Please Note: The following is a list of Past Presentations...

museum@work

Free Friday Lunchtime Lecture Series 2004, 12.30pm
A behind-the-scenes look at the work of the Museum?s scientists, historians and exhibition designers.

museum@work is a series of free fortnightly presentations providing a snapshot of the research
and specialist work undertaken by Museum professionals. The 45 minute presentations start at
12.30pm sharp in the Discovery Centre at the Western Australian Museum, Perth. All welcome.
Enquiries to Luke Donegan, Discovery Centre, on 9427 2837.

Western Gems July 28
Peter Downes, Assistant Curator of Minerals and Meteorites will discuss the history of diamonds in Western Australia, including their high-pressure origin deep within the Earth's mantle, their rapid rise to the surface and explosive deposition in volcanic pipes. Peter will reveal the source of their famous pink and yellow hues that make Western Australian diamonds such attractive gems.

The Pearl Project August 11
Researchers have been looking at the naturally occurring sponges that damage pearl oysters used in the lucrative pearling industry of Western Australia. Dr Jane Fromont, Western Australian Museum and Dr Anthony Hart, Department of Fisheries. will discuss the interaction between the sponges and pearl oysters off 80 Mile Beach and Lacepede Islands near Broome. The talk will also offer some fascinating insights into the biology of the silver lipped pearl oyster.

Fishing Kimberley Style August 25
‘Their only food is a small sort of Fish, which they get by making Wares [weirs] of Stone across little Coves or Branches of the Sea.’ When William Dampier described the fishing practices of the Bardi from the South-west Kimberley in 1688, he failed to capture the many fishing styles or the variety of species fished. For over 20 years Bardi people have shared knowledge about traditional practices with Moya Smith, Curator of Anthropology. Today you might learn how to catch 'the big one"!

Cosmic Gems September 8
Following on from Peter Downes’ talk, Associate Professor Alex Bevan, Curator of Mineralogy and Meteoritics, will discuss diamonds and other gems that have their origins in space. Some meteorites contain millions of tiny diamonds, rubies and sapphires which pre-date the formation of the Solar System. These ancient minerals formed in the atmospheres of stars that ended their lives before our Sun was lit.
Some of these gems have found their way to Earth.

Weavers in the Dark: Orb-web Spiders September 22
The Australian continent hosts an immense diversity of conspicuous orb-weaving spiders of which the ‘Garden Orb-Weaver’ is just one. These spiders vary greatly in colour, shape and ecology, and also in the architecture of their web. Are the tiny males of many orb-weaving spiders dwarf females, or are the females actually gigantic? Arachnologist Dr Volker Framenau will unveil the web of mystery surrounding these peculiar spiders

The Magic of Shark Bay
April 30 - Dr Barry Hutchins, Curator of Fishes in the Department of Aquatic Zoology, is a leading expert in the biogeography of Western Australian fishes, and is particularly interested in the Shark Bay area. This World Heritage site offers much more than just dolphins, dugongs and exceptional fishing. Barry?s presentation will explore the unique character of the bay that makes it one of the most important ecosystems in the world.

Interpreting the Museum
May 14 - Luke Donegan, Community Education Coordinator for the Western Australian Museum manages the Discovery Centre and develops interpretive experiences for visitors to the Museum. In his talk, Luke will discuss the significance of the state?s natural and social heritage collection, and the different ways this collection is interpreted for visitors through exhibitions, holiday activities, education programs, public lectures and guided tours.

Flat Irons and Robber Crabs
May 28 - Greg Wallace is Manager of the Museum Assistance Program, which delivers Western Australian Museum expertise to more than 250 regional museums and cultural centres in the State. Greg will share some of the Museum Assistance Program?s experiences over the last ten years and provide a glimpse of the fascinating stories told by museums from Kununurra to Ravensthorpe and from Christmas Island to Coolgardie.

