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Te Taiao | Nature exhibition a new benchmark for a new generation Kua eke te whakaaturanga o Te Taiao | Nature ki tētahi taumata anō mō te reanga hou
Thu 9 May 2019
A dawn blessing was held today for Te Papa’s ground-breaking new exhibition zone, Te Taiao | Nature. Iwi from around the country blessed the exhibition, acknowledging taonga connected to their rohe.
Te Taiao | Nature is a new permanent exhibition at Te Papa. It weaves together science and mātauranga Māori in a uniquely New Zealand experience.
Te Taiao | Nature opens to the public on Saturday 11 May. Entry is free.
With an investment of $12 million, Te Taiao | Nature is the largest redevelopment at Te Papa since it opened 21 years ago. It replaces the old nature exhibitions which have been closed since April 2018.
The 1,400-square-metre zone features more than 1,200 collection items, from a fossil dinosaur tooth to a moa egg which has never been seen by the public.
Interactive experiences include those that enable visitors to smell the scent of a kākāpō, weigh in against a giant moa, and create their own tsunami.
Te Papa Chief Executive Geraint Martin says the opening is an historic moment for the museum.
“Te Taiao | Nature sets a new benchmark in museum experiences for a new generation,” Mr Martin says.
“This is a hands-on space full of wonder and curiosity, built on the platform of leading-edge science and priceless museum collections.
“It celebrates the beauty, power and uniqueness of Aotearoa, and we hope it sparks action to protect the environment.”
Hon Carmel Sepuloni represented the government at the blessing.
“The exhibitions’ use of indigenous knowledge systems interwoven with science is unique and will no doubt be recognised around the world as cutting edge,” Minister Sepuloni says.
“These new exhibitions will reach huge numbers over their lifespan, educating a new generation about the environmental issues facing our times and prompting them to take action to protect our moana and whenua.”
Te Papa’s Frith Williams has led a creative team that has been developing the exhibition for the last three years.
“Te Taiao | Nature is going to become a favourite with visitors, it’s going to give new insights, and we hope it’s going to spark real world action,” Ms Williams says.
“This is an exhibition that invites us to step up to our role as kaitiaki, guardians of our unique islands.
“There’s heaps to do in the exhibition: to see, hear, touch, and even smell. Visitors get to really take charge and see themselves as part of nature.”
EQC and GNS Science have been key partners of the exhibition, and of Te Papa since opening.
EQC Chief Executive Sid Miller says he's excited about what the exhibition offers.
“We are excited to be sponsoring four key pieces within Te Taiao | Nature, including the quake house which gives Te Papa’s visitors a realistic, interactive experience of what it can be like when an earthquake strikes,” Mr Miller says
“We encourage people to visit the exhibit, learn more about earthquakes and natural disasters, and find out how they can make their homes more resilient and secure.”
GNS Science has been instrumental in creating Whakarūaumoko | Active Land exhibits including an animation of the Taupō super-volcano, the most ferocious super-volcano in the world, that created Lake Taupō.
GNS Science Chief Executive Ian Simpson says this exhibition will be the first time Te Papa visitors can see the whole of Aotearoa’s natural history in one rich and immersive exhibition.
“In Te Taiao our latest, cutting-edge science has been linked with mātauranga Māori and vividly brought to life,” Mr Simpson says.
“Visitors will be able to see our continent Te Riu-a-Māui | Zealandia forming before their eyes, create their own tsunami, and experience in high-definition the powerful volcanic eruption that created Lake Taupō.”
More than a hundred scientists from Te Papa and beyond have been involved in creating Te Taiao | Nature, with experts on everything from earthquakes to glow worms contributing their unique knowledge.
Mātauranga Māori experts have brought perspectives and knowledge from te ao Māori, from the traditional knowledge of environmentally friendly fish hooks, to the creation story of New Zealand’s volcanoes. All exhibition text is bilingual.
Dozens of creatives and artisans from around New Zealand have provided their unique skills to create the elaborate exhibition, including model makers, taxidermists, animators, illustrators, writers, and carvers.
Exhibition highlights
Te Ika Whenua | Unique New Zealand
- Smell the fragrance of a kiwi, a kākāpō, a petrel… and the sulphur of geothermal zones.
- See a full-sized feathered model of the extinct Hōkioi (Haast eagle) with a wingspan of 2.6 metres.
- Be wowed by models of full size male and female moa skeletons.
- Touch a real fossil moa bone, and stand on a scale to compare your weight with a moa.
Whakarūaumoko | Active Land
- Get shaken again by the quake house which returns, revamped to reflect our latest understanding of quake action.
- See and hear an ultra-realistic portrait of the eruption that created Lake Taupō.
- Use a wave tank to create your own tsunami.
