AMplify - Conversations at the Australian Museum

In the premiere event of our Saturday Lecture Series, Macquarie University Professor Malcolm Choat uncovers the history of KV7 - The tomb of Ramses the Great. Tomb KV7 had a life that extended beyond a pharaonic burial chamber. Ancient tourists inscribed their names and impressions on its walls, Christian monks made their homes there and transformed the necropolis into a holy city. A thousand years later, a new wave of tourists from Europe began recording their impressions of Egypt. Join Professor Malcolm Choat as he takes us on a journey through time to explore how the “afterlife” of the tomb of Ramses II - and the Theban Necropolis - teaches us as much about Ancient Egypt as the New Kingdom does. In this captivating lecture, hosted by the Australian Museum’s Chief Experience Officer Russell Briggs, learn what happened in the years between the interment of the great Pharaoh in the 18th Dynasty, and the contemporary excavation of the tomb in the 19th Century.

Come on a journey to the afterlife with archaeologist Dr Anna-Latifa Mourad-Cizek as we explore everything from beliefs and practices to tombs and funerary equipment. ‘I exist, I am alive, I am strong, I have awoken'. Along with mummification, ceremonies and the creation of tombs, ancient Egyptians contrived hundreds of spells to safeguard their eternal existence. Using key pieces from the exhibition Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs, Macquarie University’s Dr Mourad-Cizek will explain how pharaohs, princesses, artists and others prepared to join the realm of the dead, to become eternally divine.

In the first instalment of the Australian Museum’s exclusive 'Egypt - In Conversation' series, curator and Egyptologist Dr Melanie Pitkin sits down with journalist and passionate Egyptophile Caroline Baum for 'An Introduction to Egypt'. As the Senior Curator of the Nicholson collection of antiquities at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, Melanie shares insight into ancient Egyptians and their world view. Learn about key personalities, events and periods of pharaonic history to the interrelationship between religion and society.

The future is female! We turn the spotlight on some of the incredible 2023 Eureka Prize winners and finalists who represent the future of science in Australia. Listen to the last of our Eureka Talks Series, as Associate Professor Alice Motion chats with some of the incredible 2023 Eureka Prizes winners and finalists. We will sit down with Dr Stephanie Partridge, Associate Professor Noushin Nasiri and Scientia Associate Professor Kate Quinlan and delve into the unique challenges and achievements of these three remarkable scientists, whose research and inventions are literally helping to save lives. The Eureka Talks Series shines a light on research and innovations changing the fields of Climate, Health and Science Communication. Hear from Australian Museum Eureka Prize winners, finalists and other science leaders as they share their experiences, challenges and discoveries in their particular fields of research. The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes were established in 1990 to celebrate the work of Australian scientists, and how their contributions are producing world-leading results that can influence the lives of many across the globe.

Professor Kris Helgen, Chief Scientist and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI) in conversation with Ron Lovatt, the Australian Museum's longest serving 'DigiVol' photographer. In this recording Ron talks about his early years and what prompted him to return to nature photography later in life. He discussed his techniques for producing the ultra-high resolution photography that he employed in the Australian Museum Citizen Science program DigiVol. Recorded 6 September 2023 at the Australian Museum.

In this Eureka Talk, explore the science behind the deadliest event of the 21st century. Australian Museum Eureka Prize winning journalist, Olivia Willis, sits down with world-leading evolutionary biologist and virologist, Professor Eddie Holmes, and our Chief Scientist and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute, Professor Kris Helgen, to discuss what is being done to prevent future zoonotic outbreaks. Explore how viruses move between hosts, and the debates over their origins. Learn about the triggers for virus mutations and the cutting-edge research and discoveries that are paving the way towards preventing the next pandemic. Discover the fascinating links between habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade and the next global health emergency. Recorded live at the Australian Museum on 8 July 2023.