Dances with Wolves - Down Under
June 11 - Dr Volker Framenau, from the Department of Terrestrial Invertebrates, has studied the ecology of wolf spiders in Australia and overseas for over a decade. This presentation will introduce the fascinating and extremely diverse lifestyle of a dominant group of ground living spiders, will clear up some urban myths ('wolf spiders are big, hairy, and extremely poisonous').

YouthLink ? the Museum?s focus on young people
June 25 - Lyn Williamson, Director of Visitor Services, has recently returned from a Churchill Fellowship study tour investigating youth initiatives in museums in Canada and England. Although teenagers and young adults are not traditional museum visitors, the museum experience has much to offer young people. In her presentation, Lyn will talk about her findings and plans for the WA Museum?s YouthLink program.

All welcome and bookings are not required.
Enquiries to Luke Donegan, Discovery Centre, on 9427 2837.

Past Presentations

Fieldwork on the Nullarbor
April 2 2004 ? Dr Geoff Deacon from the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department manages mineral collections and runs the popular Dinosaur Club.  He has explored the Nullarbor from above in search of meteorites and from below in search of megafauna fossils.  Discover the trials, successes and antics associated with lengthy periods of isolation on the treeless plane.

Extraordinary cave creatures
February 20 2004 ? Dr Bill Humphreys, Department of Terrestrial Invertebrates, is the Australian expert on subterranean life in both caves and groundwater.  Bill will take you to the houses of animals living in total darkness, including blind fish, water beetles and spiders, plus creatures of the rainforest and the ancient Tethys Ocean that have adapted to life in desert caves.

Cockatoos in Crisis
March 5 2004 ? Ron Johnstone, Curator of Birds and author of the Handbook of Western Australian Birds, will introduce you to the much-loved black cockatoos, which are now endangered. Find out how the Museum?s scientific research and community programs such as Cockatoo Care offer hope for these spectacular animals.

Remembering our Past
March 19 2004 ? Ann Delroy, Head of the History Department, will tell the story behind a WW2 concentration camp uniform displayed at the Museum?s Fremantle History branch.  Through this moving account, discover the many layers of meaning an artefact can have and the importance of preserving objects that represent our history and culture.

Sea Stingers & Poisoners
February 6 2004 ? Shirley Slack-Smith, Curator of Molluscs in the Department of Aquatic Zoology for 30 years and co-author of Sea Stingers, will highlight some of the most dangerous ocean creatures living off WA?s coast.  Find out how to identify the blue-ringed octopus, cone shells and species of jellyfish, which can harm unwary swimmers.

Millennium Museums - What's hot in the museum world today?
December 12 2003- Dr Gary Morgan is the Executive Director of the Western Australian Museum. Museums as we know them have their origin in the late 18th Century. Much of what museums did then is still practised today. For the last museum@work presentation of 2003, join the WA Museum's Executive Director in a discussion about some things that work, and some that do not, in designing the new museum for a modern world.

Evidence of Early Settlement
November 28 2003 - Charles Dortch is Curator of Archaeology in the Museum's Anthropology Department. Charlie has long been interested in early evidence for Aboriginal occupation in Western Australia, and is one of the principal investigators at the cave site at Devil's Lair. Charlie will discuss his most recent archaeological find, a stone tool imbedded in an ancient cemented soil, at Bathurst Point on Rottnest Island.

Protection of the Gods - Ancient Egyptian Amulets
November 14 2003 - Moya Smith is Head of the Museum?s Anthropology Department. In addition to focusing on Aboriginal traditional culture, she is co-founder of WAMCAES, the Western Australian Museum?s Centre for Ancient Egyptian Studies, and Curator of the Museum?s Ancient Egyptian collection. Moya will discuss the amulets held in the Museum?s collection and the significant role they played in ancient Egyptian society.

Dinosaurs in a Cretaceous Diorama ? Reconstructing the Past
October 31 2003- Kirsten Tullis is the Senior Preparator in the Exhibition and Design Department. She will outline how the Museum?s dinosaur Carnotaurus sastrei and the Cretaceous diorama in the Western Australia: Land and PeopleGallery were constructed. Learn how a small team of artists modelled the animals, plants, rocks and mud, and put everything together to bring to life a scene from around 150 million years ago.

