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Scientific discoveries, ground-breaking expeditions, jaw-dropping exhibitions and Australia's biggest museum collection.

A sulphur-crested cockatoo opening the lid of a household waste bin.

Contact-tracing of Cockatoos reveals spread of foraging culture

It may seem as though the action of a cockatoo flipping a bin-lid is a simple one – but world-first research by a team including Australian Museum Research Institute Ornithology expert Dr Richard Major has revealed that this behaviour is far more significant than first thought.

23 July 2021

From the deck of CSIRO research vessel Investigator.

Voyage to the deep sea – Destination Unknown

Five AMRI scientists voyage into the deep sea on board the CSIRO research vessel Investigator. Between laboratory preparations and star gazing, excitement builds en route to their destination – a destination that is largely unknown. Alice Yan tells us more about the voyage journey.

13 July 2021

Project Discover AIA NSW Architecture Award photo submissions

“A singular civic space” Australian Museum’s Project Discover awarded highest honour at the 2021 AIA NSW Architecture Awards

Project Discover has received three major gongs at the 2021 Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) NSW Architecture Awards, including its top honour, the NSW Architecture Medallion.

8 July 2021

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Contact-tracing of Cockatoos reveals spread of foraging culture

23 July 2021

The Climate Cure: The inaugural Talbot Oration

Professor Tim Flannery outlines his manifesto for humanity’s survival of the “climate emergency” in the Australian Museum’s (AM) inaugural Talbot Oration.

Live at the AM
3 June 2021

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Some of the new solar panels on the roof of the Kalkhoven Wing and the aquarium

News from LIRS: Solar power upgrade - towards zero

Each month, a selected blog from Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation is featured at the AM. For this month, we feature the solar power upgrade at LIRS.

19 July 2021

Lunchtime Conversation 2021: Wesley Enoch and Rhoda Roberts AO

Arts leaders Wesley Enoch and Rhoda Roberts AO reflect on the legacy of writer Oodgeroo Noonuccal and activism in the arts.

Live at the AM
8 June 2021

Storyboat Installation from Unsettled exhibition

Unsettled: Uncovering our nation's hidden history

An exploration of one of the Australian Museum’s most significant shows in its almost 200-year history.

By Laura McBride and Dr Mariko Smith

Who is Country?

So often we are asked “what is Country?”, but for First Nations people the real question has always been “who is Country?”

By Sara Kianga Judge

The Climate Cure: The inaugural Talbot Oration

Professor Tim Flannery outlines his manifesto for humanity’s survival of the “climate emergency” in the Australian Museum’s (AM) inaugural Talbot Oration.

Live at the AM
3 June 2021

Find out more

News from LIRS: Solar power upgrade - towards zero

Each month, a selected blog from Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation is featured at the AM. For this month, we feature the solar power upgrade at LIRS.

19 July 2021

The Upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) swimming in seagrass in Lake Macquarie, NSW in 2019.

Putting things the right way around: Identification and distribution of upside-down jellyfish

An AMF/AMRI Postgraduate award helped PhD student, Claire Rowe, provide answers on why upside-down jellyfish have recently appeared in Lake Macquarie, NSW. The search for answers led her to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts in Queensland.

8 July 2021

The Great Australian Trilobite

A newly discovered trilobite species, found in the collections of the Australian Museum and Geoscience Australia, is the largest species ever unearthed in Australia. At almost double the size of the previous record holder, it is potentially the third largest trilobite species in the world.

2 July 2021

CSIRO research vessel Investigator at Fort Hill Wharf, Darwin, 27 June 2021.

All hands-on deck to discover the secrets of the Indian Ocean Territories

Five personnel from the Australian Museum Research Institute have embarked with a team of research scientists from around Australia on an expedition to explore deep-sea marine life around the Indian Ocean Territories.

1 July 2021

Sea snake Emydocephalus annulatus (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae).

The sex life aquatic: How sea snakes have overcome the tricks of sex at sea

When you think of “sensitive” lovers, snakes are probably not the first thing that comes to mind. But our new research reveals how important tactile communication is in the sex lives of snakes.

29 June 2021