and imagined – which underpin our society’s persistent fear of spiders.
Apr 03, 2017•1 hr 12 min
In the latest episode of AMplify, Kim McKay talks to Dr Jenny Newell, Manager, East Pacific Collection and Acting Director of Programs, Exhibitions & Cultural Collections at the Australian Museum.
Mar 21, 2017•15 min
In this AM Live episode, Dr Helen Maynard-Casely talks about exploring the solar system on the eve of the United Nations Day of Women and Girls In Science on 11 February. “I know why I’m a scientist: when I was 8 the very first British person in space was a woman called Helen Sharman, and I wandered up to see my dad after hearing this momentous news and said “Dad - I’m going to space because that’s what Helens do.” I really can’t tell you how important that moment was for me - it drove me to be ...
Mar 09, 2017•41 min
Kim McKay talks to Vanessa Finney, Manager of Archives and Rare Books about the Australian Museum's newest exhibition Transformations - Art of the Scott Sisters. "It (the Scott sisters archive) consists of 100 amazing, incredible, beautiful, jewel-like paintings, but behind that sits a larger archive of manuscripts, notebooks, sketches and drawings, which make it an unusually comprehensive view into 19th century science done by women which is incredibly rare in the Australian context." - Vanessa...
Feb 16, 2017•15 min
Listen to Executive Director and CEO Kim McKay in conversation with Sheldon Teare, Objects Conservator at the Australian Museum (AM). Sheldon works in Materials Conservation across the AM's Collections, and specialises in Natural Sciences Collection materials. He was recently given the opportunity to study in Spain as part of the AM's Staff Awards, recognising his outstanding contribution to the AM "Even something as large as a lion can be affected by something as small as a pest, a little beetl...
Feb 07, 2017•16 min
Australian Museum CEO and Director Kim McKay AO in conversation with explorer, scientist, communicator and 2007 Australian of the Year, Professor Tim Flannery. Tim Flannery has made many remarkable discoveries in palaeontology, mammology and environmental science. In this podcast, he discusses with Kim what inspired him to become a scientist, his time spent working at the AM, as well as his most recent expeditions to the Solomon Islands. "You can think of Collections in museums as great and comp...
Dec 09, 2016•16 min
Anthropologist Dr Robin Torrence in conversation with the Australian Museum's CEO and Executive Director Kim McKay. Dr Torrence's archaeological research focuses on the roles of ancient material culture, especially stone tools, in peoples’ daily lives, social strategies, and long term adaptation. She has been especially interested in how the manufacture, design and exchange of tools can help people minimise risks. "We’re trying to write the story of colonial history from the perspective of Indig...
Dec 01, 2016•15 min
Exhibition Producer Catherine Timbrell in conversation with the Australian Museum's CEO and Executive Director Kim McKay. "I know from osmosis that simply by putting this exhibition together people often mistake me for a spider expert, but our Arachnologists here remind me that I’m not when they hear me drop a clanger every now and then." Catherine Timbrell
Nov 18, 2016•16 min
The inhabitants of Komunive village, Asaro River, in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, are famous for their fearsome clay headdresses and dramatic ritualised celebrations of custom in the form of dance performances. For one week only, four Asaro Mud Men were in residence at the Australian Museum. The Asaro Mud Men have gained prominence as an ‘intercultural phenomenon’ and reflect how communities respond to aspects of modernisation and globalisation through their Holosa masks and perfor...
Oct 27, 2016•1 hr
Hear the inspiring stories behind nature photographer Luke Tsharke's most powerful images, including his submissions to the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2016 exhibition. Find out how Luke travelled the world capturing jaw-dropping landscapes, like Tasmania's ethereal Lake Oberon, and contributing shots to popular Instagram accounts like Tourism Tasmania and Tourism Northern Territory. “When you go into a canyon it’s quite a foreboding place - you’re in a wetsuit, you’re ...
Oct 11, 2016•57 min
Australian Museum CEO and Executive Director Kim McKay in conversation with Steven Alderton, Director of Programs, Exhibitions & Cultural Collections at the Australian Museum. Steven has a background in growing audiences and producing innovative exhibitions, public programs and events supported by extensive community engagement. "The first thing it takes [to make an exhibition] is a great idea, and I always say a great idea is free...it always comes back to audience for me and a great idea."...
Sep 12, 2016•15 min
Listen to the live recording of the 2016 AMRI Address and Lecture delivered by Professor Mark O'Kane, NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer. "People need STEM in daily life to manage the incredibly rapid growth of knowledge…the emphasis we really to put is on getting teachers really confident so they inspire students - when they’re not being inspired by the Museum of course!" Professor O'Kane chose to speak on the evolution of scientific knowledge and the skill of posing 'the right question'. "Ther...
Aug 19, 2016•1 hr 6 min
Ellie Downing of the Australian Museum’s Science Engagement and Events team speaks to Lola about the upcoming Australian Museum Science Festival (AMSF), the role of museums in education and some of the current trends in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM). Recorded live on Thursday 29th July, 11am for Koori Radio -http://www.kooriradio.com/
Aug 10, 2016•24 min
Australian Museum CEO and Executive Director Kim McKay in conversation with celebrated Australian artist Janet Laurence, artist-in-resident at the Australian Museum. "There has always been a museumification in my work, I'm always thinking of creating my own little museums... I've made many many models of little museums I'd love to make." Janet has created the installation "Deep Breathing', made from glass and coral, to emulate a life-saving resuscitation unit and draw attention to the impacts of...
Aug 03, 2016•16 min
Gaby Kennard recorded live at the Australian Museum as part of the Trailblazers Talks series presented by Australian Geographic. Inspired by her childhood hero Amelia Earhart, Gaby Kennard became the first Australian woman to fly solo around the world. In doing so, she proved that it’s possible for an ‘ordinary’ single mother of two to fulfil her dream. "If I could make this dream a reality, which seemed very difficult considering I had no aeroplane, no money, a single mother with two children.....
Jul 27, 2016•43 min
