Vehicle access: Our vehicle entrance will be reduced to one lane from 25 July until the end of November 2022, due to the construction of a new set of traffic lights outside Te Papa.
Info about vehicle access to Te Papa 25 Jul – Nov 2022

Fijian Language WeekMacawa ni Vosa Vakaviti

  • Inside the activity book
    Fijian language activity book

    Fijian language activity book

    Celebrate the Fijian language by learning Fijian words, numbers, and phrases through simple activities that kids love – word searches, colouring pages, and stories.

    Activity book

  • A ceramic pot with four looping handles and four containers
    Browse the collections from Fiji

    Browse the collections from Fiji

    From Saqa Niwai (water containers) to masi (tapa cloths), people and language, to places and islands, photos of Fiji from Glenn Jowitt, Leslie Adkin, and the Burton Brothers, and much more.

  • Patterned tapa cloth with a lot of geometrical patterns on it
    View the masi (tapa cloth) from Fiji in our collections

    View the masi (tapa cloth) from Fiji in our collections

    Fijian masi (tapa) has customarily been used for ceremonial occasions such as weddings or the conferring of a chiefly title. Explore tapa and tapa related objects from Fiji.

  • A wooden club with a round ball at the end with a pointed end
    Star Wars and the Fiji connection: redux

    Star Wars and the Fiji connection: redux

    Did you know the Star Wars franchise Tusken Raider gaderffii, or gaffi sticks have a connection to the warriors of 19th century Fiji?

Explore our Fiji collections and stories

Visit Te PapaToro mai

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    Landscape and Desire

    Landscape and Desire

    This exhibition explores the different ways that artists in Aotearoa have expressed their relationship to the land – to the places we live in.

    Opening soon
    Opens 8 Oct 2022

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • View of Te Taiao | Nature, with two moa in the foreground and various displays behind
    Exhibitions

    Exhibitions

    Celebrate Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique natural environment. See Gallipoli through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders. Immerse yourself in a room of colour. Hear extraordinary stories from young refugees.

  • Children with facepaint on playing in front of flags
    Events

    Events

    Our exciting programme of events runs all year. Watch song and dance performances, join in with kids activities and cultural days, hear from our experts, and much more.

  • Four people standing in front of a wooden carving in a large space
    Guided tours

    Guided tours

    Get even more out of your visit to Te Papa by letting our guides bring the stories of Aotearoa New Zealand’s people and landscapes to life.

  • Closeup of hands holding a mobile phone which is displaying the NZSL mobile guide
    Explore Te Papa in New Zealand Sign Language

    Explore Te Papa in New Zealand Sign Language

    Learn about exhibitions and how to find your way around the museum. Discover Te Papa’s mobile guides on your own device.

Plan your visit

Asian mental health in Aotearoa

  • Grace and Mehwish stand in front of a sign advertising the Asian Mental Health project, holding copies of the zine
    Blog: Unravelling threads: introducing our Asian Mental Health project

    Blog: Unravelling threads: introducing our Asian Mental Health project

    As part of Mental Health Awareness Week (26 Sep – 2 Oct), researcher and activist Mehwish Mughal and Grace Gassin, Curator Asian New Zealand Histories, proudly launch our new Asian Mental Health project.

  • Mockup of the Unravelling threads: Asian mental health zine showing its cover and two open pages
    Zine: Unravelling threads: Asian mental health

    Zine: Unravelling threads: Asian mental health

    A zine featuring submissions from contributors of diverse Asian heritages on mental health-related themes and experiences.

  • A pink mask on a mannequin head with the words "anti anti Asian" embroidered on it
    Asian mental health in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Asian mental health in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Exploring the profound psychological distress caused by the pandemic for Asian communities worldwide, including in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the consistent call for a greater focus on mental health issues.

Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho

  • Isaac Te Awa looks at the person interviewing him, who is behind the camera
    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #1: Lost in the Colonisation Machine

    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #1: Lost in the Colonisation Machine

    Check out some early taonga Māori in Te Papa’s collections and hear how they got to be here. Spoiler alert: It usually wasn’t a good story.

  • A woman stands looking directly into the camera. The camera is looking up at her
    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #2: You Are It, So Live It

    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #2: You Are It, So Live It

    We meet Keri-Mei Zagrobelna (Te Āti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui), a jewellery maker in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Keri-Mei talks about her history with the collections at Te Papa, which spans all the way back to the work of her kuia.

