27 Feb 2015One Day from Glory – a World Cup retrospectiveSo you think you know your World Cup cricket? Why not test yourself at the Western Australian Museum’s World Cup exhibition – One Day from Glory – which goes on display today in the foyer at the WA Museum – Perth, and should help you join up the dot balls. WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said the Museum’s tribute to the World Cup, its history, its origins, highs and lows, and its controversies, will take you back through the journey that brought cricket’s greatest one-day prize to where it is today.Read more News Sharna Craig
25 Feb 2015Marine predators from the CretaceousHow palaeontologists uncovered their ancient mysteries Imagine yourself during The Age of the Dinosaurs 100 million years ago. While the land is populated by the ferocious Spinosaurus, the oceans host massive sharks and gigantic marine reptiles. This is the geological period that Dr Siversson, Curator of Palaeontology at the Western Australia Museum, chose to specialise in. How do palaeontologists acquire their knowledge about such a distant past? What are the steps in fossils identification and how do scientists deal with uncertainty?Read more Article Western Australian Museum
24 Feb 2015How to find goldThe Western Australian Museum – Kalgoorlie-Boulder will host a lecture this week about how to find gold more easily. Senior exploration geologist David Nixon will present Clz – Not All Laterites Are Created Equal to answer common questions asked by prospectors, on Wednesday 25 February. WA Museum – Kalgoorlie-Boulder Regional Manager Zoe Scott said it will be interesting to hear how someone with extensive local knowledge finds gold on the Goldfields.Read more News Sharna Craig
23 Feb 2015A behind-the-scenes look at our volute collectionThe common name Volutes refers to the taxonomic family Volutidae, a family of predatory sea snails. These marine gastropod molluscs mostly occur in tropical seas, though some species inhabit the cold polar waters. Of the 200 species of volutes distributed worldwide, around 70 are known from Australia; many of those from Western Australian are endemic, found nowhere else in the world. Their glossy and large shell adorned with attractive patterns make this family very prized in shell collections.Read more Photo Galleries Jessica Scholle
20 Feb 2015Shipwreck Galleries to close temporarily for maintenanceThe Western Australian Museum is commencing the final phase of planned maintenance work at the historic Shipwreck Galleries in Fremantle, beginning 3 March, 2015. WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said the Shipwreck Galleries will be closing for approximately six weeks while work is done to replace the ageing roof and remediate the limestone walls of the heritage listed Commisariat Building, which dates back to 1852.Read more News Sharna Craig
19 Feb 2015Meet Ruby – WA’s seadragon discovery that’s been 100 years in the makingResearchers from the WA Museum and Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the United States have announced the discovery of a new species of seadragon found off the West Australian coast. Known as the Ruby seadragon for its unusual bright red colouring, Phyllopteryx dewysea is only the third species of seadragon ever recorded in the world.Read more Article Danny Murphy
19 Feb 2015Rare Ruby Seadragon uncovered in WAA new species of seadragon has been discovered off the coast of Western Australia by researchers at the Western Australian Museum. The bright red Ruby Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea) is only the third species of seadragon ever recorded in the world.Read more News Sharna Craig
18 Feb 2015Lobsters, rock lobsters and crayfishLobsters, rock lobsters and crayfish may look similar and can be easily confused. Do you have the keys to distinguish them? Here are some photos of crustaceans. Would you be able to recognise each species?Read more Article Western Australian Museum
16 Feb 2015A behind-the-scenes look at our mineral collectionThe Western Australian Museum mineral collections contain around 30,800 specimens of some 1,300 mineral species from more than 10,000 localities in Australia and the rest of the world. This photo gallery showcases some specimens from this large collection. Further Information To find out more on the Western Australian Museum mineral collection, visit the collection hightlights on the Museum website.Read more Photo Galleries Jessica Scholle
11 Feb 2015Amazing Sea StarsNothing scares seastars. A prey too large for their tiny mouth? No problem, they eject their stomach from their body. A damaged arm? No worries, they regenerate a new limb! Varying in shape and size, and often brightly coloured, seastars are loved by children and prised by collectors; but do you really know what they are? Let’s take a look at these surprising aquatic animals.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
