Come along to a fascinating talk exploring the natural (and unnatural) processes of what happens to animals after death with Tūhura Otago Museum Curator, Emma Burns.

In her role as Curator, Natural Science, Emma sees all kinds of weird and wonderful creatures, and works with preserving specimens for the Museum Collection.

Part of the collections team’s job is to intercept remains of selected flora and fauna, and fossils that would otherwise decay, be discarded, eaten or eventually eroded and destroyed by nature itself. Foregoing these natural processes, the team step in with unnatural ones. Curators and collection managers preserve the remains, preparing them for their afterlives in museums as specimens: cleaning, pressing, pickling, and pinning. This staves off decay, but specimens will still age and deteriorate.

This free talk is part of our jam-packed 2023 Wild Dunedin Festival line-up, you can find more information on Wild Dunedin events here.

2pm – 2.30pm, Friday 14 April
Barclay Theatre
Cost: Free