• A woman stands amid the artwork, a network of black strands of wool

    Chiharu Shiota: The web of time

    Enter a vision of the universe. The web of time, an installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, creates the vision of a night sky studded with constellations of numbers. On display now.

  • 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.

  • View of the Rongomaraeroa marae, including the wharenui

    Rongomaraeroa | Te Marae

    All people have a right to stand on our marae, Rongomaraeroa, through a shared whakapapa and the mana of the taonga held in Te Papa’s collections.

  • Māori designs and carving

    Ko Rongowhakaata: Ruku i te Pō, Ruku i te Ao | The Story of Light and Shadow

    Discover awe-inspiring taonga (treasures), innovative contemporary art, and powerful stories of survival and tenacity from Rongowhakaata iwi (tribe).

  • Visitors in the Te Taiao | Nature exhibition look at moa skeletons

    Te Taiao | Nature

    Mātauranga Māori meets science in these interactive exhibitions about our weird and wonderful wildlife, our shaky land, and the innovative ways we’re protecting our natural taonga.

  • Composite image of a hei tiki, a photo showing a woman standing on a mountainside, and an octopus specimen in a jar

    Dive into the collections

    Explore 800,000 artworks, taonga, photographs, collection objects, and botanical and zoological specimens from Te Papa’s collections. Learn about different cultures – or your own! – or find inspiration for your own artworks.

What’s onE aha ana

  • Inside the nature exhibition
    Te Taiao | Nature

    Te Taiao | Nature

    You’re the explorer in our Te Taiao | Nature exhibition zone. Celebrate Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique natural environment – and get ready for our future as kaitiaki.

    On now
    Permanent exhibition

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Fluffy white clouds in a bright blue sky, with a red sofa in the shape of lips superimposed on top
    Surrealist Art: Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

    Surrealist Art: Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

    Enter the marvellous world of surrealism. See extraordinary artworks by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Marcel Duchamp, Leonora Carrington, Man Ray, and more. Astonishing, surprising, and only at Te Papa.

    Opening soon
    12 Jun – 31 Oct 2021

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • Illustration of tūi, weka, giraffe weevil, kōwhai, and fern
    Weka Wednesdays: Whānau fun in Te Taiao

    Weka Wednesdays: Whānau fun in Te Taiao

    Bring your little weka along to a morning of puppet shows and crafts as puppeteer Anna Bailey shares stories on Te Taiao | Nature. This programme is designed for tamariki aged 7 and under and their whānau.

    Wed 5 May, Wed 12 May, and Wed 19 May

    Event Ngā kaupapa motuhake

  • Two men and a woman looking at taxidermied birds. The man in the middle is pointing at the other man
    Introducing Te Papa Tour

    Introducing Te Papa Tour

    Discover New Zealand's rich history and cultures through Te Papa's world-leading exhibitions and treasures. Ideal for visitors with limited time or wanting an introduction to New Zealand's rich history and cultures.

    Tour He toro

    Book now

VisitToro mai

  • Black wool in a web stretched across a museum gallery floor, with white numbers sitting in random parts of it.
    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.

  • A mobile phone displaying the Te Papa NZSL mobile guide is superimposed onto a photo of the moa skeletons on display at Te Papa
    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

    With Wellington at Alert Level 1, we remain open, with safety measures in place.

  • Te Papa External View. Photograph by Michael Hall. Te Papa
    Plan your visit

    Plan your visit

    Get directions, download the museum map, find out about our parking facilities, reserve a wheelchair, and more.

Explore Te Papa at homeToroa Te Papa i te kāinga

  • A New Zealand landscape scene with the Matariki star cluster in the sky
    Matariki: The Māori New Year

    Matariki: The Māori New Year

    Learn all about Matariki and see our events. Matariki is a time to gather with family and friends to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.

  • View of Oriental Bay, with Wellington Harbour on the left and houses lining the street on the right. A crowd of hundreds is walking along the boardwalk
    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!

  • 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).

  • Waitangi Day activity book
    Treaty of Waitangi learning resources

    Treaty of Waitangi learning resources

    Watch interviews, download activity books and learn more about the Treaty of Waitangi and what it means to all New Zealanders.

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    The Current

    The Current

    Add your voice to The Current and help solve New Zealand’s toughest nature challenges. We’ll share your anonymous response with researchers via data.govt.nz.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Sailing vessel
    Voyage and discovery in the Pacific

    Voyage and discovery in the Pacific

    The history of the discovery of Aotearoa New Zealand goes back a millennium and contains the stories of many fine explorers, from Kupe to Cook. Here, explore Pacific exploration and European colonisation through our taonga, kōrero, and events.

  • 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'.

  • Manuka, Leptospermum scoparium J.R.Forst. & G.Forst., collected 02 Apr 2009, southern Wairarapa, New Zealand. CC BY-NC-NDCC licence. Te Papa (SP087325)
    Māori medicine

    Māori medicine

    Rongoā Māori is the traditional Māori healing system. Ailments are treated in a holistic manner.

  • 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.

  • A man receiving a Samoan tatoo in Te Papa
    Sāmoan tatau (tattoo) meanings, stories, tools, and history

    Sāmoan tatau (tattoo) meanings, stories, tools, and history

    Pacific curator Sean Mallon and Sāmoan tatau artists Sulu’ape Steve Looney and Tuigamala Andy Tauafiafi talk about the meanings and history of Sāmoan tattooing.

  • Close-up of 1905 All Blacks jersey, featuring a brown crest on the top and a large silver fern on the left-hand side. The jersey is black
    The significance of the silver fern

    The significance of the silver fern

    The ‘silver fern’ (Cyathea dealbata) – ponga in te reo Māori – is a species of tree fern only found in New Zealand, and as such has become a potent symbol.

  • Kete whakairo (patterned bag), 1800-1833, New Zealand, maker unknown. Purchased 1977. Te Papa (ME013967)
    Māori weaving

    Māori weaving

    Learn about the goddess of te whare pora (the house of weaving) and the different types of weaving that are important in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Get involved Whakaeke mai