Active land: Natural events in Aotearoa New Zealand

Around 20,000 shakes are measured every year in Aotearoa New Zealand – about 55 a day – our whenua (land) never stops shaking. Plates collide. Pressure builds. The land ruptures. How do we cope with living on such shaky ground?

In 2013, while there was a lot of earthquake activity in central Aotearoa New Zealand, we took the opportunity to put your questions about what's going on under our feet to our then-resident Subject Expert – Earth Science, Hamish Campbell from GNS Science.

ShakerMod – play an educational Minecraft mod which simulates earthquakes and creates an experiential and playful approach to understanding how to protect our homes against them – Fix. Fasten. Don’t Forget!

How did Te Papa survive the Kaikoura earthquake nearly unscathed?

Primary, Secondary

Delve into the inner workings of our amazing planet – from the inner core to earthquakes and volcanoes at the surface.

Go underground to see the amazing Kiwi innovation that ‘puts the brakes on’ in an earthquake.

Primary

Learn about the atua (deity) Rūaumoko and how he affects our lives here in Aotearoa New Zealand, through simple activities. Download a free activity book for kids – focused on preparing for emergencies, word searches, a crossword, colouring pages, creating a poem, and matching up parts of a volcano.

The Active Land talk series hosted at Te Papa highlights the diverse range of cutting-edge research into natural hazards happening in Wellington. In partnership with the Natural Hazard Commission (NHC) Toka Tū Ake.

Explore resources for earthquake preparedness, what to do during and after an earthquake, and how and why earthquakes and other disasters happen in Aotearoa New Zealand.

In the event of an earthquake, a fire, or a flood, your museum or gallery staff need to know how to keep themselves and visitors safe and protect and recover collections.

Primary, Secondary

Mā te tūkanga o te whakaaro hoahoa a Stanford, ka taea ngā ākonga kia hanga putanga hei āwhina i ngā uauatanga mō te hāpori kua pā atu ki a rātou i muri tata mai i te rū whenua – ā-tāngata nei, ā-hanganga nei.

Primary, Secondary

Using the Stanford design process, teach students to create resilient communities that can deal with the effects of earthquakes when they happen – both social and structural.

Watch a series of interviews about creative and community responses to the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 brought heavy rainfall, strong winds, and storm surges, causing widespread flooding, landslides, and power outages in Taitokerau, Tairāwhiti, and Te Ika-a-Māui. Local iwi and hapū suffered much damage – some irrevocable – causing long-term impacts on the communities. Head of Mātauranga Māori Migoto Eria and Curator Mātauranga Māori Amber Aranui went to help out at four marae in Ngāti Kahungunu.

One year on from Cyclone Gabrielle’s devastation over parts of the North Island, Mātauranga Māori Curator Amber Aranui thought it poignant to reflect on the year, what has taken place and where communities are now, and how Te Papa continues to support them. Here she focuses on her own experiences with the hapori she is connected to, Omāhu in Hawke’s Bay.  

River cleaners, tree planters, possum trappers, and climate crusaders. Explore stories from around Aotearoa New Zealand of communities taking care of their natural environment.

Pacific curator Rachel Yates introduces a co-collecting project that took Te Papa to Tokelau’s three low-lying coral atolls in the South Pacific to document the effects of climate change.

Te Papa and the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake are taking Rūaumoko: Restless land around Aotearoa New Zealand to promote natural hazard awareness and preparedness.