http://museumvictoria.com.au/ The latest news from Museum Victoria, Melbourne Australia en http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Quoll-quandary/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Quoll-quandary/ Eastern Quoll specimens analysed Two Eastern Quoll specimens have been collected and given to Melbourne Museum for analysis. Both quolls were found, with only a few months between sightings, deceased at the side of a road near Little River. The latest specimen was retrieved last week. Eastern Quolls have been extinct on the Australian mainland for decades and can be recognised by their distinctive white body spots and unmarked... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7258/quoll-th-edited.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-09-30T14:19:38+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/New-dwarf-planets/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/New-dwarf-planets/ Makemake and Haumea identified as dwarf planets Makemake and Haumea identified as dwarf planets. It's now two years since the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the biggest change to our Solar System in decades – declaring Pluto to be a dwarf planet and therefore limiting the number of planets orbiting the Sun to just eight. At that time two other dwarf planets were also identified: Ceres, the largest asteroid in the asteroid... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7248/EightTNOs-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-09-25T16:08:03+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Whitley-awards/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Whitley-awards/ Invertebrate guide brightens a bug's life Three staff members from Melbourne Museum’s Live Exhibits Unit have been commended in the Young Naturalist category of the 2008 Whitley Awards. Alan Henderson, Deanna Henderson and Jessie Sinclair, the authors of Bugs Alive: a Guide to Keeping Australian Invertebrates, were awarded one of eleven certificates of commendation in the awards, which are presented by the Royal Zoological Society of... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7229/bugsalive_w-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-09-22T11:37:14+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Indigenous-museum-collections/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Indigenous-museum-collections/ Publication about history and practice of major Australian Indigenous collections Lindy Allen, Senior Curator of Indigenous Culture at Melbourne Museum, has co-edited and contributed to a book examining the history, practices and processes behind the creation of museum collections of Indigenous cultural material. The publication, a joint enterprise between Museum Victoria and Melbourne University Publishing, emerged from a project supported by an Australian Research Council... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7213/PETERSON-ALLEN-HAMBY-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-09-17T13:54:18+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Large-Hadron-Collider/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Large-Hadron-Collider/ Particle accelerator launched Today the world’s largest particle accelerator, known as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), will be launched at CERN in Switzerland. The LHC is built in a 27-kilometre-long ring buried 100 metres below the ground. Magnets, cooled to just 1.9 degrees above absolute zero, will accelerate bunches of protons in opposite directions around the ring. Every time two bunches pass each other, some of the... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7200/CMS_Higgs-event-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-09-10T17:03:45+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Community/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Community/ City of Melbourne award The Immigration Museum’s Community Connections program has received a 2008 Melbourne Award. In the program, various communities contribute to, and help create, exhibitions and festivals that document and explore experiences of migration and cultural diversity. The program has been running since 1998 and is the only one of its kind in Australia, engaging more than 15 000 people annually. Six... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7198/08-0009-171-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-09-10T12:36:41+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Fossils-found/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Fossils-found/ More fossils found in latest expedition In July–August this year, an expedition of local and international scientists searched the remote Kimberley district in the far north of Western Australia for fossil fishes. Dr John Long, Museum Victoria’s Head of Sciences, led the expedition. The team spent two weeks searching the sites, which are to the east of Fitzroy Crossing, and collected about 130 high quality fossil specimens. The site... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7196/P1060475-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-09-08T14:18:34+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Rare-whale-retrieved/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Rare-whale-retrieved/ Unusual specimen is identified at Melbourne Museum The corpse of a whale washed ashore at Johanna near Cape Otway has been analysed and classified by staff at Melbourne Museum and other researchers. Mammal collection staff at the museum occasionally receive information notifying them of specimens that may contribute to knowledge and research. On 31 July 2008 staff were contacted about a small deceased cetacean, which had been beached. While... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7129/IMG_0531-Medium-thposs2.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-09-01T15:50:39+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Win-for-design/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Win-for-design/ Melbourne map receives award A dynamic map that forms the centrepiece of The Melbourne Story exhibition at Melbourne Museum has been awarded first prize in the commercial multimedia design category of the Premier’s Design Awards 2008. The map, which shifts and changes as it is viewed, was created for the museum by Melbourne-based interactive design company ENESS. It depicts Melbourne’s physical growth from the early-19th... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7092/08-0000-120-co-th3.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-08-14T10:40:57+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Forest-gets-a-haircut/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Forest-gets-a-haircut/ Trees in living exhibition clipped back Melbourne Museum’s Forest Gallery trees have recently received a shape and prune, if not a short back and sides, to maintain their natural canopy shape while ensuring they continue to fit within the confines of the gallery. After surviving the stress of transplantation during their first 5 years, the trees and shrubs were growing vigorously. They were planted only 9 years ago but had largely... