The little page of calm

It’s a tough time, Aotearoa – take a deep breath, have a bath, do a jigsaw or a quiz, watch a sunset video from Mahitahi Bruce Bay, or browse animals and teaspoons from our collections. 

• Animals from the collections
• New Zealand landscapes
• Teaspoons
• Shoes
• Landscape representations from around the world

Online jigsaw puzzles using our collections

Take a moment or two to relax with online jigsaw puzzles using taonga from our collections.

Māori

Biculturalism. Decolonisation. Mātauranga Māori. Dive into te ao Māori, explore Matariki and our iwi in residence Rongowhakaata, brush up on your reo, and learn how the kiwi lost its wings.

• He Paki Taonga i a Māui
• Te reo Māori quiz
• Haka: Te Taiao
• Live-stream: Te Kooti – Voices from the Iwi
• Watch: Four te reo Māori pronunciation tips
• View all

Art

Explore the work of artists such as Tiffany Singh, Simon Denny, Colin McCahon, and Rita Angus through videos, podcasts, and in-depth articles.

• The New Photography Spotify playlist
• ‘Finale: Bouquet’
• ‘Finales represent an end, and as such tend to be celebratory in tone’ – Nike Savvas on ‘Finale: Bouquet’
• All About “Eve”: Rodin’s masterpiece
• Art and wellbeing with Tiffany Singh, Ella Brewer, Catherine Spence, and Martin Awa Clarke Langdon
• View all

Science

Botany, fishes, birds, insects, fossils, molluscs – read about Te Papa's scientific research and stories from leading experts.

• Identify New Zealand’s common tree ferns: ponga, mamaku, kātote, whekī, and whekī ponga
• New Zealand Mosquito Census
• Listen: The Politics of Collecting – from Banks and Solander to Today
• The Current
• A 10-year hunt for a tiny parasitic ghost orchid
• View all

History

Read about trans histories, the Moon Landing, colonisation and impact, Edmund Hilary, tiny activism, Scots in New Zealand, and so much more.

• Trans Past, Trans Present: The Making Trans Histories Project
• Voyage and discovery in the Pacific
• Sir Edmund Hillary’s Everest rock pendant
• Quiz: The Moon landing
• Artists against the Springbok rugby tour
• View all

Behind the scenes

Explore how exhibitions are created, how we care for our collections, and the research that happens behind-the-scenes.

• Te reo Kiwi: Are you using Māori every day?
• The language of agile methodology in te reo Māori: being kakama
• Conserving Rongowhakaata’s fragile ‘Iron Man’
• Cigarette packets and chocolate boxes: How we used to store our collections
• ‘It’s the objects that sparkle, not me’: A day in the life of an art collection manager
• View all

Pacific

Hear about tatau (Sāmoan tattooing), weaving in Tokelau, browse our Pacific collections online, and read blogs.

• Watch: Sāmoan New Zealanders talk about their tatau (Sāmoan tattoo)
• Watch: Talking Tatau – Mana Wahine Panel
• Tokelau
• Quiz: Tongan Language Week
• Weaving in Tokelau: Novena’s story
• View all

Watch: 11 years of Te Papa videos

We’ve been creating videos and posting them on YouTube since 2009, so there’s no shortage of things to watch – from a live squid dissection to kapa haka to curators talking about art, there’s something for everyone. Even brush up on your te reo Māori!