Discover why Noelle Kahanu wanted to include two ʻahuʻula in #MAAFaultLines and her reflections on the care of ancestral collections in the first of a series of blog posts by the curatorial collective behind this exciting exhibition: www.indigen.eu/blog/conversations-fault-lines-kahanu

It's important that objects on display are held firmly in place, as movement can cause damage. This is something we check during our conservation deep cleans. Whilst cleaning this case Conservator Steph, noticed an object had slipped. Watch to see how we solved the problem 👇

Beautiful dappled sunlight in the quiet before we open to the public. 📸 1926.225 Totem pole, Moresby Island, Canada. Collectors: Charles and William Newcombe. 🔗 collections.maa.cam.ac.uk/objects/487619/

Join Dr Sarah-Jane Harknett and Dr Ayesha Fuentes as they share their recent research in impact evaluation and guidance for handling hazards in museum collections. 🗓️ 08/10/2025, 2pm 🎟️ Free 🌐 Online Visit our website to find out more: maa.cam.ac.uk/maa-access-and-engagement-power-hour

Due to staff training the museum will be closed on Friday 3 October 2025. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes. Head over to our website now to plan your visit: maa.cam.ac.uk/visit #MuseumClosure

In our latest Digital Lab blog post discover how browsing MAA's online collections portal led to a search for the illusive Mary who made this beautiful sampler and uncovered a link to an architectural model in the collections of Norfolk Museums Service. 1/2

As we move into a new season, there are an exciting array of #MuseumJobs on offer across our Museums & Garden: With @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social: Family Learning Coordinator Interpretation & Learning Coordinator Team Leader - Garden Landscapes Research Grants Facilitator 📸 Howard Rice (1/3)

Is there anything more satisfying than watching Lily, our Senior Teaching and Collections Assistant in Archaeology, create a new storage solution for some stunning shabtis?

This adorable little pig is a toy piggy bank from Bolivia. However, we know from the documentation of William Sillar that the glaze contains lead from car batteries. 1/2 📸 1993.1 Miniature piggy bank, Huayculi, Bolivia. Collector: William Sillar. 🔗 collections.maa.cam.ac.uk/objects/486756/

Join us as we take a peek behind-the-scenes to see how we installed our new metal detecting display! Video description: A member of the Archaeology collections team, with help from the Head of Workshop, installs images, text, mounts and finally objects into a display case.

Meet Bruce! One of his humans, Frederick Williamson, was a British diplomat, so Bruce got to meet some very important people from Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet. Here he is making friends with the Sikkim Crown Prince Kunzang Paljor Namgyal. Like if you think Bruce is a good boy! #InternationalDogDay

These paper figurines bring Chinese operatic characters to life! Representing characters from literature and history, they connect with 昆曲 (Kūnqǔ Opera) customs spanning thousands of years. Find out more about these cut-outs in our latest blog post: www.maadigitallab.org/blog/2025/08...

We thought we'd share this photo for #WorldPhotographyDay, not only is it a beautifully composed image (we love the reflections in the water), but the man pictured may himself be in the middle of making a photograph! 1/2

@camunivmuseums.bsky.social Conservator of Objects Steph is continuing her deep clean of the archaeological collections on display in our ground floor gallery. She carefully removes any dust from each object, checking its condition as she does so. Even the case itself gets a good clean!

If you're looking for a low-cost family adventure this summer, don't forget we're open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm, and Sunday, 12-5pm. Entry is free and there are museum trails available at the front desk and colouring sheets on the 2nd floor. 1/3

This adorable little figure once decorated a pottery vessel, but we're not sure what animal it's meant to represent. Is it an armadillo, a tapir, or even a type of rodent? Let us know your guesses in the comments!

🚨We’re hiring!🚨 @maacambridge.bsky.social is looking to appoint a Senior Teaching and Collections Assistant (Part-time, Fixed-term) to support teaching and research in the Museum using the archaeology collections. 1/2 Closing date: 07/09/2025 #MuseumJobs

These vibrant textile squares were all made in India using either wax resist dyeing techniques or appliqué decoration. They are decorated with elephants, which are often associated with Laksmi, the goddess of good fortune in both Hinduism and Buddhism. #TextileTuesday

We have to be careful when cleaning the surface of an object that we don't cause more damage - that's why you'll never see Conservator Steph using a duster even on something as seemingly robust as this stone altar! 1/2

This group of people have been photographed in front of a Malay house. This style of building, found throughout Malaysia, are raised on stilts, with pitched roofs and serambi (verandas). For many a house isn't a home without a pet. As it's #InternationalCatDay, can you spot the cat in this photo?

Pilgrims still journey to San Juan de Lagos seeking healing. In our latest blog post Evan Grandidge de Paz explores how small clay panecitos, eaten or applied to the body, reveal deep-rooted beliefs around faith, illness, and sacred earth in colonial Mexico: www.maadigitallab.org/blog/2025/08... 1/2

Museum documentation, particularly object photos, can be an important tool for Steph when she's carrying out her conservation deep clean in our galleries! #MuseumLife

Look at this incredible view - we're sure it was well worth the climb! You can almost feel the crisp, cold air on your face. #NationalMountainClimbingDay

Elizabeth and Laurie were two of our 2024 summer interns, and they went on to work with us on a project to digitise objects from Ghana, helping to photograph and rehouse Iron Age figurines, terracotta heads, and tools. 1/2

Feast your eyes on this richly decorated ibuk with its panels of beaded appliqué! The front is dominated with anthropomorphic heads and figures, but as it’s #InternationalTigerDay we’re focusing on the back of the jacket with its magnificent tiger! Look closely, what other details do you notice?

Today @camunivmuseums.bsky.social conservator Steph is going into battle against dust armed with a soft brush and a museum vacuum cleaner! Dust can attract moisture and pests, which could damage the iron and textiles this tatami gusoku (a type of lightweight armour) is made from.