- Select from different rock recipes and see how your volcano performs.
Te Kōhanga | Nest
- A 70-square-metre, 4-metre-high “nest” woven together from recycled materials.
- Visitors are surrounded by bird song and imagery.
- A priceless real moa egg is on display, which has never been displayed before.
Ngā Kaitiaki | Guardians
- Looks at how kiwis are tackling the big environmental challenges: pests, water quality, and climate change.
- Put your hand up to turn back climate change in the immersive digital room The Climate Converter.
- See the colossal squid, the only complete specimen on display in the world.
Nō te atatū, ka tū te karakia mō te whakatuwheratanga o te whakaaturanga whakahirahira o Te Papa, arā, ko Te Taiao Nature. Ka whakakotahi te maha o ngā iwi mō ngā karakia, ka mihia hoki ā rātou taonga e whakaatuhia ana i roto i tēnei whakaaturanga.
He whakaaturanga pūmau hou a Te Taiao Nature ki Te Papa. Kua whiria te mātauranga pūtaiao me te mātauranga Māori kia puta mai ai tēnei kaupapa nō Aotearoa taketake.
Ka huakina ngā tatau a Te Taiao Nature ki te iwi whānui ā te Rāhoroi, te 11 o Haratua. He whakaaturanga utukore tēnei.
Ko Te Taiao Nature te whakahoutanga nui rawa o Te Papa nō tōna orokotīmatanga i tērā 21 tau. E $12 miriona tāra te nui o te pūtea i whakapaua ki te kaupapa. I kapi te whakaaturanga o mua i te marama o Paengawhāwhā i te tau 2018.
Kotahi mano e whā rau mita-pūrua te rahi o te whakaaturanga. Mai i te niho mātātoka o te mokoweri ki te hua moa, kāore anō kia kitea e te iwi whānui te 1,200 o ngā taonga e whakaatuhia ana.
He nui tonu ngā wheako motuhake hei mahi mā te manuhiri, arā, ka rangona te kakara o te kākāpō, ka whakatairitehia tō taumaha ki tērā o te moa nunui, ka taea hoki te waihanga mai i tō ake ngaru tipua.
Hei tā te Kaiwhakahaere Matua o Te Papa, hei tā Geraint Martin, he rā whakahirahira tēnei ki te whare taonga.
"He taumata anō te whakaaturanga o Te Taiao Nature i roto i ngā mahi a ngā muhiama mō te reanga hou."
"He wāhi torotoro tēnei, kī pai ana i ngā mea whakamīharo hei whakaohooho i te hinengaro pākikī. Ko te tāhuhu ko te mātauranga pūtaiao o te ao hou me ngā taonga kāmehameha o te muhiama."
"Kei te whakatairangatia te rerehua, te mana me te ahurei o Aotearoa, ko te tūmanako ka whakahaua te tangata ki te aronui atu anō ki tō tātou taiao."
I tae mai a Hōnore Carmel Sepuloni ki te whakatuwheratanga hei kanohi mō te kāwanatanga.
Hei tā Minita Sepuloni, "He mea whakahirahira te tuituinga o te mātauranga o te iwi taketake ki tērā o te ao pūtaiao. Kāore e kore, ka hou te rongo mō tēnā āhuatanga motuhake rawa huri noa i te ao."
"E hia kē nei ngā tāngata ka kuhu mai ki ēnei whakaaturanga hou i roto i ngā tau e heke mai ana, ka rongo ngā reanga hou i ngā take nui o te wā e pā ana ki te taiao, ka whakahaua rātou ki te tiaki i ō tātou moana, i ō tātou whenua hoki."
Ko Frith Williams, nō Te Papa, te kaiārahi o tētahi o ngā rōpū e whakawhanake ana i tēnei whakaaturanga i ngā tau e toru kua pahure.
Hei tā Ms Williams, "Ko Te Taiao Nature tētahi o ngā tino whakaaturanga ki ngā manuhiri. He tirohanga hou tēnei ki te taiao, ko te tūmanako, ka kitea ngā hua i roto i ngā mahinga o te tangata i te ao tūturu."
"Kei te karangahia tātou e tēnei whakaaturanga ki te tū hei kaitiaki o ēnei motu motuhake."
Hei tā Ms Williams anō, "He nui tonu ngā mahi i roto i te whakaatūranga: hei mātakitaki, hei rāwekeweke, hei rongo mā te ihu hoki. Ko te manuhiri kē te kaiārahi, e mōhio ai rātou he wāhi anō tātou o te taiao."
Mai anō i te tīmatanga, he kaitautoko matua a EQC rātou ko Te Pū Ao GNS Science o te whakaaturanga.
Hei tā te Tumuaki o EQC, hei tā Sid Miller, kei te harikoa ia ki te kite i ngā kaupapa i roto i tēnei whakaaturanga.
