Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand

Ours: A podcast of twenty Te Papa objectsNā tātou: he kōnae ipurangi mō ngā taonga 20 ā Te Papa

From Jacinda Ardern’s encounter with the sled of her Antarctic hero, to a nine-year-old boy obsessed with the colossal squid, this new podcast series brings New Zealanders face to face with their favourite Te Papa objects.

Ours is a co-creation of RNZ, Te Papa, and media production company Bird of Paradise. 

  • Gisborne coast at sunrise

    Te Hau ki Tūranga

    Our last taonga is not just an object, but a sacred place, and an 'encyclopedia' of the history, traditions, and art and culture of the people of Rongowhakaata.

  • Two knitted dolls. Left: A woman with a red headband, wearing glasses, in a blue dress with white polkadots and a green cardigan. On the right: A woman in pink headband and dungarees with turquoise cardigan and yellow handbag

    Listen: The Topp Twins and the dolls

    These miniature works of knitted art hail from Invercargill, and might just be the ultimate Kiwiana tribute to two of New Zealand’s most popular characters – Camp Mother and Camp Leader, the creations of Lynda and Jools Topp – the Topp Twins.

  • Peter Snell's shoe

    Peter Snell’s shoes

    Head of New Zealand and Pacific Cultures Bronwyn Labrum, and former principal of Tauranga Girls' College Pauline Cowens, talk about the shoes that Peter Snell wore when he won gold at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games.

  • Xena's outfit

    Xena’s costume

    Ngila Dickson one of the makers of Xena's costume, and History Curator Claire Regnault, discuss the creation of Xena, how she changed New Zealand's film industry, and how she became an international feminist icon.

  • Frances Parker's bravery medal

    Frances Parker’s Suffragette medal

    Occasional demonstrator Leah McFall, and History Curator Claire Regnault, talk about how Frances Parker fought for women's suffrage in Britain and women's marches today.

  • A preserved giant wētā in a jar with two worms coming out of it

    Sir Richard Taylor and the wētā

    The ‘ultimate monster’ that’s been on the scene since before dinosaurs. Sir Richard Taylor was so enamoured by the critter that he named his company after it.

  • Play School at the Teddy Bears Picnic

    Theresa Healey and the Play School toys

    Play School host Theresa Healey and history curator Kirstie Ross discuss the toys that belonged to us all... Humpty, Jemima, Big Ted, Little Ted, and of course New Zealand's own Manu.

  • Blue helmet

    Mike Bush and John Minto’s Springbok Tour helmet

    Mike Bush and History curator Stephanie Gibson tell the story of the scooter helmet worn by John Minto, the national organiser of Halt All Racist Tours (HART), during the Springbok rugby tour in 1981.

  • kakapo ejaculation helmet

    Kākāpō ejaculation helmet

    Kākāpō fan Jeremy Wells knew that the species’ idiosyncratic sexual appetites were a threat to its survival, but hadn’t seen the ingenious solution known as the kākāpō ejaculation helmet.

  • Jonah Lomu Rugby PlayStation game

    Jonah Lomu PlayStation game

    Jonah Lomu was a game changer on the field and in the world of popular culture. Pacific curator Sean Mallon and TV’s Julian Wilcox look at an example of his digital legacy.

  • PM Jacinda Adern sees Shackleton’s sled for the first time

    Jacinda Ardern’s Antarctic hero

    The Prime Minister encounters the sledge of her hero Ernest Shackleton, and talks about the life lessons she took from his extraordinary voyages.

  • Silver fern specimen

    Captain Cook’s silver ferns

    Silver Ferns collected on Cook’s first voyage to New Zealand tell stories of science and exploration, and of the Māori concept of time. Historian Dame Anne Salmond and Botany Curator Leon Perrie bring their perspectives to these fragile symbols of Aotearoa.

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