Summer Studentships available in 2024/2025
Research into Taonga Māori Collection for Display
This project focuses on the under-researched records within Auckland Museum's Taonga Māori collection in preparation for the planned renewal of the Museum's Māori Galleries. The selected summer student will work through sections of the collection, collating information, and provenance from the Human History library archive files to add to our collection records. Through this, the summer student will be able to present a well-research list of potential taonga for display in the Māori Court for consideration by the Museum's curatorial team. This project will also contribute to the Māori team's ambition of updating our Collections Online presence by beginning to enrich our database records with our paper files.
This project will best suit a student with:
* Research skills and experience
* Attention to detail
* An interest in Taonga Māori collections
* Cultural competency in Te Ao Māori
Vibration Monitoring of Collection Objects at Auckland Museum
The goal of this project is to establish a new method for measuring 'normal' vibrations experienced by collection objects in storage, during transport, and on exhibition. This project will be undertaken in partnership with the University of Auckland Engineering school. The selected summer scholar will review vibration testing in other GLAM contexts, identifying potential solutions for Auckland Museum. Following this research, the student will develop and build a prototype vibration monitor and use this new monitor to test the vibrations experienced by collection objects in different storage, transport and exhibition contexts. From the results of this testing, the student will provide recommendations for future developments, enhancing the Museum's ability to care for taonga and collections.
This project will best suit a student with:
* Research and writing skills
* Study of engineering, especially engineering vibrations
* Experience in designing and conducting experiments
* Practical build skills / with an engineering background
Lucy Cranwell's Wartime Curation in Auckland Museum's Botanical collection
This project is an investigation into the war-time curatorial methods of the past Auckland Museum Curator of Botany, Lucy M. Cranwell (in the position 1929 - 1944). In 1941, to protect Auckland Museum's botany collections from the threat of air raids, a selection of botanical specimen sheets (not the specimens themselves) were cut into two. One of each set was sent to a shelter for safe keeping until 1945, when the separated botanical sets were reunited with tapes and filed in the Museum herbarium. To date, sixty-one of these specimens have been identified, but there are many more to be uncovered. Using the herbarium's image library, this student will identify and record these reunited specimen sheets. The student will also use the Museum's document archives and interview with past curators to investigate Lucy's method of specimen curation and management. By weaving both pieces of information together, the student will not only enhance current collection records but will also produce a coherent account of Lucy's actions and their historical significance.
This project will best suit a student with:
* Research and writing skills
* An interest in disentangling histories using Museum's botanical and documentary heritage collections
* Skills in Excel and an understanding of/ability to work with collections database
* Attention to detail and ability to accurately transcribe information
Awareness and Discovery of Human History Archival Resources
This project is a study of the Auckland Museum Human History library archive. Currently, this archive lacks a systematic digital listing or organisation and requires physical inspection to discover relevant material. This student will investigate and identify the current accessibility and use of this library by interviewing stakeholders and users, create a comprehensive listing of the archive, and research/develop a classification system to effectively manage ongoing use of these files. This work will improve the utility of this archive not only for Museum staff and the wider research community, but also for individuals who potentially whakapapa to the taonga the archival material relates to.
This project will best suit a student with:
* Knowledge of archives management systems and practices
* A general understanding of museum practice
* An interest in Taonga Māori research and/or Documentary Heritage
* An ability to work well independently
Analysis of dust levels and composition in Museum
This project investigates dust levels and composition throughout The Museum in both front and back of house spaces. Dust can cause deterioration of collection items, but repeated cleaning of items can be damaging. The selected student will assess display and storage spaces to determine the most likely points of dust ingress and establish a process to collect dust and determine deposition rates. After sampling, the dust will be analysed analysed during microscopy and other analytical techniques to determine composition and gauge levels of risk. Once the composition is known, dust sources can be idenitified, helping to mitigate potential damage to collection items. This project will inform procedures allowing Museum staff to routinely monitor dust levels on an ongoing basis.
This project will best suit a student with:
* Experience in designing and conducting experiments
* Interest in materials analysis
* An interest in museum collections and cultural heritage
Reviewing the Pacific Archaeology Collection
This research project focuses on improving access to the Pacific archaeology collection held in Auckland Museum's Archaeology Department that were excavated during the 1960s-1970s. This collection is largely uncatalogued, making it inaccessible to the increasing number of students, researchers and community groups requesting access. The selected student will work with the Museum's Archaeology team to produce a report and inventory of the collection. Using available fieldnotes, museum archives, and other material, the student will create records for any uncatalogued material and enhance existing records. This project will increase our understandings of the taonga held in these assemblages and how they came to be in the Auckland Museum.