"Koa katoa mātou ki te hoatu pūtea ki ngā wāhanga e whā o te whakaaturanga o Te Taiao Nature, arā, ko te whare rū tētahi. Ka rongo ngā manuhiri i ngā āhuatanga tūturu o te pānga mai o te rū whenua."
"Kei te akiaki mātou i te iwi whānui ki te kite i te whakaaturanga rā, ki te ako anō mō te rū whenua me ngā momo parekura o te taiao me ngā huarahi e noho haumaru ai rātou i roto i ō rātou kāinga i aua wā."
He wāhi nui tō Te Pū Ao i te waihangatanga o ngā whakaaturanga o Active Land, arā, ko te whakaaraanga ake ā-kiriata o te puia tipua o Taupō, arā, ko te puia nunui o te ao i puta mai ai te Moana o Taupō.
Hei tā te Tumuaki o Te Pū Ao, hei tā Ian Simpson, ko te wā tuatahi tēnei ka rumakina te tangata i roto i te roanga me te hōhonutanga o te whakawhanaketanga o te taiao o Aotearoa i roto i te whakaaturanga kotahi.
"Kei te whakaaturanga o Te Taiao, kua tūhonotia ngā putanga hou o te ao pūtaiao ki te mātauranga Māori, ā kei te tino kitea ngā hua. Ka whanake mai tō tātou whenua, arā, ko Te Riu-a-Māui i mua tonu i ngā kanohi o te tangata, ka taea te waihanga mai i tō ake ngaru tipua, ka rangona hoki te wehi o te hūnga o te puia i hua mai ai Te Moana o Taupō."
Neke atu i te kotahi rau ngā kaipūtaiao o Te Papa me ētahi atu wāhi i āwhina ki te waihanga mai i Te Taiao Nature, ahakoa te kaupapa, mai i te rū whenua ki te pūrātoke ka kitea te hōhonu o te puna mātauranga.
He nui anō ngā mātanga o te ao Māori i whai wāhi mai ki te kaupapa, mai i ngā kōrero tuku iho mō ngā matau hī ika māori ki ngā puia o Aotearoa. He reo rua ngā tuhinga katoa o roto.
He tini anō ngā ringatoi nō ngā tōpito katoa o Aotearoa i toro atu i ō rātou ringa ki te whakanikoniko i te kaupapa, arā, ko ngā ringatārai tauira, ko ngā kaipurupuru kīrehe, ko ngā ringatā pakiwaituhi tāoreore, ko ngā ringatā pikitia, ko ngā ringatuhi me ngā kaiwhakairo.
Ngā wāhanga whakahirahira o tēnei whakaaturanga
Te Ika Whenua | Unique New Zealand
- Hongia te kakara o te kiwi, o te kākāpō, o te karetai... me te pūngāwhā.
- Tirohia te rahi tūturu o tētahi tauira whai huruhuru o te Hōkioi. He manu korehāhā, e 2.6 mita te whānui o te parirau.
- Tirohia te mīharo o te rahi tūturu o te anga kōiwi o te moa. He toa me te uwha.
- Toro atu ki te kōiwi mātātoka tūturu o te moa, whakatairitehia tō taumaha ki tērā o te moa.
Whakarūaumoko | Active Land
- Tomo mai anō ki te whakahoutanga o te whare rū, e rongo ai koe ki ngā mōhiotanga hou mō te rū whenua.
- Mātakina, whakarongo ki tētahi pikitia tūturu rawa te hanga o te hūnga i puta mai ai Te Moana o Taupō.
- Mahia mai tō ake ngaru tipua i roto i tētahi kura wai ngaru.
- Kōwhiria ētahi momo rēhipi mahi toka, e kitea mai ai te pai o tō puia.
Te Kōhanga | Nest
- He kōhanga, e 70 mita pūrua te rahi, e 4 mita te teitei, kua rarangahia ki ngā rawa hangarua. Ka karapotia ngā manuhiri ki ngā waiata me ngā āhua o ngāi manu.
- Kei te whakaatuhia tētahi hua moa kāmehameha tūturu, kāore anō kia kitea e te iwi whānui.
Ngā Kaitiaki | Guardians
- Kei te tūhuratia ngā mahi a Aotearoa hei kaupare atu i ngā wero nui o te taiao: ko ngā riha, ko te kounga o te wai me te huringa o te huarere.
- Toroa tō ringa e hoki whakamuri ai ngā raruraru e pā ana ki te huringa o te huarere i roto i te rūma rumaki matihiko, arā, ko te Climate Converter.
- Tirohia te ngū nunui, koinei anake te wāhi o te ao whānui e kitea ai te katoa o te tinana o tētahi ngū nunui