To celebrate England's Lionesses winning the Euros we thought we’d share this image of the warrior goddess Sekhmet. Her name means ‘she who is powerful’. She's often shown with the body of a woman and the head of a lioness and, as well as being associated with battle, was also prayed to for healing.

@maacambridge.bsky.social was founded in the 1880s - the current, purpose-built, site opened in 1913. Find out more about our history on our website: maa.cam.ac.uk/about/museum...

These images of a Danakil (also known as Afar) family have just been added to our online collections database as part of our ongoing efforts to digitalise the photographic collections we care for. 1/2 #PhotoFriday

We love the happy expression on this lion’s face! Few things bring us closer to the past than a floor tile. When we look at this lion, we wonder how many people have walked over it #FestivalOfArchaeology #Leo 📸 1923.1177 D Tile, ?Cambridgeshire, Medieval 🔗 collections.maa.cam.ac.uk/objects/595876/

We are so excited to part of @camunivmuseums.bsky.social's #SummerAtTheMuseums! From activities in the galleries and our off-site store, to a morning for families with children with sensory sensitivities, we can’t wait to welcome you. Visit our website for more details: maa.cam.ac.uk/events

Disassociation could lead to the loss of information about the objects we care for or lead to them being misplaced. This prevents access to an object, either from a lack of understanding and context, or physically. During conservation cleans we check objects records, reducing this risk. #MuseumLife

Take part in the Rethinking Relationships project at MAA! We’re looking for 4 community researchers to explore the African collections. We’d love to hear from you, so visit our website to find out more about this exciting opportunity: maa.cam.ac.uk/rethinking-r...

This artwork showcases kakiniit, Inuit tattoo designs. As this form of body art usually adorns Inuit women it is likely that all the faces in Jessie Oonark’s (Una) stonecut print are female. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the designs are very similar, but they have subtle differences. 1/2

In our latest blog post UCL postgraduate student Catríona Hüseyin uses an ornately carved ivory horn in the care of MAA to explore early encounters between Portuguese colonists and Indigenous communities in the Senegambian Delta. Read the full post on our blog: www.maadigitallab.org/blog/2025/07...

This pendant fringe with its striking design and vibrant colours could date from between 900 BCE and 600 CE. At first glance the only difference between the designs are the colours used, but look closely you’ll notice subtle differences - like the different ornaments worn in the ears or hair.

In this eye-catching sculpture artist Robert Kaigey celebrates the beauty of a creature he in the seas around the Island of Mer every day. This kus kus (black tip reef shark) has been created using the same techniques used to make fish traps (werus). #SharkAwarenessWeek

We’re closed to the public on Mondays, so @camunivmuseums.bsky.social Conservator Steph and Mei, our Collections Assistant in Anthropology, have been carrying out a deep clean and condition check of the objects in one of our display cases. 1/2

This #PhotoFriday we’re celebrating the close bonds which can form between humans and animals. This lovely image of a Dunsun woman called Mrs Gumpus shows her feeding her favourite pig. What animal have you bonded most closely with?

This tiny amulet features a cat with her kittens. If you look closely, you can see one of the kittens sitting on its mother’s head. This may have been worn by a woman seeking the protection of the Ancient Egyptian cat goddess Bastet during pregnancy. Happy #NationalKittenDay!

There’s only a week left to apply to be our new Community Participation Assistant. If you’d like to help us build and maintain relationships with Caribbean communities in the East of England, we’d love to hear from you! 📍Part-time, fixed-term 🔗 jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51774/ 🗓️ 15/07/25 #MuseumJobs

It’s #CowAppreciationDay, so we would like you to stop and take a minute to admire this cow! 1/3

Birds, like the condors depicted on this textile, and snakes were powerful symbols in Andean culture. Birds represented the sky and war, whilst snakes were often believed to be able to travel to the underworld 📸 2012.52 Textile fragment, Peru, c600-800 CE 🔗 collections.maa.cam.ac.uk/objects/444494/

Even in Ancient Egypt people were willing to risk it all for the perfect photo! 1/2 #PhotoFriday

In autumn 2024 Izzy Parvin, an Apprentice Occupational Therapist, piloted the use of museum collections, including those at MAA, in stroke rehabilitation sessions. Find out more about the benefits of this approach on the @camunivmuseums.bsky.social blog: www.museums.cam.ac.uk/blog/2025/06...

Do your bit for the planet this #InternationalPlasticBagFreeDay with our gorgeous range of tote bags. Made from recycled cotton (reducing the amount of textile in landfill), they’re also fair trade. These designs have just landed in our shop, and we can’t get enough of them! Which is your favourite?

This striking statue of Kali, which is cared for by MAA, challenges conventional maternal imagery. In our latest blog post undergraduate Rain Nie explores how this Hindu goddess embodies both destruction and compassion, rebellion and liberation: www.maadigitallab.org/blog/2025/07...

The pattern on this beautiful barkcloth nioge (skirt) represents the ancestral tattoo designs of the Ömie. Missionaries attempted to ban the practice of tattooing clan insignias (sor’e), but thanks to women painting the designs onto barkcloth they were preserved. 1/2 #TextileTuesday

The museum will be closed to the general public on Tuesday 1 July 2025 due to the hot weather. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this causes, and we look forward to welcoming you back from Wednesday once our galleries have cooled down. Scheduled research visits will still go ahead.

🚨Job alert! 🚨 We're looking for a Community Participation Assistant (Part-Time, Fixed-Term) to build and maintain relationships with East of England Caribbean communities. 1/2 #MuseumJobs #Caribbean #CaribbeanResearch #Caribe #CaribbeanArchaeology #CaribbeanMuseums