10 Feb 2015Final days of expedition reveal new Batavia burialsA team of WA archaeologists and scientists has found the remains of four people in a sequence of remarkable discoveries at Beacon Island, part of the Houtman Abrolhos off the coast of Geraldton. The research team, from the Western Australian Museum and The University of Western Australia, returned to Perth yesterday after an expedition to Beacon Island to examine archaeological sites related to one of WA’s most famous shipwrecks, Batavia.Read more News Sharna Craig
9 Feb 2015A behind-the-scenes look at our Roe Calcarenite fossil collectionAbout 3 million years ago the Leeuwin Current flowed strongly, warming the waters along the south-west Australian coast to such an extent that mangroves flourished and corals grew. This warm sea also supported rich molluscan faunas. Nearly 600 species are known from a thin limestone called the Roe Calcarenite which outcrops on the Roe Plains. Because of their recent age about two-thirds of the species are still living today, although some are now found in warmer waters to the north.Read more Photo Galleries Jessica Scholle
6 Feb 2015Redback spider bite - what to doRedback spiders (Latrodectus hasseltii) are extremely common in Australia, and are often found in considerable numbers around houses and other buildings in many towns and cities in Western Australia. They rarely bite humans, and when disturbed, they usually try to escape or feign death by curling its legs and dropping to the ground.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
4 Feb 2015Expedition reveals new Batavia burial siteArchaeologists from the Western Australian Museum and The University of Western Australia are back at Beacon Island examining archaeological sites related to one of WA’s most famous shipwrecks, the Batavia. One burial site containing the remains of an adolescent person was carefully excavated by the team yesterday. Further investigations of other sites are continuingRead more News Sharna Craig
4 Feb 2015Scientific investigations on Baler shellsThe Western Australian Museum is performing research on Baler shells to determine how many different species occur in our waters and to better understand their distribution around the country. The Baler shell is a large marine mollusc that belongs to the gastropod family Volutidae (volute shells). Of the 200 species of volutes distributed worldwide, around 70 are known from Australia. Many of those from Western Australian are endemic, found nowhere else in the world.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
2 Feb 2015A behind-the-scenes look at our butterfly collectionButterflies are a group of insects which belong to the order Lepidoptera and include about 17,950 species. Of the 400 butterfly species distributed in Australia, approximately half are endemic, found nowhere else in the world.Read more Photo Galleries Jessica Scholle
30 Jan 2015Bungendore ParkBungendore Park is an area of natural Jarrah-Marri bushland, and is part of Wungong Regional Park, located on the edge of the Darling Scarp.Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
27 Jan 2015Bird capture and release storyThis is a bird capture and release story told by the Western Australian Museum's Curator of Ornithology Ron Johnstone. Thousands of kilometres from the Western Australian coast, shipwrecked sailors tagged a giant petrel. The bird flew to Western Australia and the note was found. Listen below to hear what happens next: Read more Article Western Australian Museum
23 Jan 2015A behind-the-scenes look at our beetle collectionThe Coleoptera, commonly called beetles, are by far the largest order of insects. More than 420,000 species are described worldwide, making up about 40% of all known insects species and almost 25% of all known animals. This large order includes diving beetles, ladybugs, stag beetles, weevils and ground beetles. Beetles occur in all terrestrial habitats including dry regions, tropical forests and freshwater or beach environments, except in the Polar Regions.Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
23 Jan 2015How do we know where meteorites come from?Meteorites are solid pieces of natural space debris that do not completely disintegrate during their descent through the atmosphere. Available evidence and research suggest most meteorites appear to be fragments of asteroids in solar orbits between Mars and Jupiter, but some meteorites also originate from Mars and the Moon. Today, seventy meteorites are recognised to have come from the planet Mars. In its collections, the Western Australian Museum contains samples of three Martian meteorites and two samples of lunar meteorites. Read more Article Western Australian Museum