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Acknowledging outstanding achievements
Nominations are open for the
prestigious Queensland Museum
Medal, which acknowledges the
positive impact people have on
Australia’s most visited museum.
First awarded in 1987, the Queensland
Museum Medals are recognition of
outstanding achievement in one or more
fields of interest of the Museum. The
Queensland Museum Medal has been
awarded to some of Australia’s foremost
scientists, conservationists, naturalists and
community leaders, including Sir David
Attenborough and Steve Irwin.
Premier and Arts Minister Annastacia
Palaszczuk said that International Museum
Day is the perfect date to launch the
search and invited memebers of the
community to nominate individuals who
had achieved exceptional outcomes
or made major contributions to a field
relevant to Queensland Museum.
“On International Museum Day, I would
like to acknowledge our museums that are
incredibly important cultural institutions,
performing the task of preserving the
legacies of our past, bringing them to life
for current and future generations and
exploring the possibilities of tomorrow.”
Queensland Museum Network Chief
Executive Officer and Director, Professor
Suzanne Miller said she was excited
to reinstate the Queensland Museum
Medal, which was last awarded in 2012, to
celebrate people whose work has been
invaluable to the organisation.
“For more than 150 years, Queensland
Museum has been collecting and
protecting millions of treasures that reflect
Queensland’s natural and cultural heritage,”
Professor Miller said.
“Thanks to important collaborations and
the significant efforts of individuals and
communities, the Museum has been able
to share the remarkable stories of its
collection and research and the real-life
impact of those activities.”
Professor Miller said nominations for the
Queensland Museum Medal would be
subjected to rigorous consideration and
assessed based on the individual’s level of
impact in the community, the importance
of their contribution or achievement,
and their alignment with Queensland
Museum’s values.
Recipients of the Queensland Museum
Medal will be awarded a medal and
certificate. For further information and to
submit a nomination, visit qm.qld.gov.au.
Winners will be announced during National
Science Week in August 2017.
Queensland’s new biodiversity champions
From the outback to the city,
Queensland students have taken up
the task to prove they are biodiversity
champions in the second Queensland
Museum’s Natural Leaders challenge.
Queensland Museum and BHP
Billiton recently called on budding
scientists to channel their inner David
Attenborough and address a biodiversity
challenge in their local area in a two
minute documentary.
A shortlist of 10 entries from across
the State was presented to a judging
panel who declared Bridie Willaton from
Mitchell as the winner. Bridie’s video entry
highlighted the effects the Parthenium
weed had on her locally biodiverse area,
particularly the Mungallala Creek in south
western Queensland.
Queensland Museum Network Chief
Executive Officer and Director, Professor
Suzanne Miller said that Queensland
Museum Network are always investigating
ways to spark a natural curiosity in science
and the world around us – whether it is
through events such as the World Science
Festival Brisbane or challenges such as
Natural Leaders, we endeavour to connect
with Queenslander’s young and old.
“It is always heartening to see so many
young Queenslanders show such
enthusiasm towards the challenge. I would
like to congratulate not only Bridie and
the runners up, but all the students who
took the time to participate and hopefully
be inspired by their local biodiversity,”
Professor Miller said.
Bridie, along with runners up Liam Wood
from Bowen and Brisbane’s Sophie
Walker, are now the 2017 Queensland
Museum Junior Correspondents. Prizes
included a Go Pro action camera for the
winner and a set of Queensland Museum
publications to help them share more
stories about their local environment. The
three outstanding students also shared
a once in a lifetime opportunity during
World Science Festival Brisbane to delve
into the mysterious unseen world of the
collections held at Queensland Museum. As
well as this, Bridie spent a day on the set of
Network Ten’s Totally Wild as part of her
Brisbane adventure.
“Thank you for the opportunities, such
as visiting the Queensland museum and
going onto the set of Totally Wild, it was
an amazing experience I will never forget!”
said Bridie.
Queensland Museum’s Natural Leaders
is presented by Queensland Museum
Network’s exclusive biodiversity partner
BHP Billiton.
Mr James Palmer, Asset President of
BHP Billiton Mitsui Coal (BMC) said
the quality of entries was an exciting
preview of Australia’s next generation of
young scientists.
“We have been really impressed with
calibre of the entrants, both this year and
last year, and it is exciting to think what
these young leaders of tomorrow could be
contributing to science in the near future,’’
Mr Palmer said.
“It’s an exciting time for students to be
involved in science. The appointment of
Professor Suzanne Miller as Queensland’s
Chief Scientist and the fantastic work
the Queensland Museum Network is
doing in partnership with BHP Billiton
means there are real career pathways in
Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM), which is a key focus
for our organisation.’’
ANTENNA | JUNE 2017 | ISSUE 46
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