Eureka Talks Series: Waste Not, Want Not Recorded live at the Australian Museum 10 June 2023 Join two of the 2022 Australian Museum Eureka Prize winners, as Dr Jackson Ryan sits down with Professor Veena Sahajwalla to explore the science of decarbonising the world with a recycling revolution. In the first Eureka Talk, join us for an eye-opening talk on revolutionising waste. Dr Jackson Ryan, winner of the 2022 Eureka Prize for Science Journalism, sits down with the 2022 New South Wales Australian of the Year and two-time Eureka Prize winner, Professor Veena Sahajwalla, to discuss the cutting-edge research helping build a better world. Our speakers will explore the science of decarbonising the world and the importance of collaboration in scientific innovation. Find out how the grounds from your cappuccino could help to eliminate the need for coal and coke. Dive into the four R's - reduce, reuse, recycle, and REFORM - and how they can be applied to create a sustainable future. The Eureka Talks Series shines a light on research and innovations changing the fields of Climate, Health and Science Communication. Hear from Australian Museum Eureka Prize winners, finalists and other science leaders as they share their experiences, challenges and discoveries in their particular fields of research. The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes were established in 1990 to celebrate the work of Australian scientists, and how their contributions are producing world-leading results that can influence the lives of many across the globe.

Recorded live at the Australian Museum 7 June 2023 Nature speaks, but are we listening? Hear from photographic artist and activist, Leila Jeffreys, renowned naturalist, Tim Low, and author, David Gandelman, as they explore how improving your relationship with nature can, in turn, improve your relationship with yourself. Drawing from personal experiences, the panel will invite you into a more mindful space and ask you to reconsider how we interact with the world around us. From creatures big and small, there is plenty we can learn. Hear how Leila’s work as a photographic and installation artist has deepened her understanding of the importance of interconnection and belonging for all living things. Discover invaluable insights into the natural world and its relationship to us as Tim shares his learnings from decades of research and writing (including best-seller books Where Song Began, Feral Future and The New Nature). Add in David’s practical approach to mindfulness and this is sure to be a perspective-shifting evening.

Bee taxonomist Dr Michael Batley sits down with native bee ecologist and science communicator Amelie Vanderstock to chat about the importance, beauty and diversity of Australia's wonderful native bees, and discover ways to bring them to your garden. There over 1600 named native bees in Australia, and possibly another 1000 that are yet to be discovered. They live among us, in near silence, undertaking the crucial work of pollinating wildflowers, native plants and crops. One of the greatest concerns of taxonomists like Michael Batley is that species will go extinct invisibly – that a bee will disappear before being known to science. Michael is working hard to document the bees and chart new discoveries so that we may find ways to halt their decline. Recorded live at the Australian Museum on 4 February 2023.

Proud Cudgenburra/Bundjalung man, landscaper and Gardening Australia presenter, Clarence Slockee, joins us for the second installment of the series. Learn five practical ways to bring beautiful local blooms, birds and butterflies into your garden as Clarence busts the myth around the difficulty of growing native plants. Five Things is a series of talks by Australian ecology experts that offers real-world steps you can take to boost biodiversity and to make your community a haven for native plants and wildlife. Recorded live at the Australian Museum on 3 December 2022

On Saturday 5 November 2022, journalist and author, Ali Gripper, sat down with Dr Jodi Rowley for an intimate Q&A on Jodi’s life's work and to learn five things we can do to make our gardens frog-friendly. Frogs play a crucial role in the balance of our ecosystems. Australia has over 240 known species of frog, almost all of which are found nowhere else in the world. With climate change robbing them of habitat, clean water and food sources, frogs are fighting for their lives. Since 2017, Curator of the Australian Museum Herpetology Collection, Dr Jodi Rowley, has been championing the protection of frogs through citizen science app FrogID. Through people power, over 700,000 frogs have been documented, giving Jodi and her team of scientists an unprecedented picture of the lives and deaths of Aussie frogs.

