The creative juices are already flowing ...

That's a good look for you Jocelyn!

Not one to rest on her laurels, Linley has outdone herself by creating yet ANOTHER owl mask as a template for our Ruru Revolution event.  We don't know about you, but we've never seen an owl with a moko before!  But that's Ruru for you ... it's all about trend setting!  (disclaimer: apologies for not using the photo of you wearing the mask Linley.  Unfortunately Andrew's photography was a little dodgy as you were blurry but the background was crystal clear!)

A very BIG thank you to our wonderful Discover It staff for so wholeheartedly jumping on board with the Ruru Revolution event.  As well as committing multiple volunteers to the cause, they have also undertaken to cut out 100 owl masks by hand!

And a massive shout out to our new volunteers for the big day: Virginia, Andrew, Duncan, Fiona and Nicole.  They will join Charlotte, Natalie, Linley, Dale and North Wing Volunteer Erin in the ranks of Ruru tee-wearing staff for the 14th!  Kelvin's generous support has also been invaluable in ensuring the event goes ahead as planned.  And, much to the relief of Natalie, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery's Keri Naus has kindly volunteered to be the poor sod who dresses up as Ruru ... how's THAT for dedication??  She doesn't even work at Puke Ariki!

The hardcopy Ruru Revolution flyers are only a matter of days away, so don't forget to pick one up, stick it on your fridge, or drop 600 around your local letter boxes!!!



Ruru has also attracted the attention of Sticky TV, the 'very hip, very now' kids television show.  On Thursday 12 April they will be featuring Ruru's I Digress ... scavenger hunts and the Ruru Revolution event on their show as "cool" things to do over the school holidays.  Clearly they have their fingers on the pulse!  Keep an eye out for our soon-to-be-nationally-famous orange owl on the goggle box ...

Thanks to everyone for their continuing support and we look forward to seeing you and everyone you know on Saturday 14 April!

On a final note, after doing some brain storming for affordable spot prizes, Charlotte came across this delightful little fellow ... I mean, seriously, don't YOU want a "handsome Motion Sensor Owl that detects and scares away thieves"?! 

 

Let the planning begin!

So, as you all know, your Ruru team is planning to take personalised label writing public!  Oh, and to dress up ...

… is this what Natalie would look like in her Ruru costume??

This owl looks a smidge on the dejected side ...

Do you know anyone out there who has been dying to get their hands on a gold Ruru badge?  Well, now’s their chance!  They just have to come in to the foyer on Saturday 14 April from 11am-2pm and be a part of ‘The Ruru Revolution’ event.  It’s simple … write a personalised label on a post-it, stick it up next to the object, collect a badge, listen to some music, make an owl mask and more.  Staff, their kids, their grandmas and their creative musings are welcome too!

We also have our very first volunteer for the event.  Jocelyn has officially offered to help out on the day – thanks a million Joce!  We didn’t even have to bribe her with the promise of a Ruru t-shirt we’re not even sure we can afford yet!!!  We know we have a lot of Ruru fans amongst us, so don’t be shy … we’d love to have you along.  We need smiling, energetic Puke Ariki staff to encourage the public to “take over the museum”, as Polly put it.  Join the revolution!

Though we won’t be encouraging a hostile takeover or a storming of Kelvin’s desk (that was Polly’s idea), we will be encouraging creativity, personal expression, the sticking of post-it notes and the making of masks.  Linley has already been hunting out the perfect owl mask for the event … which Charlotte kindly agreed to model for the purpose of this blog!

Looking good Charlotte!

We should have fliers to promote the event available in the next week or two … so pick up a few when you spot them and invite all your friends along.  Oh, and if you want to dress up like Natalie, here’s a costume suggestion from the Ruru team!

Wouldn't Kelvin look ACE in one of these??

Merry Christmas from Ruru!

Your Ruru team wishes you a fabulous festive season and encourages you to bring all your family members in to do a Ruru scavenger hunt during the holidays!

The scavenger hunts and new Ruru Trail ... for curious young owls have been stocked up in preparation ...

It's hard to believe the scavenger hunts have been in use for nearly a year now ... and in that time, over 2,200 have been completed by Ruru fans.  If this rain keeps up, we'll probably get through the 250 we printed today in a matter of days!

After a well deserved Christmas break, the Ruru team will be figuring out a way to extend personalised label writing to the general public.  So for those of you who have friends or family who are DYING to get their hands on an orange Ruru badge, tell them to watch this space!  Oh, and you can write a new label too!!!

Curious young owls ... this one's for you!

Do the new Ruru trail and you can be this happy too!

Finally, it's here!  "What's here?" we hear you ask ...

Smiling kids?

Happy faces?

A lack of frazzled parents??

ALL OF THE ABOVE!

