A Ruru party like no other ...

Wow, look at that Ruru cake!  This amazing creation - a collaborative effort between Natalie, who made the cake, and Mikaere's partner Sophia, who did the incredible decoration - served as the centrepiece for Sunday's Ruru 'private viewing' party.  If you recall (which we're sure you do!), after April's Ruru Revolution event the team selected 25 awesome labels written by 25 awesome people to turn into long term labels.  Sunday was about celebrating the efforts of the label writers with certificates, new scavenger hunts, home baking and, of course, THAT CAKE!  In addition to Natalie and Sophia, Linley and Charlotte also whipped up some delicious treats.  Look at that spread ... thanks bakers!



And strangely enough, the Moffat children were VERY keen to help me get underway with cutting the cake!

Then the feeding frenzy ensued ...

... and in a matter of minutes, this was all that was left!

It was an incredibly successful event for the label writers and their families.  There was coffee drinking, cupcake eating, certificate presenting, congratulations abounding ... and some scavenger hunting!  All with our delightful Ruru Revolutionaries that we're getting to know so well.  We can't wait to see them at our next event (whenever that might be!).  Until then, here's some photos of our amazing label writers ...

Felix Ashworth with a remarkable array of badges ... note all the Ruru ones!

Tarashar, Oceania, Baillie (a label writer extraordinaire) and Serrin finished ALL THREE new hunts!

The Ashworth family takes a pit stop as they read their next clue ...

WATCH OUT!  The Ashworth girls hide from Meg the shark

Elena Honnor with Ruru Ruth (as she calls me) ... thanks for the card Elena!

Revolutionaries in various states of scavenger hunting activity

Jessica, Jemma and Haylee with big smiles and plenty of Ruru badges between them

Tayne looking ace in his Ruru tee

The new labels are up!

Bye bye old labels ... (don't panic, there are still 27 staff labels left around the buildings)

... HELLO new labels!  Hold on a second ... is that Meg about to eat Charlotte?  Did those jandals not hit the spot Meg??

Despite evidence of some standing around (only kidding Danny!), we managed to get all 25 new Ruru labels up in the three long term galleries, assisted by Danny and his trusty spirit level.

They look awesome (and very straight).  Thanks Danny and Charlotte!  Check 'em out when you have a chance ... there's 11 new labels in Taranaki Life, 10 in Taranaki Naturally and 4 in Takapou Whariki.  Most are written by kids (and then there's Polly ... but we all know she's just a big kid anyway!) and they're AMAZING!

And now it's only just over a week until our celebration for the label writers.  The new scavenger hunts are coming along nicely, Mikaere has designed a super cool certificate to present to the label writers, and plans for copious amounts of home baking are underway.  It's sure to be an afternoon of sugar-induced hyperactivity and general happiness!

The brand spanking new scavenger hunts will be ready for you and everyone you know to try on Monday 2 July, so spread the word!  Let's face it ... you haven't lived unless you've been there, done that and collected the (Ruru) badge!

New scavenger hunts and ratty little things ...

Are they going on a bear hunt?  Are they looking for the toilet?  Are they having an existential crisis about their purpose in life??  NO!  Natalie and Charlotte have started the arduous process of writing some new Ruru I Digress ... scavenger hunts!  The job involved some close examination of various objects.  We determined that the Miss Brooklands gown would look lovely on Natalie ... if only Andrew would let us play dress ups!

We wrote clues about all manner of unusual things ... I mean, seriously, what IS that??  Is it a flying mouse?  A vampire suspended in some sort of cryogenic liquid?

NO!  It's a "ratty little thing" that features in a poem by Harry Devine, whose label is soon to be on display in Taranaki Naturally: 

Three new I Digress ... scavenger hunts will showcase the 25 brand spanking new Ruru labels written by our Revolutionaries back in April.  The hunts will be ready for consumption in the first week of July.  Ruru will also be hosting a special 'private viewing' for the 25 label writers to celebrate their labels being selected for display.  There is rumour of certificates, home baking AND a Ruru cake ... we can only hope it will turn out as well as this!

So, the Ruru Revolution continues ... VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

Brilliant labels and date slice

Always up for a get-together (particularly since Charlotte was baking a delectable date slice!), the Ruru team and fellow revolutionaries took over the Level 3 meeting room last Friday to vote on their favourite labels from April's Ruru Revolution event.

