Automated cavity ring down spectroscopy was used to make continuous measurements of dissolved methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide in a coral reef lagoon for 2 weeks (Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef). Radon (222Rn) was used to trace the influence of tidally driven pore water exchange on greenhouse gas dynamics. Clear tidal variation was observed for CH4, which correlated to 222Rn in lagoon waters. N2O correlated to 222Rn during the day only, which appears to be a response to coupled nitrification‐denitrification in oxic sediments, fueled by nitrate derived from bird guano. The lagoon was a net source of CH4 and N2O to the atmosphere and a sink for atmospheric CO2. The estimated pore water‐derived CH4 and N2O fluxes were 3.2‐fold and 24.0‐fold greater than the fluxes to the atmosphere. Overall, pore water and/or groundwater exchange were the only important sources of CH4 and major controls of N2O in the coral reef lagoon.

An experiment which investigates the wettability of natural surfaces was developed for undergraduate students, which allows them to explore concepts of surface structure, wettability, superhydrophobic surfaces, and self-cleaning. The students choose their own samples of leaves and flowers present in their local environment, examine their surface structure and chemistry by microscopy and contact angle measurements, and, using their understanding of the literature on the wettability of rough surfaces, relate the two. The experiment is student-focused in that it gives students agency in choosing the samples to study, increases their confidence, and develops curiosity in their local environment.

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This article examines the challenges associated with collecting and exhibiting objects to represent immigration history. We consider a range of Australian museums, from large federal institutions, for example, the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM), to state-based organisations such as the Immigration Museum (IM, Victoria) and the Migration Heritage Centre (MHC, New South Wales), as well as smaller communitybased and council-run museums like Hurstville City Library Museum and Gallery and Fairfield City Museum and Gallery (New South Wales). We analyse and compare various strategies at play in museums dealing with immigration in order to consider the ways that contemporary Australian museums are approaching this important part of national history, taking as a particular focus different models of collecting (traditional collecting, temporary loans and leaving objects in situ). Our research is informed by a study of the existing literature about objects in migration museums and exhibitions together with site visits. It offers an original approach by comparing museums at national, state and local levels in Australia and exploring future directions, such as artistic works and the digital model, which would in our opinion benefit exhibitions in this area. It has been complemented by interviews with key staff in these institutions in order to consider critically the approach and challenges the industry currently sees for itself. First, we consider the role and function of objects within the museum space generally before focussing on their effective contribution to the representation of diverse migrant stories.

Museums are judged not solely on the basis of their exhibition quality and collection care but, within a corporate model, they are also judged on quantitative measures such as audience numbers and, in turn, their financial viability. Programming has, therefore, become a major focus of forward planning and the basis for funding development. Blockbuster exhibitions, strategically placed throughout annual programs, have been a common way to increase audience numbers and sustain support. In more recent times, the blockbuster model has developed to address more complex measures of success beyond their quantifiable benefits. In addition to the aim of increasing visitor numbers, the blockbuster exhibition and its associated public and education programs, have been effectively utilized as a means of broadening and diversifying audiences. Such efforts help museums to meet expectations, often set by governments, to address and reflect the diverse demographic communities within which they are situated and to whom they serve.The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) in Australia provides one such example of a museum that is working creatively within the blockbuster model in order to present exhibitions that build on their collection strengths and existing programs, attract large audiences and engage diverse audiences by focusing on community building. This paper uses the AGNSW blockbuster exhibition The First Emperor: China’s Entombed Warriors, to examine the role of this format in contemporary museums more broadly. We use this exhibition as a frame by which to analyse how the Gallery has modified the blockbuster model, and indeed built on it, in order to target geographically and culturally diverse audiences. We argue that this has been effectively achieved as a result of the Gallery building blockbusters around their curatorial and collection strengths, by working with external organizations and community groups and by offering a range of activities and opportunities for engagement both within the museum and outside of its boundaries. This exhibition proves that when blockbusters are used creatively to support museum wide efforts to engage culturally and linguistically diverse audiences they can achieve success that is both quantitative and qualitative.