Panel Talk: Nancy Adams 100th Birthday – Her Life and Legacy
A panel discussion with prominent seaweed experts marks the 100th birthday of artist, botanist, and curator, Nancy Adams.
Sat 25 Jul 2026, 2pm to 3pm
Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake
Press and Paint: Seaweed card making and watercolour workshops
Remember botanist and artist Nancy Adams with creative activities using watercolours and seaweed.
When | Āhea
Sat 25 Jul 2026, 11am to 1pm
Where | Ki hea
Rongomaraeroa, the marae, Level 4
Cost | Te utu
Free, with museum entry
Accessibility
Accessible by wheelchair via the lift from Te Ara-a-Hine passage on Level 2 to the marae on Level 4, or the main lifts from Level 2 to Level 4, via Mana Whenua.
Come along and join us for some creative activities inspired by Nancy Adam’s artworks with our curators. Make your own pressed seaweed cards or paint a beautiful watercolour in homage to the artist’s centennial.
Most of Adams’ life was spent in Wellington, and much of her work as a botanist was done here at the museum. Many artworks she painted are of local flowers and seaweeds. Explore her connections to this place, her important research and understanding of Wellington’s plant life and beyond.
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Seaweed sisters
Aotearoa New Zealand’s extensive coastline is home to hugely diverse and luxuriant seaweed flora. Over the last 100 years, a significant number of women have contributed to the study of our macro-algae and showed a passion for the botanical world from an early age.
Nancy Adams: Botanist and artist
Nancy Adams (1926–2007) was one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most notable botanists and a talented artist. One of Te Papa’s most prolific botany collectors of all time, she also painted and drew an incredible number of botanical illustrations. She used her artwork to produce important books about Aotearoa New Zealand’s flora, including seaweeds, flowers, trees, and alpine plants.
