Richard Fidler, Mummy bundles, fossils and DNA, Conversations ABC Listen, 13 August 2024
Broadcast Tue 13 Aug 2024 at 11:00am
Kim McKay is the Director and CEO of the Australian Museum.
When Kim was five years old, her family travelled by ship to England for her father’s work.
They went through the Suez Canal, and the enchanting sights and sounds of Cairo translated into Kim’s lifelong interest in ancient Egypt.
Kim’s career has taken her to many countries, where she has found ways to demonstrate the magnificence of science and the natural world.
For her work with National Geographic, Kim was in Peru for the unwrapping of an Incan mummy bundle.
Today, she is in charge of 22 million objects in the museum’s collection, and the best part of her job is after everyone has gone home and the lights are turned off, the place feels alive with the history of the world.
Further information
Content warning: this episode discusses human remains held in museums and the repatriation process. Indigenous, Torres Strait Islander and Pacific Islander peoples, please listen with care.
Find out more about The Australian Museum.
