Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Open every day 10am-6pm
(except Christmas Day)
Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
A panel discussion with prominent seaweed experts marks the 100th birthday of artist, botanist, and curator, Nancy Adams.
When | Āhea
Sat 25 Jul 2026, 2pm to 3pm
Where | Ki hea
Rongomaraeroa, the marae, Level 4
Cost | Te utu
Free, with museum entry
Accessibility
Accessible by wheelchair via the lift from Te Ara-a-Hine passage on Level 2 to the marae on Level 4, or the main lifts from Level 2 to Level 4, via Mana Whenua.
Join Te Papa to celebrate the life and legacy of Nancy Adams (1926–2007), one of Aotearoa's most notable botanists and a talented artist. As well as being a prolific botany collector, contributing hugely to the development of Te Papa’s herbarium, Adams drew and painted an incredible number of botanical illustrations, and wrote popular books on New Zealand seaweed, trees, and flora.
This panel discussion will gather prominent Phycologists (seaweed specialists) and other experts to reflection on Adam's work, including and her extensive research and documentation of New Zealand's seaweed species, as well as the generous contributions she made to the worlds of art, botany, and museology.
Before the panel begins, we will mark the birthday celebrations with a seaweed chocolate-inspired cake generously sponsored by Whittakers.
The panel will be moderated by Curator Art Dr Rebecca Rice.
She collected 3,321 botanical specimens for the Te Papa herbarium, and identified a staggering 6,874 additional specimens in the collection. Te Papa also holds a vast collection of paintings and drawings by Nancy Adams, as well as field notebooks, photographs, and other archival material. Explore Nancy Adams’ entire catalogue on Collections Online.
Nancy Adams (1926–2007) was one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most notable botanists and a talented artist. One of Te Papa’s most prolific botany collectors of all time, she also painted and drew an incredible number of botanical illustrations. She used her artwork to produce important books about Aotearoa New Zealand’s flora, including seaweeds, flowers, trees, and alpine plants.
Nancy Adams was a key player in the early decades of the Dominion Museum, making substantial curatorial contributions to collections spanning from colonial history to botany and producing illustrations, now a valuable part of the Te Papa Art collection Lucia Adams and Margo Montes de Oca discuss her influence and curatorial eye in Te Papa’s archives and in the outside world.
