2017 Round Up
2017 was a huge year, parliament voted 'yes' to marriage equality, Richmond won the AFL Grand Final and the royal engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was announced.
Museums Victoria also had a massive year, take a look at our Top 10 moments:
10. Introducing… the Slender Rat
The Slender Rat is amongst the Top 10 new species of 2017! Museums Victoria scientists in collaboration with an international research team discovered the Slender Rat (Gracilimus radix) on the slopes of Mount Gandangdewata, a remote and mountainous area of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia.
9. Baleen Whales
The truth is in the tooth! Palaeontologists from Museums Victoria and Monash University discovered that baleen whales have dark origins as ferocious predators.
By measuring the shape and sharpness of the teeth of fossil whales and modern mammals they determined ancient whales were using their teeth to bite and slice. This disproves a long-held theory they were using them to filter feed.
8. Tasmanian Tiger Genome Sequencing
Scientists from The University of Melbourne and Museums Victoria sequenced the genome of the long-extinct Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus).
This incredible research was made possible by one of the world's best-preserved thylacine specimens – a 109-year-old pup held in Museums Victoria's collection – making it one of the most complete genetic blueprints for an extinct animal.
7. Stories from Detention
Immigration Museum took Behind the Wire to the next level with the They Cannot Take the Sky exhibition and won 2017 Contribution to Multiculturalism by Community Organisation award from City of Melbourne.
6. Black Day, Sun Rises, Blood Runs
Australia's rarely-acknowledged history of frontier violence and massacres of Aboriginal people has become part of the permanent First Peoples exhibition at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum in the form of a film by Genevieve Grieves.
5. Take Your Dog to Work Day
Museums Victoria staff rejoiced as dogs cruised down our hallways and attended a variety of very important meetings for National Take Your Dog to Work Day in June.
4. Dunkirk at IMAX Melbourne
In July, IMAX Melbourne re-installed their IMAX 1570 Film projector to screen Dunkirk which saw over 30,000 bums on seats!
IMAX Melbourne also exhibited objects from Museums Victoria’s collection from the actual evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. Dunkirk will return to the giant screen for a limited season from January 25 to coincide with the 2018 Academy Award nominations.
3. Museum Generation
In celebration of the Pauline Gandel Children's Gallery which opened at the end of 2016; all babies born, fostered or adopted in 2017 are eligible for a free Museum Membership.
The initiative has encouraged more than 7,000 people to join Museum Members to visit the Pauline Gandel Children's Gallery and gain access to all of our Museums.
2. Ground Up: Building Big Ideas, Together
Science has become accessible to children Under 5 with the opening of Ground Up: Building Big Ideas, Together at Scienceworks in December.
The brand new exhibition encourages little learners to think big and sets them up with a foundation of future learning.
1. Peanut Worm – Investigator Research Trip
In June, a team of Museums Victoria and CSIRO scientists led a world-first research voyage to uncover life in Australia's eastern abyss.
On this deep sea voyage, scientists uncovered a myriad of weird looking creatures, like this Peanut Worm.
Victoria's new state fossil emblem: Koolasuchus cleelandi
After 11,563 votes, the 125-million-year-old monster amphibian has been confirmed as Victoria’s fossil emblem.
Jurassic relict: a new family of Brittle Stars
Long-armed and bristling with teeth, this Brittle Star is a marine relict.
Resurrected: native Australian mouse back from extinction
Once lost, now found.