Humane man trap” & live tarantula on show at Auckland Museum

“Humane man trap” and live tarantula on show at Auckland Museum after the lights go out

A live tarantula and a 3.5m dinosaur are among the guest list for this week’s Summer Nights at the Museum event series.

Just like the movie Night at the Museum, the event is set to reveal what happens after hours, when the lights go down and the doors to the galleries should be locked tight for the night.

The theme for the Summer Nights at the Museum is “poisonous and deadly” facts and stories building on the current exhibition The Poisoners.

Event developer Jo Brookbanks says searching for the deadly objects and stories in the museum was an eye-opener.

“One of my favourite finds was the illustration in our archives of a ‘humane man trap’ in action and we have one of the traps on display in our galleries. This so-called humane man trap was first used in the UK to try to nab poachers and then it was brought to New Zealand and used in 1840 in Newmarket, just down the road from the museum, to try and catch young men who were stealing potatoes from a local grower.”

“We are also sharing some ghastly true stories including a bit of history about people using laudanum to calm their babies and then being taken by surprise when the babies became ill or even died.”

On their tour around the darkened museum visitors will be able to look at some of the grim weaponry and torture devices that have been used in the past.

“In our exhibition The Poisoners – which is open for the night – you learn about poisonous plants and insects but in the end the most deadly animal of all is man. When you look at our collections you see just how many different weapons mankind has made and employed in an effort to injure or kill.”

“On the flipside you get animals that people think are deadly but they might feel differently after a night with us. Live animal curator Brian Lawton is bringing in a live tarantula and the idea of that probably fills some people with terror but the Chilean rose-hair tarantula is actually quite a popular pet.”

Other characters that visitors are likely to bump into on the night include Detective Dick Sharp, Tama Toa and his dangerous weapons , the Mad Hatter, Basil the dinosaur, live animal curator Brian Lawton and his spiders, Madame Gaoler and her tools of torture and Sergeant Major and his gas mask drills.

Summer Nights at the Museum begin with a dangerous demo outside the Southern Entrance from 5.30pm. Museum doors are open from 6pm to 8.30pm for the poisonous and deadly activities throughout the galleries. Tickets are $20 pp and include entry to The Poisoners exhibition on the night. See www.aucklandmuseum.com for more information or to book tickets.

ENDS

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