• Lisa Reihana, in Pursuit of Venus [infected] (still), 2015-17, Ultra HD video. Image courtesy of Lisa Reihana

    in Pursuit of Venus [infected]

    See Lisa Reihana’s vast digital wallpaper for the first time in Aotearoa New Zealand since its showing at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

  • View looking through the entrance of the exhibition, Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War, showing a large wounded soldier drawing his gun

    Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War

    This ground-breaking exhibition tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

Winning fashion and feathers

  • Dressed cover
    2022 Ockhams winner – Dressed: Fashionable dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840 to 1910

    2022 Ockhams winner – Dressed: Fashionable dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840 to 1910

    When crinolines, bustles and ostrich feathers were the height of colonial fashion – from ball gowns and riding habits to tea gowns and dresses worn for presentation to Queen Victoria.

  • Claire Regnault
    Claire Regnault: biography and 10 questions about Dressed

    Claire Regnault: biography and 10 questions about Dressed

    Claire Regnault, the author of Dressed, discusses her new book with Te Papa Press

  • A hot pink feather fan on a light pink background
    Feathermania: Fashion to Die For

    Feathermania: Fashion to Die For

    From the 1850s to the 1910s, feathers were the height of fashion – worn by royalty, military men, debutantes and fashionable women alike.  Featuring examples of ‘feather finery’ and bird-beak jewellery, visitors learn how feathers played an integral part in women’s fashion internationally.

    On now
    5 Jul 2021 – Jun 2022

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • 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.

Fashion in Aotearoa New Zealand

Visit Te PapaToro mai

  • A selection of knitted representations of the Covid-19 virus
    Te Papa Covid-19 information

    Te Papa Covid-19 information

    We are following the advice of the New Zealand Government’s Covid-19 Protection Framework.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

  • Henry Liu talks directly to camera in a darkened space
    Watch: Hakka, with interpreter Henry Liu

    Watch: Hakka, with interpreter Henry Liu

    Henry Liu is an interpreter and the first and only New Zealander to have held office as President of the FIT (International Federation of Translators). Here, he speaks about language interpretation, the struggles of minority languages, and the difficulties of not being about to communicate.

  • 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

    Jack 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

Explore Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

Recent blogs

  • A split black and white photo with a married couple on one side and the bride and bridesmaid on the other.
    Digitising studio photography: The Spencer Digby – Ronald D Woolf Lotteries project is underway

    Digitising studio photography: The Spencer Digby – Ronald D Woolf Lotteries project is underway

    The digitisation of around 250,000 photographic negatives for the Spencer Digby / Ronald D Woolf Collection is now well underway. Athol McCredie, Curator Photography and Melissa Irving, Senior Imaging Technician tell us about the project.

    Te Papa Blog

  • A black and red belt on a grey background
    The Cipiyak Project – stories of Japanese connections with Aotearoa

    The Cipiyak Project – stories of Japanese connections with Aotearoa

    Curator Grace Gassin introduces a new project highlighting taonga in the national collection belonging to Ainu, an indigenous people of 日本 Japan, as well as stories of Japanese migration to Aotearoa New Zealand.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Three fungi with long stalks with white bonnets
    Fantastic fungi and how to identify them

    Fantastic fungi and how to identify them

    Autumn is upon us and many fungi are emerging. Our Research Scientist Lara Shepherd takes us on a photo tour of New Zealand’s diverse fungi, lists resources to help you identify your fungal finds, and discusses that age-old question – can I eat it?

    Te Papa Blog

  • Four people playing their taonga pūoro (Māori musical instruments) in an army bunker
    Moving from revival to renaissance: the first taonga pūoro festival

    Moving from revival to renaissance: the first taonga pūoro festival

    Late last year Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington hosted Pūoro Tū, a festival of “adventures in Māori instruments and sounds”. Here, taonga pūoro practitioner and Pūoro Tū organiser Ruby Solly reflects on this six-day celebration of the oro.

    Te Papa Blog

  • Bob and Craig remove the rear mudguard from the Britten Bike
    A motorbike stripped bare – the Britten V1000 gets a new coat of paint

    A motorbike stripped bare – the Britten V1000 gets a new coat of paint

    History curator Katie Cooper gives an overview of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most famous motorbike, and why we are displaying it without its iconic pink and blue bodywork.

    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.

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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.

  • 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.

  • 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 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 set of bones in a flat plaster cast on a black background
    Fossils and dinosaurs

    Fossils and dinosaurs

    Te Papa’s collections and research on dinosaur bones, animals, and plant fossils from past geological ages, and the people involved in the discovery of their remains.

  • 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.

  • 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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