Te Papa visitors' environmental concerns to be shared as open data by 'The Current'

Wednesday, 1 May 2019

'The Current' is expected to quiz 300,000 Te Papa visitors every year for at least a decade.

The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa will harvest visitors' environmental concerns for a decade or more in a new move to build open data.

New interactive tool 'The Current' is expected to quiz 300,000 museum visitors every year, for at least a decade, on questions including water quality, pests, oceans and climate change.

The climate change crisis is prompting people to take action.

Te Papa experience developer Jen Craddock said it was new territory for the museum.

'We knew we had to tackle tough environmental topics head on.

**READ MORE:

Te Papa digital producer Amos Mann and experience developer Jen Craddock stand in front of The Current, a new interactive tool which will collate museum visitors' views on the environment and climate change.

* Te Papa's Terracotta Warriors exhibition closes after blockbuster run

* Te Papa backs down over fish expert redundancy

Te Papa plans to survey visitors' environmental concerns for a decade or more.

* Te Papa's Gallipoli exhibition to remain open for three more years**

'As Kiwis we know we're not as clean and green as we want to be - so what will we do about it?'

The Current, which cost around $160,000 to create, is expected to be in Te Papa for 10 to 20 years.

Craddock said Te Papa's new permanent exhibition Te Taiao Nature, which opens next week, needed to be a place where people felt they had a voice.

'It's going to be really interesting to see how the national mood shifts over time.'

When participants stand in the exhibition space in front of The Current they will see a large-scale snapshot of New Zealanders' feelings on nature topics.

Over time, opinions will be broken down to compare views from people in cities to those in rural areas, what men or women think, or in different age groups, Craddock said.

'We're sharing all the data we collect so that absolutely anyone can use it. It's completely open.'

The results will be shared on the site data.govt.nz for researchers, policy makers, or anyone who is interested.

'The really exciting thing is that this could have real-world impact,' she said. 'We'll be fascinated to see what researchers and policy makers and journalists do with this information.'

The Current will quiz participants on one idea at a time, but that will be switched regularly.

'We don't want to set the agenda for people – we want New Zealanders to make this their own. If there's an idea you want to throw at The Current, you can.'

Craddock worked with Te Papa digital producer Amos Mann to design The Current.

'It's new territory for us and we can't wait to see how people respond.'

Te Taiao Nature, which has been years in the making, opens on May 11.