Recorded at the Australian Museum Thursday 2 June 2022. The ways in which we consume media have shifted, offering us extraordinary opportunities to inform people, bring them together and evoke action. But in this digital era, too much of one thing – or the wrong thing – can make people just scroll on. How do we balance images of loss and devastation with the prospect of a better future? Social researcher Dr Rebecca Huntley has focused on climate change since seeing images of the school climate strikes in 2018. The visceral anxiety and impassioned efforts of the students inspired her to do what she could to make a difference for her own children’s generation. In this year’s Talbot Oration, the respected Australian author, commentator, climate change strategist and mother will investigate the powerful ways that images can convey the messages of climate change and inspire climate action. Using data and evidence based on years of social trend research, Rebecca will offer reasons why the right imagery can break through the online chatter and spark action. Following her address, Dr Huntley was joined by Tishiko King, a proud Kulkalaig woman and campaigner for climate and social justice, and Dr Saul Griffith, engineer and author of The Big Switch, in conversation with Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO.

Unsettled – Remembering Massacres by Australian Museum

NITV’s Yokayi Footy presenter Bianca Hunt and Professor John Maynard, Chair of Aboriginal History at the University of Newcastle, talk opportunities, barriers and responsibilities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sportspeople past and present. Sport has allowed First Nations people to compete as equals on the field. Success offers possibilities of financial reward and social acceptance far above that which might be otherwise available. Yet as time goes on, we find sport and racism cannot be separated.

Artist Daniel Boyd and Academic Dr Stephen Gilchrist discuss the legacy of Emily Kame Kngwarreye and the importance of place and ceremony in art today. When Emily Kame Kngwarreye died in 1996, she was recognised as one of the world’s great painters. Her work was inherently tied to deep, layered understanding and interpretation of her Country’s stories, and was the culmination of a lifetime of making art as ceremony. If an inherent relationship to place is the basis of First Nations visual tradition, what does it mean for contemporary First Nations art practitioners? How do urban-based Indigenous artists – and those whose cultures have been lost to them – maintain links with their heritage and create ceremony through their work? Recorded at the Australian Museum on 15 June 2021

Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO and Dr Jason DeSantolo explore the legacy of David Unaipon and how traditional systems and knowledge are helping solve contemporary issues.

Arts leaders Wesley Enoch and Rhoda Roberts AO reflect on the legacy of writer Oodgeroo Noonuccal and activism in the arts. The first published Aboriginal poet in Australia, the writings of Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker), captured both the strength of Aboriginal culture and the impacts of colonisation on her people. A charismatic, strong leader from Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island), her distinctive voice pricked the national consciousness and brought another perspective to the literature of the time. Wesley Enoch, who grew up on Minjerribah, has strong memories of “Aunty Kath”, and is now returning to Country and carrying on her legacy. In this very personal session, arts leaders Wesley Enoch and Rhoda Roberts AO share their memories of Noonuccal and discuss how arts and activism are inseparable.

Join Indigenous systems ecologist Chels Marshall and facilitator Dr Mariko Smith to discuss how deep cultural knowledge not only overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius but may help reverse the damaging effects of 200 years of Eurocentric land and sea management practice into the future. Eddie Mabo’s native title claim changed the foundation of this nation’s land and sea law by proving that First Nations people had, through interconnecting social and ecological knowledge systems, lived sustainably and harmoniously on country for millennia.

Professor Tim Flannery outlines his manifesto for humanity’s survival of the “climate emergency” in the Australian Museum’s (AM) inaugural Talbot Oration. The event was held free to the public on Thursday 3 June 2021 at 6:30PM in Hintze Hall at the Australian Museum. In his speech, Professor Flannery made the case for using Australia’s approach to COVID-19 as a model for responding to climate change, outlined in his new book, The Climate Cure: Solving the Climate Emergency in the Era of COVID-19. Professor Flannery spoke about the opportunity for Australia to lead in addressing the climate crisis and implement a prompt, effective, science-led government policy on management – and survival – of the climate threat. Following the keynote address, Professor Flannery was joined by Professor Veena Sahajwalla and multi-award-winning journalist Rae Johnston for a panel discussion moderated by former AM president, businesswoman and sustainability adviser Sam Mostyn AO discussing solutions and actions the public can take to help minimise climate change impact.

Australian Museum Director and CEO Kim McKay in discussion with Professor Tim Flannery.