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

  • Māori designs and carving

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

    This week we celebrate the fourth anniversary of this powerful exhibition. Take the opportunity to experience awe-inspiring Rongowhakaata taonga before it closes in 2022.

  • Man Ray, The Witness, 1941 (1971), wood, cardboard, paper, paint, chalk, pencil, and tape. © Man Ray 2015 Trust/ADAGP. Copyright Agency, 2021. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Photo: Jannes Linders

    Surrealist Art | He Toi Pohewa: 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. 12 Jun – 31 Oct 2021

  • Photo of a woman sitting on her porch reading a book. Beside her an open umbrella sits on the ground.

    Te Papa at home

    Jigsaw puzzles, activity books, hundreds of hours of videos covering Aotearoa New Zealand’s vast history, quizzes, hubs on specialist topics, whānau challenges, and inspiration points to keep you active at home.

  • 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.

Tuvalu Language Week 2021Vaiaso o te ‘Gana Tuvalu 2021

  • Mockup of an open Tuvalu language activity book
    Tuvalu language activity book

    Tuvalu language activity book

    Explore the language, islands, and culture of the Pacific fenua (islands) of Tuvalu through crosswords, colouring-in pages, word searches, and even a game to get you and your friends outside!

    Activity book

  • A woven mat with red, green, yellow and purple colours and the word Tuvalu woven into it
    Explore Tuvalu taonga (treasures) on Collections Online

    Explore Tuvalu taonga (treasures) on Collections Online

    Learn about taonga (treasures) in our collections, from titi (dance skirts) to tuluma (fishing tackle boxes) and view photographs of ceremonies.

    Collections Online

  • A red and yellow long dress woven with pandanus leaves
    Tuvalu Clothes: Tales from Te Papa Episode 48

    Tuvalu Clothes: Tales from Te Papa Episode 48

    European missionaries had an impact on the Pacific Islands in more ways than one. Their conservative clothes intrigued the near-naked locals.

  • A sepia photo of people in a pond with another person standing next to them
    Through the lens: Daily life in Tuvalu 1886

    Through the lens: Daily life in Tuvalu 1886

    Pacific curator Rachel Yates looks at daily life in Tuvalu through five photographs taken by New Zealand photographer Thomas Andrew (1855 – 1939), who spent a significant amount of time in the Pacific region.

    Te Papa Blog

  • A ball woven with pandanus leaves
    A cross between volleyball and murderball: Te ano, the national game of Tuvalu

    A cross between volleyball and murderball: Te ano, the national game of Tuvalu

    Te ano – a little like volleyball, a little like murderball – is the national game of Tuvalu, played by people of all ages and genders. Here, Pacific Cultures Curator Rachel Yates explains the rules.

    Te Papa Blog

Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

  • 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 smiles as she talks to an interviewer off-screen
    ‘This is the identity of our ancestors’: Little Penang’s Tee Phee on nurturing Hokkien

    ‘This is the identity of our ancestors’: Little Penang’s Tee Phee on nurturing Hokkien

    Curator Grace Gassin and Tee Phee of Wellington’s Little Penang restaurant introduce Hokkien, a Chinese language originating in the southern Chinese province of Fujian.

    Te Papa Blog

  • 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

Ko Rongowhakaata

  • General view of the Ko Rongowhakaata exhibition, showing a Māori meeting house
    Walkthrough tour of Ko Rongowhakaata: The Story of Light and Shadow

    Walkthrough tour of Ko Rongowhakaata: The Story of Light and Shadow

    Take a virtual walkthrough of the exhibition Ko Rongowhakaata: The Story of Light and Shadow wherever you are, and explore the land, people, and stories of Rongowhakaata, an iwi whose unique art reflects their innate creativity, rich history, and innovative spirit. Ko Rongowhakaata is on display at Te Papa until 2022.

  • Ko Rongowhakaata: The Story of Light and Shadow
    Extract from the Ko Rongowhakaata book

    Extract from the Ko Rongowhakaata book

    Read the opening chapter – in te reo Māori and English – from the Te Papa Press book that accompanies our iwi exhibition, Ko Rongowhakaata: The Story of Light and Shadow.

    Te Papa Blog

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    Watch: Prophecy and the arrival of Captain Cook in ‘Tiwha, Tiwha Te Pō | Dark, Dark is the Night’

    Watch: Prophecy and the arrival of Captain Cook in ‘Tiwha, Tiwha Te Pō | Dark, Dark is the Night’

    English explorer James Cook’s visit to Tūranga is marked by suspicion, violence, and misunderstanding. Endeavour crew kill four Tūranga people. Nobody is held to account for the deaths.

  • A number of people insert a special mount inside a big eel net
    Watch: Preparing a hīnaki (eel trap) for the Rongowhakaata exhibition

    Watch: Preparing a hīnaki (eel trap) for the Rongowhakaata exhibition

    Learn about the complex work that was involved in displaying a large hīnaki pūrangi (eel trap) made in the 1930s for the Rongowhakaata iwi exhibition.

Visit Te PapaToro 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.

  • 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 open at Alert Level 2, with safety measures in place.

Plan your visit

Explore Te Papa at homeToroa Te Papa i te kāinga

  • A painting of a broad panorama of the Grand Canyon
    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!

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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

    Fossils, dinosaurs, and taniwha

    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.

Te Papa at home

Recent blogs

  • 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

    With Voices of Asian Aotearoa we’re generating 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

  • 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

  • Glow-worms inside a cave
    Glow-worms in permanent lockdown – long enough for evolution to show?

    Glow-worms in permanent lockdown – long enough for evolution to show?

    Who hasn’t been mesmerised by glow-worms’ sparkling light, visiting a cave or seeing them in the bush during a night walk? Insect curator Julia Kasper talks about her research on the iconic critter with the glowing bum.

    Te Papa Blog

Read more blogs

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