Awesome Forces

Feel the earth move under your feet and see how seismic shifts created New Zealand’s landscapes.

Experience the powerful geological forces that change the surface of the planet. Explore how they have shaped New Zealand’s unique landscapes, plants, and animals. Find out why tectonic plates shift, what causes earthquakes, and how New Zealand split from the supercontinent Gondwanaland 83 million years ago.

When | Āhea 14 Feb 1998 – 2 Apr 2018
Where | Ki hea Level 2
Cost | Te utu Free entry
Ages | Te reanga All ages
Allow | Me whakarite 40 minutes
Accessibility | E wātea ana ki
- Realistic earthquake sounds, and there is an optional earthquake simulation. Visitors may find this distressing.
- Wheelchair accessible. Ramp access to the earthquake house is available from its exit.
Find out more about accessibility at Te Papa

A house with a shaking floor simulating an earthquake
Dinosaur fossils and life-size models
A sound and light show about the Māori story of creation, and the enduring relationship between the land, its people, and the forces of nature
A seismic station and other interactive experiences

You can also learn about the role of the Earthquake Commission – a national agency that provides natural disaster insurance – and find out how to stay safe in an earthquake.

Discover more Kia kitea ake

Martinborough’s cave of bones: How thousands of flightless birds met their end
Martinborough’s cave of bones: How thousands of flightless birds met their end
Seeing earthquakes
Seeing earthquakes
A right continental fuss: Zealandia explained
A right continental fuss: Zealandia explained
Confessions of a bounty hunter: Discovering New Zealand’s first fossil bug
Confessions of a bounty hunter: Discovering New Zealand’s first fossil bug
In photos: Giant eggs, tiny eggs, and the eggceptionally rare
In photos: Giant eggs, tiny eggs, and the eggceptionally rare
Another extinct bird: New Zealand’s prehistoric swan
Another extinct bird: New Zealand’s prehistoric swan
Filming the elusive kiwi in the 1940s
Filming the elusive kiwi in the 1940s

View more items

Exhibition highlights Taonga whakaatu

Coastal Moa, Euryapteryx curtus Specimen
Coastal Moa, Euryapteryx curtus

Izzat Design Limited S.044281
Gold Nuggets Object
Gold Nuggets

1800s GH003552/1-23
Nothopanax distans W.R.B.Oliv. Specimen
Nothopanax distans W.R.B.Oliv.

SP044566
The Terraces Object
The Terraces

Charles Blomfield 1885 1992-0035-1647
Hemideina broughi (Buller,1896) Specimen
Hemideina broughi (Buller,1896)

AI.000632
Mount Tarawera Eruption : Untitled Object
Mount Tarawera Eruption : Untitled

Charles Spencer 1886 LS.004480