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7101/forest-pruning-th2.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-08-14T11:26:58+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Additions-to-collection/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Additions-to-collection/ Acquisitions for museum history collection tell of daring and disaster Museum Victoria acquired 17 items at a major auction held by Noble Numismatics (dealers in rare objects, coins, medals, stamps and banknotes) in Melbourne in early August. The museum is now home to a snuff box presented to Owsley Cockburn: the owner of the ship that rescued the survivors of the Cataraqui, which had crashed into King Island in 1845 due to a navigation error on its voyage from... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7095/08-0307-047-500w-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-08-13T11:25:07+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Bells-reach-thousands/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Bells-reach-thousands/ Over 3500 people have participated in playing the Federation Handbells Over 3500 people have participated in playing the Federation Handbells, on loan through Museum Victoria, in the last year. The bells, which took close to three years of research and development to create, are the world’s first harmonic – tuned – bells. A diverse collection of individuals and organisations, amounting to 3650 people in total, have played the bronze-cast handbells for exhibitions,... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7088/mn011234-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-08-11T09:30:28+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Tuvalu-a-nation-at-risk/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Tuvalu-a-nation-at-risk/ Nation a casualty of climate change The very existence of a group of islands in the South Pacific is under threat from climate change. Tuvalu's plight is a sober reminder of the uncertain future offered by increases in global warming. Tuvalu  is imminently becoming the first nation to be uninhabitable as a result of climate change and rising sea levels. Located in the South Pacific, some 1050 kilometres north of its nearest... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/7071/Ruined-houses-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-08-07T09:02:22+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Giant-squid-public-dissection-at-Melbourne-Museum/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Giant-squid-public-dissection-at-Melbourne-Museum/ Updated: Video now available for viewing On Thursday 17th of July, Melbourne Museum held its first ever public dissection by Museum scientists of a giant squid.   The dissection  was performed in the Science and Life Gallery from 11.30 am till 1 pm. The dissection was streamed live, and a recording can be viewed here or downloaded. ... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/6981/PICT0076-news-thm.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-07-11T17:03:37+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Live-Alligators-at-Melbourne-Museum/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Live-Alligators-at-Melbourne-Museum/ Four young American Alligators are visiting Melbourne Museum as part of the <i>Hatching the Past</i> exhibition. Four young American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) are currently visiting Melbourne Museum as part of the Hatching the Past exhibition. The alligators are on loan from the Australian Reptile Park in Gosford, NSW, where they were bred. Children and adults have been captivated by these youngsters as they swim around, bask under their heat lamps, and are fed by the Museum's Live Exhibits... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/6983/baby-alligator-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-07-11T16:58:50+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Immigration-Museum-is-One-in-a-Million/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Immigration-Museum-is-One-in-a-Million/ On 1 July 2008, the Immigration Museum greeted its millionth visitor. On 1 July, the Immigration Museum greeted its millionth visitor since opening on 12 November 1998. This is one of a number of significant milestones passed in the Immigration Museum's 10th birthday year. More than 132 000 people visited the Museum in the last financial year, a record annual visitation figure. Education visits were also at record numbers, with more than 47 000 students... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/6977/millionth-visitor-th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-07-11T16:15:03+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Phar-Lap-arsenic-mystery-solved/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Phar-Lap-arsenic-mystery-solved/ Research confirms Phar Lap ingested lethal arsenic dosage hours before death. New research announced at Melbourne Museum today confirms champion racehorse Phar Lap ingested a lethal dosage of arsenic hours before his death. Researchers Dr Ivan Kempson from the University of South Australia and Dermot Henry, Manager, Natural Science Collections at Museum Victoria, determined that it was possible to distinguish between arsenic which had been ingested and that used during... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/6798/pharlap_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-06-18T16:45:20+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Mother-fish/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Mother-fish/ 380 million year old fishes found with unborn embryos. 380 million year old fishes found with unborn embryos. In 2005 Museum Victoria’s expedition to the Gogo fossil sites in north Western Australia, lead by Dr John Long, made a swag of spectacular fossil discoveries, including that of a complete fish, Gogonasus, showing unexpected features similar to early land animals. Today the team announced its latest discovery: a remarkable 380 million year... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/5968/placo_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-28T16:40:11+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Introducing-Birchite/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Introducing-Birchite/ New mineral named in MV mineralogist’s honour. New mineral named in MV mineralogist’s honour. Named for Museum Victoria mineralogist Bill Birch, Birchite (a hydrated cadmium copper phosphate-sulphate mineral) has been described in the current issue of American Mineralogist by mineralogists from Adelaide and Vienna. Birchite occurred in the Block 14 open cut mine at Broken Hill as bright blue crystal sprays up to 0.75mm across. While there... