Category Archives: Behind the Scenes

Aboriginal Science Tools: the Morah Stone

Posted on 14 March 2012 by Letitia Murgha

Greetings from the Museum of Tropical Queensland (MTQ). My name is Letitia Murgha and I am a member of the Strategic Learning team which is comprised of four seconded teachers from Education Queensland. We do lots of things across the museum network … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Indigenous-Science, Science Learning Resources | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The First Laptop Computer

Posted on 27 February 2012 by Paul Brandon

With the rollout of laptops for high school students in QLD schools and the previous ‘Computers for Teachers’ program, I thought I’d take a look at the first “laptop” computer, the Toshiba T1000. In 1987 Toshiba released what is arguably the … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Old Technology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Behind the Scenes – The Baby Daisy Vacuum Cleaner

Posted on 1 November 2011 by Paul Brandon

This blog highlights another piece of early technology which is held in storage, ‘behind the scenes’  as part of the State collection. It has been written with the assistance of Peter Volk, Assistant Collection Manager, Queensland Museum South Bank. Vacuuming the … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Old Technology | Tagged | 21 Comments

Behind the Scenes – the Lumiere Cinematographe

Posted on 1 November 2011 by Paul Brandon

Colleagues in the QM Cultures and Histories program have been researching  information about some of the oldest cameras in the museum collection, held in storage ‘behind the scenes’. This prompted me to write about a fascinating piece of early technology: the Lumiere Cinematographe. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Old Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Microscopes through the Ages

Posted on 3 October 2011 by Adriana Bauer

I was walking along the corridor on level 5 of Queensland Museum last week, pondering the topic of my blog post for this week.  I passed by the doorway to our conservation area and saw some very old microscopes. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Behind the Scenes – Cheap Dust Collector or Expensive Treasure?

Posted on 29 August 2011 by Paul Brandon

Cheap Dust Collector or Expensive Treasure? If you have watched Antiques Roadshow you may have seen someone who picked up a little trinket for $2.00 at a second-hand store only to find out it was worth 100 times that. How do … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes | Tagged | 8 Comments

New Age Technology – Digital Imaging

Posted on 8 August 2011 by Adriana Bauer

Queensland Museum is now home to a state-of-the-art, custom-made digital imaging system developed by world pioneer in cyber-taxonomy, Roy Larimer. This tool provides the best and fastest technology for producing deep-focus images of insects and other small specimens. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes, Curators' Corner, Science Learning Resources | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Behind The Scenes – The Dolly Washer

Posted on 28 July 2011 by Paul Brandon

Environmentally Friendly Washing Machine Ever wondered how to reduce your impact on the environment and reduce your electricity bill as the same time?  Well look no further than the past!  Re-introducing the “Dolly Washer” from 1879.  The “Dolly” washer features … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Behind the Scenes – Mrs Winslow’s Soothing Syrup

Posted on 25 July 2011 by Paul Brandon

Mrs Winslow’s Soothing Syrup  I have noticed that the overdosing of paracetamol to young children has hit the headlines again.  Jane Hanson of  The Sunday Telegraph wrote “half of all parents give their children paracetamol when they don’t need it … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes | Tagged | 1 Comment

Behind the Scenes: The Mimeograph

Posted on 12 July 2011 by Paul Brandon

What did teachers do before photocopiers? Prior to the commercialisation of the photocopier, many schools used a duplicator.  There are two types of duplicator, a spirit duplicator which uses a multi layered, ink impregnated wax based master copy and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Behind the Scenes | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment