Te Papa is open. Te Papa Covid-19 information: Orange
Kei te tuwhera a Te Papa. He mōhiohio nā Te Papa mō Kowheori-19: Karaka

Rita Angus: New Zealand ModernistRita Angus: He Ringatoi Hou o Aotearoa

Visit Te PapaToro mai

  • A group of astronauts look to the skies as a rocket takes off. The sky and ground are red, suggesting they are on Mars
    Destination Mars

    Destination Mars

    Head into outer space on this interactive experience where gaming wizardry plus captivating live action equals high-stakes adventure!

    On now
    11 Dec 2021 – 20 Mar 2022

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Still from a video featuring an illustrated coastal and mountainous landscape. In the foreground is an actor playing Captain Cook, a soldier, a Grandfather clock, a hut, and two Māori men
    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.

  • 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.

  • A dispenser for hand sanitiser stands in the entrance foyer of Te Papa
    Te Papa Covid-19 information

    Te Papa Covid-19 information

    Te Papa is following the advice of the New Zealand Government’s Covid-19 Protection Framework. We are currently in the Orange | Karaka setting.

Plan your visit

Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

  • Jack stand with his hands on a fence that is out of shot, staring at the camera. Behind him is the crest of St Mark’s School
    Watch: Cantonese, with publisher and typeface designer Jack Yan

    Watch: Cantonese, with publisher and typeface designer Jack Yan

    Jak Yan was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Wellington. Here he discusses how he has remained connected to his mother tongue, Cantonese.

  • A woman is seen from behind putting noodles into a wok in a busy kitchen
    Watch: Penang Hokkien, with restaurateur Tee Phee

    Watch: Penang Hokkien, with restaurateur Tee Phee

    Tee Phee, owner of Wellington’s Little Penang restaurants, is a fluent speaker of Penang Hokkien and was always determined to ensure that her local-born children grew up speaking the language. Here she discusses her relationship with the language.

  • A woman stands in a printing press room looking directly at the camera
    Watch: Mandarin, with poet Ya-Wen Ho

    Watch: Mandarin, with poet Ya-Wen Ho

    Ya-Wen Ho is a 1.5 generation Taiwanese Hakka New Zealander, a poet, and type researcher at Wai-te-ata Press in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. Here she discusses her complicated relationship with Mandarin and how it became her ‘mother tongue’.

  • A woman sits on a chair in the middle of a room, being interviewed by another woman sitting opposite her. A large light shines on the subject
    Exploring Asian Aotearoa’s diverse cultures through languages

    Exploring Asian Aotearoa’s diverse cultures through languages

    Voices of Asian Aotearoa will see a variety of projects focused on the languages and cultural identities of different Asian New Zealand communities. Curator Grace Gassin introduces our first project, Chinese Languages in Aotearoa.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Close up on rubber stamps with Chinese lettering on them
    Chinese languages resources list

    Chinese languages resources list

    Are you keen to improve or teach yourself a Chinese language but unsure where to start? This list is for you.

Explore Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

Recent blogs

  • Two walking sticks with patterns woven onto them
    Walking the talk: Weaving tāniko stories on tokotoko

    Walking the talk: Weaving tāniko stories on tokotoko

    Te Papa has approximately 68 tokotoko in our collection representing all time periods, and this year, Mātauranga Māori Curator Isaac Te Awa acquired two more. However, these ones are slightly different from the more common style.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Audio tapes sitting on a table with wooden drawers in the background
    Sir Charles Fleming’s cicadas to soon sing again

    Sir Charles Fleming’s cicadas to soon sing again

    A recently rediscovered box of audio tapes stored alongside our entomology collection was recorded by Sir Charles Fleming in his pioneering study of our country’s cicadas in the 1960s and 70s. Finlay Dempster, one of our natural history interns, explains their significance.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Photographic collage featuring a roofless room of beds, women sitting on them holding fish aloft, a cat in the middle on red carpet yawning. The sky above is blue with pinky clouds
    ‘It is a very accessible artform’: Talking collage with Paris Collage Collective

    ‘It is a very accessible artform’: Talking collage with Paris Collage Collective

    Paris Collage Collective is an online community of collage makers, who respond to regular creative challenges. In light of a recent collaboration, Petra Zehner from Paris Collage Collective talks to Senior Digital Editor Daniel Crichton-Rouse.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Photo of bird bones on a black background
    The mystery of Augustus Hamilton’s bird bone system

    The mystery of Augustus Hamilton’s bird bone system

    Natural History intern Melanie Ioane-Warren talks about the important collection of bird bones gathered by the late Augustus Hamilton.

    Te Papa Blog

  • A painted rainbow flag
    Te Papa acquires a rainbow

    Te Papa acquires a rainbow

    Collections Data Manager Gareth Watkins describes how an LGBTQI+ rainbow artwork by the famous flag maker Gilbert Baker has found a home at Te Papa.

    Te Papa Blog

Read more blogs

Explore Te Papa at homeToroa Te Papa i te kāinga

  • A photo of a plane flying directly overhead, showing us the bottom of the plane
    The Current

    The Current

    Idea: To reduce our carbon emissions, we should limit the number of people travelling to and from New Zealand.

    How do you feel about this idea?

  • Skull of a Haast’s eagle
    Online jigsaw puzzles using our collections

    Online jigsaw puzzles using our collections

    Take a moment or two to relax with online jigsaw puzzles using taonga from our collections. Come back frequently to find new ones!

  • Red pandanus seed pods joined together and shown in two rows on a white background
    Sāmoa

    Sāmoa

    Our collections represent stories of Sāmoa and its people. Explore some of our Sāmoan stories about our collections from Apia to Auckland, tatau to travelling umu boxes, headdresses to hip hop, and more.

  • Image of an animal made up of three separate pictures: the head of a kiwi, the body of a squirrel, and the legs of a bird
    Surreal activities

    Surreal activities

    Drawing, writing, randomness, surrealism: unlock your mind with these lo-fi activities – fun for children and adults alike!

  • Screenshot from ‘How to make a dadaist poem’ poem featuring a pair of scissors and newspaper
    How to make a dadaist poem

    How to make a dadaist poem

    Is of a fish! Have fun with words: follow these instructions to create your own dadaist poem, using things you are likely to have at home.

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    Free downloadable activity books

    Free downloadable activity books

    Our activity books are designed for use at home or in the classroom.

  • Two people looking at the camera
    Raranga Matihiko TV – Home learning

    Raranga Matihiko TV – Home learning

    The Raranga Matihiko team and our Learning team have created 16 episodes, designed for home learning for junior and senior students, that weave digital technologies around museum taonga, and exploring kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection).

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    He Paki Taonga i a Māui

    He Paki Taonga i a Māui

    ‘He Paki Taonga i a Māui’ is a series of 18 short films for tamariki aged 7-11, and tells stories about taonga in Te Papa’s collection.

  • Maramataka dial is displayed on a wall. To the left, a plant hangs into the frame. To the right, a taxidermied penguin appears in the frame. Under the dial can be seen an open book
    How to use the Maramataka | Māori lunar calendar

    How to use the Maramataka | Māori lunar calendar

    Print a Maramataka dial, explore its energy levels, and use it to plan activities with your whānau.

  • two fashion dummies with two outfits on in front of a steel frame and a dark background
    Fashioning ourselves: clothing, identity and culture

    Fashioning ourselves: clothing, identity and culture

    From woollens to workwear, pōtae (hats) to Panamas, feathers to fur, and khakis to korowai (cloaks). Explore stories that highlight the influences, industry, and imagination of fashion in New Zealand through our collections, exhibitions and research.

  • A brown face mask woven with flax on a white background
    Clothing the Pandemic (ICOM Solidarity Project)

    Clothing the Pandemic (ICOM Solidarity Project)

    Connecting international museums and curators documenting and contextualising the use of facemasks during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020–21.

  • Illustration of a tattooed Māori chief 1784
    Tāmoko | Māori tattoos: history, practice, and meanings

    Tāmoko | Māori tattoos: history, practice, and meanings

    Discover the history and practice of tāmoko, and find out why the lines of a moko carved in skin represent much more than a tattoo.

  • A kaka, a type of parrot with red under its wings
    Birds of New Zealand

    Birds of New Zealand

    Birds are an important part of New Zealand's nationhood. We are the only nation where the people are colloquially known by a bird name – 'Kiwi'.

  • Green fence with a hand-painted sign on it saying, 'Give nothing to racism' in green and black.
    Antiracism and activism

    Antiracism and activism

    Articles on protest, decolonisation, and antiracism from our experts and across the web.

  • Portrait of Chris Parker wearing a felt hat. The hat features tiny versions of the key New Zealand public figures during Covid-19, a bag of flour, a tiny self-portrait of Chris wearing his orange hoodie, and a tiny official Covid-19 symbol
    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.

  • The underside of a fern frond
    Ferns in New Zealand and the Pacific

    Ferns in New Zealand and the Pacific

    Ferns are so prominent in Aotearoa New Zealand, we even wear them on our sporting uniforms. From botany research to citizen science, pressed-fern books of the 1800s to collecting All Blacks and tourism memorabilia, our collectors and curators spend a lot of time with ferns.

Te Papa at home

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