  • A man stands looking directly into the camera in the Ngā Taonga archives, flanked by shelving
    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #3: Tukuna Kia Rere

    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #3: Tukuna Kia Rere

    Khali meets up with Maimoa Toataua-Wallace, a staff member at Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Ngā Taonga is home of audiovisual archiving in Aotearoa. Movies, sound recordings, home videos, television, songs, anything to do with the audiovisual world, you can probably find it here!

  • Two women stand talking in a museum storeroom, surrounded by storage cabinets
    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #4: Repatriation

    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #4: Repatriation

    Khali’s whakaaro (thoughts) turn towards all the ways our taonga might be brought home, to Aotearoa, and to their communities. Khali meets up with Amber Aranui, a researcher and a kaimahi at Te Papa in the repatriation team.

  • A woman stands in front of a marae looking into the camera
    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #5: Kaihahu Mahara

    Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho #5: Kaihahu Mahara

    Khali has one more question. When our taonga are cared for in and amongst the communities that they come from, what does this look like? How is it different from contemporary museum practices? And what tools can whānau use to take taonga care in to their own hands?

Watch: Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho

EventsNgā kaupapa motuhake

  • An illustration of children having fun
    School Holiday Kids’ Activities

    School Holiday Kids’ Activities

    October Showtime! Free events for tamariki ages 3–9years. Jump into the fun at Te Papa these school holidays with our activities for little ones. These whānau-friendly events are for children accompanied by adults.

    01 Oct – 15 Oct 2022

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

  • A group of people on a set of steps in a room with other people
    Lecture: Return of looted ancestors from Vienna to Aotearoa New Zealand

    Lecture: Return of looted ancestors from Vienna to Aotearoa New Zealand

    Prof. Dr Eggers presents a background to collectors and expeditions involved in illicit collection and trade of tūpuna (Māori ancestors) and karāpuna (Moriori ancestors), and their long-awaited journey home. This kōrero (discussion) follows the recent and significant return of some of them from Austria to Aotearoa New Zealand.

    Thu 6 Oct 2022, 12.00pm–1.30pm

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

    Book now
  • A split image with an abstract painting on the left and a photograph of a white building on the right
    Opening Day talk: Emily Karaka and Murray Hewitt with the curators

    Opening Day talk: Emily Karaka and Murray Hewitt with the curators

    Be among the first to see our new exhibitions at Te Papa. Join us on opening day to hear about ‘Hiahia Whenua | Landscape and Desire’ from some of the artists and curators. 

    Sat 8 Oct 2022, 11.00am–12.00pm

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

  • Brown symmetrical prints on a piece of yellow fabric
    Hiapo Textile Printing demonstration and workshop

    Hiapo Textile Printing demonstration and workshop

    Learn about how Niuean hiapo practitioners bring this art form to life in a modern era. Hiapo patterns and motifs carved onto blocks are then applied and pressed onto material to create beautiful designs.

    Sat 15 Oct 2022, 10.00am–12.00pm

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

All events at Te Papa

Te Papa at home

  • A man in a suit stands between stage lights and has an old-fashioned camera on a tripod next to him
    Studio portrait photography in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Studio portrait photography in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Studio portraits taken in a professional photographer’s studio – often making use of backdrops or props – were for formal, posed portraits, as well as informal, candid photographs of people, and sometimes their pets.

  • Illustration depicting memories: of a young man embracing his grandmother, of a pathway showing many people in his lives
    Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

    Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

    A series of videos, of people sharing stories of their connection to their heritage Chinese languages, speaking in Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, and Hakka. These videos have been made by local Chinese and Chinese New Zealand filmmakers.

  • A black and white photo of two teams playing rugby
    Sport in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific

    Sport in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific

    Professional and community-level sport has a long history in Aotearoa New Zealand from team sports to individual achievements. Read about rugby, running, racing, and rowing, along with political crossovers like the 81 tour, international firsts like the Britten Bike, Olympic champions like Peter Snell, and life before the All Blacks.

  • Three pou kātua, depictions of persons carved into wooden posts
    LGBTQI+ histories of Aotearoa New Zealand

    LGBTQI+ histories of Aotearoa New Zealand

    Explore queer objects, artworks, and stories in Te Papa’s collections and discover more about the rich histories of Aotearoa New Zealand’s LGBTQI+ communities and icons – including the AIDS Quilt, Carmen Rupe, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

  • Bark cloth with patterns painted on it on a black background.
    Explore the collections online

    Explore the collections online

    Browse 800,000 artworks, taonga, photographs, collection objects, and botanical and zoological specimens from Te Papa’s collections.

    Collections Online

Get involved Whakaeke mai