This project will best suit a student with:
* A Pacific Studies or Archaeology background
* An interest in Pacific archaeology and/or collection management in museums
* Proficiency in Microsoft Excel
* Strong attention to detail and ability to accurately transcribe information
Acquisition pathways of teaching skeletons in Aotearoa
The aim of this project is to collate information and research on how and from where people in Aotearoa sourced human remains for teaching purposes between the mid-1800s and the mid-1900s. The project challenges current notions that these teaching skeletons in Aotearoa were collected ethically and were never indigenous. Guided by members of the Museum’s Māori Development Team, this student will collate archival information, collection records and conduct documentary research to investigate the acquisition of human remains expressly for educational purposes, outside of museums. This project will assist in identifying where such tūpuna now in museum collections may have come from, as we endeavour to return them home. This project will provide an opportunity for the chosen student to practice provenance research skills, engage with the history of the trade of human remains and work alongside our dedicated repatriation staff.
This project will best suit a student with:
* Research skills and tenacity
* Attention to detail
* A general understanding of museum practice/history
* An interest in repatriation, anthropology or museum ethics
* The ability to sensitively work with records or information relating to human remains
Evaluation of 'Our Voices', Public Engagement Experience
This Summer Studentship project is the result of a partnership between Auckland Museum and the University of Auckland and will support the evaluation of a public engagement experience of the "Our Voices cohort of the Growing Up in New Zealand Study. The public engagement experience is intended to elevate the voices of the young people that have contributed to this longitudinal research project and present an opportunity for visitors to Auckland Museum to interact and reflect on the views of young people in Aotearoa and the issues that matter to them. The student will assess public engagement with this content using quantitative and qualitative measures and ensure optimal functionality of the display during the exhibition period. Assessment methods will include counting numbers of visitor viewings, recording time spent engaging with the experience and conducting a small sample of interviews to collect demographic information of those engaging with the display. The student will produce a report outlining the objectives of the programme, summarise the data collected, identify any challenges faced and provide the recommendations for future public engagement programmes.
This project will best suit a student with:
* Strong report writing skills
* Research skills
* Attention to detail and ability to accurately transcribe information
* A public health, sociology or human geography background
* Confidence interacting with museum visitors
Wikipedia and the Aotearoa NZ Histories Curriculum
This project will train a cohort of four Wikipedia Interns to undertake the creation, editing and enhancement of Auckland local history and suburb pages so that Wikipedia can be used by teachers and students across Tāmaki Makaurau for the new Aotearoa NZ Histories Curriculum. The project is based on previous research the Museum has undertaken around the viability of Wikipedia as a learning resource and contributes to our Wikimedia Foundation funded project Understanding our past: using Wikipedia as a tool to support local history in Tāmaki Makaurau. Full training will be given to the successful candidates, and no prior Wikipedia editing is required.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Alliances_Fund/Understanding_our_past:using_Wikipedia_as_a_tool_to_support_local_history_in_T%C4%81maki_Makaurau
This project will best suit a student with:
* Research skills, using both online and library resources
* An interest in the history of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
* Ability to synthesise and summarise historical research
* Ability to distil complex information into clear, concise writing for a general audience
* An interest in public history
* While prior Wikipedia editing would be a plus, no previous experience is required, and full training will be provided over the course of the studentship
Objects of War: Investigating the NZ Wars Collection
This project investigates objects and taonga held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum as part of the New Zealand Wars collection. This is the largest collection of materials relating to Aotearoa's foundational conflicts, but the collection is largely under-studied. This summer scholar will select and investigate several objects and taonga held at the museum. Research will focus on deepening our understanding of these materials and contextualising them in a range of histories using evidence based in archives, in person, and digitally. This student will follow each object or taonga from its creation to its function and agency within a cultural context, and its trajectory into the museum collection. This research will help link these taonga to their related communities and may allow them to be used in exhibitions in the future.
This project will best suit a student with:
* Willingness to learn
* Research skills
* Some awareness of Te reo Māori and Te ao Māori is beneficial but not required