Science Week 2023 Videos

What new ways of seeing can scientific equipment provide with cultural heritage material in museum collections?

A series of video providing a behind-the-scenes look into the partnership between Sydney Analytical and the Chau Chak Wing Museum in the scientific analysis of cultural materials.

In recent years, Sydney Analytical, one of the University’s Core Research Facilities, has been working closely with the Chau Chak Wing Museum to shed light on objects in the museum’s collection. These interdisciplinary collaborations have broadened understandings of objects in the museum and offer a great example of how science can help us to learn more about museum collections and create new knowledge.

The National Science Week program combines floor talks and workshops that lift the lid on the role of science in museums and offer the chance to hear directly from scientists about their work with museum objects and cultural heritage material.

To celebrate National Science Week, Sydney Analytical and the Chau Chak Wing Museum share a behind-the-scenes view of two collaborative projects:

Chinese Toggles: Scientific Analysis of ‘Culture in Miniature’ with Vibrational Spectroscopy
The Hidden is Tantalising: Looking Below the Surface with Infrared Reflectography Imaging
- Part 1: JW Power’s Femme à L’ombrelle with the University Art Collection
- Part 2: Sāmoan Siapo (Tapa Cloth) from the Macleay Collections

Chinese Toggles: A Scientific Analysis of ‘Culture in Miniature’ with Vibrational Spectroscopy

The Hidden is Tantalising: Looking Below the Surface with Infrared Reflectography Imaging (Part 1)

JW Power’s Femme à L’ombrelle from the University Art Collection

The Hidden is Tantalising: Looking Below the Surface with Infrared Reflectography Imaging (Part 2)

Sāmoan Siapo (Tapa Cloth) from the Macleay Collections

a collection of toggles in different stone and bone materials

Chinese Toggles: Culture in Miniature

A microcosm that manifested in a lost Chinese sartorial tradition

rainbow-coloured fibres against black background

Sydney Analytical

Sydney Analytical is the University’s flagship facility for chemical, biological and materials analysis. We offer high end capability in vibrational spectroscopy, magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction and scattering, protein production and characterisation, and drug discovery.

We act as the primary interface between the University and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), supporting neutron and synchrotron research. Sydney Analytical also assists University facilities funded by ARC and NHMRC grants, and it aims to expand its global research support.