Don’t miss the new colossal squid
15/09/2014Te Papa is holding another Science Live event tomorrow.
Left: Defrosting tank. Photographer: Jean-Claude Stahl © Te Papa.
Te Papa has something very big and special in its freezer, and they want to share it with you and your students.
The museum will broadcast another Science Live event: an examination of a colossal squid.
The live broadcast will take place on Tuesday, September 16, from 11am until 2pm, and can be found online here. The event will be presented by Veronika Meduna, the host of Radio New Zealand’s Our Changing World programme. A portion of the live broadcast will be reserved especially for questions from students and their teachers.
Squid biology specialists from Te Papa and Auckland University of Technology will undertake research on this rare find, and their examination will be broadcast live on YouTube.
Te Papa was the subject of international media attention in 2008 when its first colossal squid, caught accidently by the longlining vessel the San Aspiring, was studied and went on display at the museum. This squid weighed in at 495 kilograms.
This second specimen was caught in the Ross Sea, also by the crew of the San Aspiring while fishing for Antarctic toothfish.
Colossal squid specimens in good condition are rarely available to scientists, and Te Papa’s two squids are the only two of their kind caught intact.
Ask the squid scientists
Email sciencelive@tepapa.govt.nz with your questions for the squid scientists. Questions will be answered during the live show.
Schools, send in your questions
There will be a special part of the live-stream just for schools. From 11.30am to 12 noon on 16 September, questions from classrooms across New Zealand will be answered.
Email sciencelive@tepapa.govt.nz to join and get your class questions answered.
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