OTAGO MUSEUM

VOLUNTEERS WELCOMED
Since introducing the volunteer programme,
eight new volunteers have been recruited to
assist with the Museum collection.
Volunteer work ranged from helping with
exhibitions such as Bugs: the Mega World
of Minibeasts, to more specific tasks like
working on the Natural Science elephant
seal project.
All new volunteer opportunities are listed on
the Otago Museum website, and interested
parties can apply via the online portal.
HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARENESS
A new Health and Safety reform bill is
expected to pass this year. The Museum’s
proactive Health and Safety policies already
in place ensure that the organisation is
well-prepared for the legislative changes.
The Health and Safety Committee have
ensured that Health and Safety awareness
permeates all aspects of work at the
Museum.
All employees are trained on induction.
Refresher courses ensure full and up-to-date
knowledge of legislation and guidelines.
Health and Safety briefings are presented in
staff forums and updates are communicated
via the Museum intranet.
A new Health and Safety plan has been
written for the coming year and will continue
to support this active and fully-engaged
mindset in the future.
PLANETARIUM AND DISCOVERY
WORLD REDEVELOPMENT
The Trust Board approved the budget for a
new planetarium in December 2014, after
the management team demonstrated it was
viable and had community support.
Project Manager Margot Devereux has had
a busy six months. The planetarium dome
and projectors were ordered from Evans
and Sutherland in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;
contractors and consultants were hired; a
consent application was approved by the
Dunedin City Council; and demolition began.
Construction work started in June 2015, and
the planetarium is anticipated to open in
early December 2015.
The Museum hired Oana Jones as Full Dome
Producer in May 2015. Her role is to produce
and animate shows for the planetarium. The
first show, Mārama ā-whetū, shares the
Māori myths and legends associated with
the southern night skies and tells the story
of Polynesian navigation to Aotearoa.
Stage 1 of the Discovery World
redevelopment includes a redesign of
the space adjacent to the planetarium into
an immersive digital gallery. This will be
delivered by the Wellington-based
Gibson Group.
LEARNING ABROAD
Museum staff travelled around the world and
brought back new skills, knowledge and ideas
to continue the Museum’s development.
Curator, Natural Science Emma Burns
travelled to Thailand to work with and learn
from master taxidermist Eirik Granqvist.
Burns also connected with professionals and
researchers in Thailand and across the world.
She shared some of the Museum’s collection
management techniques in presentations to
staff at the Thailand Natural History Museum
as they continue to develop collection best
practices. Burns is excited to practice her
preparation and taxidermy skills, and aims to
apply her new knowledge to the specimens in
the Museum’s collection.
Full Dome Producer Oana Jones and
Developer, Systems and Interactive Media
Andrew Charlton travelled to Evans and
Sutherland’s headquarters in Salt Lake City to
train on the new planetarium’s software. The
Digistar 5 system is one of the most advanced
systems available for digital planetariums.
Jones and Charlton are eager to reveal its
capabilities to visitors with the opening of the
planetarium in December 2015.
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