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/6212/birchite_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-21T15:04:00+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Rare-book-unearthed/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Rare-book-unearthed/ First edition recently discovered in Museum Victoria's library. From time to time fascinating objects turn up that the Museum didn’t know it had, or had forgotten about. Val Hogan (Senior Library Technician) made just such a find recently whilst working in the Ichthyology Library, when she discovered a rare first edition of John Edwards Holbrook’s beautiful work Ichthyology of South Carolina, published in 1855. The unbound copy consists of 10 parts complete... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/6025/nyplfish_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-09T15:18:26+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Colossal-squid-examined/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Colossal-squid-examined/ NZ scientists begin examining largest squid ever found. New Zealand scientists have begun examining the largest squid ever found. The largest single invertebrate animal ever found, the Colossal Squid weighed 495kg - almost twice the weight of the largest squid ever captured before. Captured by long-line fishermen in Antarctic seas in early February 2007, it was frozen in a huge block of ice at the time, but is now being thawed and examined in... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/5991/Colsquid_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-02T16:22:23+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Sudanese-Festival/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Sudanese-Festival/ Almost 1800 people soak up the atmosphere at the Sudanese Festival. Almost 1800 people soaked up the unique atmosphere and hopped and bopped to the sound of drumming at the Immigration Museum’s Sudanese Festival on Saturday 12 April. Organised by Victoria’s Sudanese community in collaboration with Museum staff, the festival offered visitors the chance to experience and enjoy music and dance performances, family activities and food, whilst gaining a... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/5907/08-0009-149_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-01T15:20:00+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Conspicuous-chameleons/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Conspicuous-chameleons/ Why do they really change colour? Chameleons are camouflage experts, but is that why they change colour? New research by Museum Victoria’s Dr. Adnan Moussalli and Devi Stuart-Fox at the University of Melbourne shows that colour change evolved to enable chameleons to flash bright, attention-grabbing colours to other chameleons – quite the opposite of camouflage. 'Their ability to rapidly change colours – within seconds –... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/5792/male_disp_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-01T15:20:00+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Keeping-Bugs-Alive/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Keeping-Bugs-Alive/ An exciting new book has just been published by Museum Victoria. An exciting new book has just been published by Museum Victoria. Written by Live Exhibits staff Alan Henderson, Jessie Sinclair and Deanna Henderson, Bugs Alive! A Guide to Keeping Australian Invertebrates is the first of its kind. It covers everything you could ever want to know about keeping more than 90 species of Australia’s most fascinating terrestrial invertebrates. This is a unique... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/5692/bugsalive_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-01T15:20:00+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/GLOBE-at-Night/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/GLOBE-at-Night/ Can you see the stars? Can you see the stars? Join thousands of people world-wide hunting for stars from 25th February to 8th March. GLOBE at Night is an international event to observe the night sky and learn more about light pollution around the world. Participants are asked to observe the constellation of Orion and match what they can see to one of eight charts provided on the GLOBE at Night website. The results... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/5690/orion_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-01T15:19:59+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Stolen-Generations-Apology/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Stolen-Generations-Apology/ Museum Victoria commemorates apology to Stolen Generations. Museum Victoria commemorates apology to Stolen Generations. Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building – the site of Australia’s first parliament – is flying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags this week in honour of the Australian Government’s historic apology to the Stolen Generations. "As Australia’s largest museums organisation, Museum Victoria would like to mark the moment of the... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/4071/flagg_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-01T15:19:59+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Partial-Solar-Eclipse/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Partial-Solar-Eclipse/ On Thursday 7 February the Moon will take a bite out of the Sun. On Thursday 7 February the Moon will take a bite out of the Sun during a Solar Eclipse. This occurs when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun. The Moon blocks out the light of the Sun, making it seem like a part of the Sun is missing. Here in Melbourne, we will experience a partial eclipse with just 9% of the Sun obscured by the Moon. With such a small fraction of the Sun blocked out,... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/3888/partialeclipse_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-01T15:19:59+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Red-browed-Finches/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Red-browed-Finches/ Red-browed Finches take flight at the Forest Gallery. Eight Red-browed Finches have recently settled into their new Forest Gallery home. The birds were acquired from a private breeder and following health checks and a quarantine observation period were successfully introduced to the wide open spaces of the Forest Gallery. The repeated high pitched calls of these tiny seed eaters can be heard as they forage and fly about in small groups,... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/3847/mn015297_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-01T15:19:59+10:00 http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Swimming-with-dinos/ http://museumvictoria.com.au/About/MV-News/2008/Swimming-with-dinos/ Platypus older than previously thought. After more than 25 years hard work digging the 112-120 million year old Cretaceous rocks of Victoria, Dr Tom Rich, Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Museum Victoria, has hit pay dirt with another big discovery. Analysis using a high-resolution CT scanner in Texas, USA, has revealed that one of the fossil jaws retrieved from Flat Rocks near Inverloch, thought to be a monotreme or egg-laying... http://museumvictoria.com.au//pages/3840/MN004446_th.jpg Museum Victoria 2008-05-01T15:19:59+10:00