Investigations of Intriguing Insects
October 17 2003 - Dr Terry Houston is the Curator of Insects at the Western Australian Museum. He is a leading authority on Australia's large fauna of native bees, the study of which over 37 years has involved a lot of spade work (literally). Having developed his digging skills, Terry has recently turned his attention to the biology of sandgropers. His talk will reveal some intriguing facts that he has 'dug up' on these and other Western Australian insects.

Perth?s Fauna ? Changes Over Time 
September 19 2003 - Ric How
Department of Terrestrial Vertebrates

Dinosaurs and Giant Prehistoric Animals
September 5 2003 - John Long
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Fossil Fishes

Mawson?s Huts ? Frozen Heritage
August 8 2003
Ian Godfrey, Department of Conservation

Dirt Disease and Depravity July 25 2003 Sue Graham-Taylor (right) and Lisa Williams, History Department

Exhibition Design August 22 2003 Paul Morgan, Department of Exhibition and Design

Western Australian Fossils
July 4 2003 - Dr Ken McNamara, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, is the Museum's Senior Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeobotany. Western Australia has a rich fossil heritage that dates back 3.5 billion years. In his talk, Dr Ken McNamara will outline the evolution of life in Western Australia from bacteria to plants, and from fish to dinosaurs, based on the Museum's fossil collections.

Frogs - Bioindicators of the Environment June 20 2003- Anthea Paino is the Coordinator of the Museum's Alcoa Frog Watch program, which raises the community's awareness of frogs through encouraging participation in frog conservation projects. Anthea will demonstrate how to identify local frogs and how to encourage them into your backyard.

Western Australia?s Wealth of Marine Biodiversity
June 6 2003 - Dr Jane Fromont, Department of Aquatic Zoology, is the Museum's Curator of Marine Invertebrates. Jane specialises in sessile marine animals, such as corals, which do not move around as adults. Jane will discuss the species that exist in great abundance along the coastline of Western Australia, which is a global hotspot of biodiversity. Find out more about their importance and conservation.

Spiders and Their Kin
May 23 2003 - Dr Mark Harvey, Department of Terrestrial Invertebrates, is the Museum's Senior Curator of Arachnids. As a leading expert on many different types of spiders, Dr Mark Harvey will demonstrate the great diversity of spiders and their relatives in the Australian landscape, and discuss how much more we have yet to discover.

The South-West Aboriginal Collection May 9 2003 - Ross Chadwick, Registrar of the Department of Anthropology, manages the collection of ethnographic Aboriginal artefacts from the South-West of Western Australia. This significant collection is representative of Nyoongar culture over the last two hundred years. Ross' talk will describe the collection from traditional objects to recent contemporary acquisitions.

 

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Batavia Lecture Series

Lecture Theatre, Maritime Museum, Victoria Quay
Charges apply. Bookings essential phone 9431 8480/9431 8455

This regular series of lectures feature national and international speakers presenting on a variety of Maritime topics, from shipwrecks to modern day expeditions.  For more information about the lectures or to book, please contact Sarah Byrne In Maritime Education on 9431 8480.

Friday July 18, 6pm 
Shanties and Their Origins
Alistair ?Digger? Wilson, Shantyman
Friday August 15, 6pm  
Conservation of the World War Two Japanese shipwrecks in Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon
Dr Ian MacLeod, Principal Conservator and Director of Museum Services Western Australian Museum
Friday September 26, 6pm  
The America?s Cup twenty years on, a personal story
Phillipe Peche, International yachtsman and crew of Orange, holder of Around the World Record
Friday October 24, 6pm
Royal purple and the middle sea: the purple industry in the ancient Mediterranean
Dr Bill Leadbetter, Lecturer, Education Edith Cowan University
Friday November 21, 6pm
Dirk Hartog and the land of Eendracht
Dr Phillip Playford, Honarary Associate, Western Australian Museum