The shortlist was plastered all over the meeting room table and everyone was encouraged to vote.  Much reading and chuckling ensued ... seeing our favourite labels again was like greeting old friends!  There were loads of labels to read, so Charlotte's sugar-packed slice kept up our energy levels.  

The labels all laid out ...

Adrienne multi-tasking ... eating and reading at the same time!

Kelvin, Linley and Andrew take in all the labels for Taranaki Naturally

After reacquainting ourselves with the creative endeavours of our favourite writers, 26 post-its were chosen to be turned into new long term labels.

Now all we have to do is proof them, get them printed, pull down some old Ruru labels, put up the new ones, write some fresh scavenger hunts, invite the published label writers in to admire their work ... and then celebrate!

Oh, and then do it all over again another day!

What next?

So, after all the revolutionary excitement, the question is ... what next?  Well, before we get distracted with such big and philosophical questions, here's a few more awesome photos and labels from the day ...

A buzzing foyer ...

The owl mask makers getting creative

Tayne Lewis' label about the model train even featured this amazing drawing on the back!

Andrew looking happy in his work ... nice t-shirt Andrew!

A champion scavenger hunter (check out those badges!) making an owl mask

So, we've started sifting through the 350 post-it note labels (yep, Geoff found two more hidden away, taking the total to 350!), looking for the very best stories, witticisms, poems and drawings to turn into new long term Ruru labels.  We can't wait to let those talented label writers know their amazing labels are going to be 'published' for all to enjoy ... we're sure the general public will love them just as much as we do! 

After all that, we'll be designing some new scavenger hunts based on the new labels ... watch this space! 

What's that cheeky looking Bill Howard up to???

And take over the museum they did!

The first bunch of trouble makers on the scene for Saturday's Ruru Revolution were these rowdy revolutionaries (minus a few that escaped the camera!).  And let's face it, the outstanding success of the event was all down to our volunteers ... thank you a million times over!

In the end, 348 post-its were plastered all over the long term galleries!  It took an hour and a half to collect them all and still a few escaped our notice ... Geoff found at least 6 today.  Thanks for tidying up after us Geoff! 

We asked a few young Ruru fans what they thought of the event.  Isaac said "This place is better than Te Papa!"  Thanks Isaac, we think so too.  A little guy told Andrew that “This is a really interesting place! There is so much stuff here to look at, it’s so interesting.”  Here here!  And Sahara said:

Agreed Sahara!  Here's a few photos and labels to give you a general impression of the day, which was full of wild label writing, energetic scavenger hunting, colourful and creative owl mask making ... and MASSES of fun!  Thank you to everyone who was a part of it and helped make it magic.  And you know what the best part is?  There's enough post-its left over to do it all over again. 

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

Getting into the swing of things

Keri in her incredible Ruru costume ... looking good Keri!

The most popular object was the Megalodon shark, but the moa gave Meg a run for her money.  The kiwis were a close third.  Believe it or not, there were 198 labels written for objects in Taranaki Naturally!  Kids LOVE animals and big stuff!

"Please keep children off this display" ... but not post-its!!!

Megalodon shark

Megalodon shark

Megalodon shark

The kiwis were very popular ...

Whaling tripot, Taranaki Naturally

'Story of Taranaki' wall, Taranaki Naturally

Te Ao Whanui mat outside Takapou Whariki

Pseudodontornis stirtoni (false toothed bird) ... hanging off the roof near Meg above the foyer!

Education caps, Taranaki Life

Mikaere with his Ruru mask

A lovely thank you note from Tayne, who wrote SEVEN labels!

We're looking forward to the next one too Tayne ... see you there!

Post-its at the ready ...

What a cutie!  Here's the adorable Stephanie Rapana getting in some practice for the Ruru Revolution event this Saturday ... apparently she has her eye on the stuffed kiwis in Taranaki Naturally.  What are YOU going to write about??

We're almost set for the big event ... post-its have arrived, tees are with the volunteers, badges have been pumped out, excitement is building.  We want to see the galleries positively plastered in post-its so we have our fingers crossed for atrocious weather ...

All that's left to say is ... see you there!

PS: in case you forgot (though we're sure you haven't) ... join the Ruru Revolution, Saturday 14 April from 11am-2pm, and take over the museum!