Summer Science
Collection items
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Myrtle rust - its impact in NZ and Australia
19 Apr 2018Myrtle rust is having a profound impact on native plants and ecosystems in Australia - what will its effect be on New Zealand forests? Audio
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Seabird hotspot - the Poor Knights Islands
12 Apr 2018A team of seabird experts experience the joys and challenges of counting Buller's shearwaters on the predator-free Poor Knights Islands. Audio
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Never ask a boy 'why?'
Science communication student Mary Rabbidge takes a look at the brains of teenage boys, to find out why they behave the way they do. Audio
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Dragonflies - masters of flight
29 Mar 2018Dragonflies are precision flying machines, and Ruary Mackenzie Dodds says they are an indicator of clean water. Audio
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Havre - the world's largest deep ocean volcanic eruption
14 Jun 2018Geologists have discovered that the 2012 eruption of Havre volcano, on the Kermadec Arc, was the world's largest submarine volcanic eruption. Video, Audio
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Clever canines
25 Jan 2018How do dogs think? Do they experience emotions such as jealousy? The Clever Canine Lab at the University of Auckland is investigating. Audio
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Southern island sanctuary for rare birds
29 Jun 2017Putauhinu, one of the southern Tītī Islands, has become a remarkable rat-free sanctuary, gifting rare land birds to other islands. Video, Audio, Gallery
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Complexity - six months of Kaikōura earthquake science
11 May 2017Six months after the destructive magnitude 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake, scientists are still unravelling what happened during this very complex seismic event. Video, Audio
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Te Waikoropupu Springs - what's their value?
16 Jan 2018Science communication student Lucy Coyle, from the University of Otago, finds out about the freshwater and cultural values of Pupu Springs in Golden Bay, New Zealand's largest springs boasting the… Audio
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Kauri dieback and how microbes sense the world
8 Jun 2017Microbes, such as the fungi-like kauri dieback disease, use chemicals to sense their world - and understanding this might help us to develop new treatments. Video, Audio
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Uncovering the past
Archaeologists have been working alongside the Milton community to excavate an old Anglican cemetery, to find 'lost burials' and restore the stories of early Otago farmers. Audio, Gallery
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The rabbit problem
8 Jan 2018Science communication student Berenice Mathieu, from the University of Otago, finds out about moves to introduce a more virulent strain of RHD or rabbit calicivirus into New Zealand to control… Audio
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Breaking Babel
In a city as culturally diverse as Auckland, how is the Kiwi accent changing and evolving? Video, Audio
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Rediscovered - the New Zealand storm petrel
6 Apr 2017The Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust has been trying to solve the many mysteries of our smallest seabird, the New Zealand storm petrel, which breeds on Hauturu / Little Barrier Island. Audio, Gallery
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Seals- friend or foe?
2 Jan 2018Science communication student Lana Young, from the University of Otago, talks to fishers and a marine mammal scientist about the rising number of seals and sea lions. Audio
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Migraines - much more than a headache
Migraines are debilitating headaches, and Debbie Hay says that new drugs targeting the pain hormone CGRP are showing lots of promise. Audio
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Micronutrients and their link to mental health
Julia Rucklidge is investigating whether micronutrients can relieve stress and anxiety, help people quit smoking and treat ADHD. Audio
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What's happening with our freshwater?
26 Dec 2017Science communication student Tegan Good, from the University of Otago, takes a look a freshwater issues in New Zealand. Audio
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Insects remarkably preserved in New Zealand amber
15 Jun 2017Amber is beautiful to look at - and it is also an incredible window into the prehistoric past. Audio
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Predator-free in the city
9 Feb 2017Wellington's Polhill Restoration Project volunteers are looking after rare birds such as nesting kaka and tieke that are spilling into the 'halo' around Zealandia Sanctuary. Video, Audio, Gallery
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Booming bitterns
Australasian bitterns are one of New Zealand's most cryptic and threatened wetland birds, and the males attract females with a deep foghorn boom. Audio, Gallery
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An ode to mangroves
Mangroves have a mixed reputation, with some people thinking of them as weeds while others, including writer Kennedy Warne, value them for their ecosystem function and as a natural breakwater. Audio
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Survivors - New Zealand's tiny native frogs
After 35 years of counting threatened Archey's frog on the Coromandel Peninsula, Ben Bell has seen their numbers crash due to the chytrid fungal disease, and the population slowly recover. Audio, Gallery
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Pharmac and its role in making drugs available
Science communication student Garrett Chin talks with doctors and a health economist about the challenges that Pharmac faces in buying drugs, and what happens when new but expensvie drugs become… Audio
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Museums and their role in modern society
16 Jan 2017Emma Hanisch, a student at the University of Otago, loves museums - and she wonders what needs to be done to keep them relevant and exciting. Audio
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CarpN Neutral - doing good things with bad koi carp
Introduced koi carp are a nuisance in lakes and rivers in the Waikato, and the CarpN Neutral project catches them and turns their bodies into fertiliser for use in native revegetation programmes. Audio, Gallery
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Deterring sharks with electricity
Sunkita Howard is developing an electrical deterrent to discourage spiny dogfish from getting caught on fishing hooks used in the ling longline fishery. Audio, Gallery
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Did early Polynesians sail to the Americas?
Science communications student Ellen Rykers ponders the Polynesians and their journeys around the Pacific, wondering where they might have got to. Audio
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Hedgehogs – good or bad?
9 Jan 2017Hedgehogs are cute - but they're also deadly killers. Science communication student Harriet Ampt is investigating. Audio
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Acting on climate change - Royal Society of NZ report
28 Apr 2016In its latest report on climate change, the Royal Society of New Zealand lays out options for how we coudl reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Audio