Like all good museum explorers, Oliver loves Meg

The new Ruru Trail ... for curious young owls! is here and ready to introduce preschoolers to the delights of Puke Ariki's displays.  And what would a trail for young kids be if it didn't feature Meg, our famous Megalodon shark??!! 

We've got to start with a HUGE shout out to Linley Wellington and Glen Skipper ... their experience with rampaging young museum goers, not to mention raising a kid or two, was invaluable in shaping the trail.  As Glen says, Ruru is all about helping visitors "experience the magic", whether they're 2 years old or 2 years away from retirement.

So ... the new trail aims to familiarise preschoolers and their carers with the galleries and help under 5's explore the objects on display.  What colour are the duck's feathers?  How would you attach an anchor stone to a boat?  What do you have at home that is soft and fuzzy like Kiwi feathers?  And why is Geoff on his hands and knees again??

He's an artist you know ...

It's just part of our rigorous testing process is all!  After we put Geoff through his paces, we moved on to a group of unsuspecting (but very cute) under 5's.  They looked, they discussed, they made rubbings ...

How many ancestors can YOU see?

... and then they got their very own Ruru stickers!  Hannah Leahy's delightful son Oliver models the goods below:

So if you know a preschooler who wants to check out some amazing objects, or a carer who wants their sanity to remain intact during a visit to the museum, introduce them to the Ruru Trail ... for curious young owls!  Spread the word!

With spring comes yellow Ruru badges ...

It's here!  No, not spring ... though that's here (but it may not feel like it!).  No, not daylight savings ... though that's definitely here too.  We're talking about the new I Digress ... on coming to my senses scavenger hunt! 

Just like our other four I Digress ... scavenger hunts, the new yellow hunt can be picked up from the Visitor Hosts' desk in the foyer of the North Wing.  Unlike the others, this scavenger hunt focusses solely on the North Wing, taking visitors through Taranaki Life, Takapou Whariki and Taranaki Naturally.  So if you've got 18 children with you and the idea of traversing across the whole of Puke Ariki fills you with horror, this is the scavenger hunt for you!

We're still in the process of developing a Ruru scavenger hunt (or trail) for the littlest of the little ones, which we're creating in collaboration with the Education team.  Just as we promised, Glen Skipper and Linley Wellington have been 'getting down', checking out what those knee-high to a grasshopper actually see in the museum.  Here's some photographic evidence of their commitment to the cause ...

Bubble, bubble, that looks like trouble!

Glen and Linley come face to face with an underwater monster

Glen is captivated by a captive bunny

Your Ruru team hopes to have the trail for preschoolers ready in the next month or so.  After an intensive test on a preschool poppet or two, we'll unleash our newest Ruru effort on the (hopefully not entirely unsuspecting!) public, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, get your 'spring' on and try out our daffodil-coloured scavenger hunt!!! 

It's a Ruru road test!

Lakshmi Iyer's fantastically talented son Adith seemed like the perfect person to road test our new Ruru scavenger hunt, so we put him through his paces this afternoon.  Here he is roaming the North Wing, showing us how it's done ...

The new scavenger hunt has the theme of coming to your senses ... and the clues involve all sorts of museum-inspired sights, sounds, smells, tastes and (though you're not normally allowed to do this in museums) touch!  Just like the other I Digress ...  scavenger hunts, the new one follows our fabulous Ruru personalised label trail, featuring labels written by our equally fabulous staff.

After doing the hunt in record time, we awarded Adith with the only yellow Ruru badge yet  made.  See, he looks pretty happy about it!

Following a few tweaks and a short wait for some yellow paper to arrive, we'll be releasing the I Digress ... on coming to my senses scavenger hunt to the public.  So if you know any avid hunters that can't wait for a chance to collect a different coloured Ruru badge, tell them to keep an eye out for our sensational new scavenger hunt!

What colour will the new ones be??

Your Ruru team is at it again ... new scavenger hunts are under development!  

Over 1,600 scavenger hunts have been done since January, so we figured it was high time we provided our enthusiastic hunters with a new challenge.

We've been roaming the galleries once more, composing clues and thinking of imaginative ways to get visitors from one Ruru label to another.  A new theme has emerged and a new colour will too ... 

Glen Skipper and Linley Wellington will be putting their vast experience with young children to good use by helping to develop a scavenger hunt specially for pre-school kids.  If you see them crawling around the galleries on their knees, they're probably just trying to get a kids-eye view on our displays!

The new scavenger hunts will focus on Ruru labels in the North Wing.  Feedback suggests some people struggle with moving across the whole of Puke Ariki to complete the hunts ... I guess if you have three strollers, seven kids, 14 bags of shopping, a dog and a grandma, it's probably a fair point!

We'll keep you posted on when the new hunts will be ready for you (or your little ones) to try ... and when a new colour of Ruru badge will be on offer!