Friends of Te Papa members will have the opportunity to get a sneak peek at Te Taiao | Nature before it opens to the general public.
Moa egg from Wairau Bar, 2019. Photo by Jack Fisher. Te Papa
Te Taiao | Nature is the brand new $12 million nature zone and is the biggest change since the museum opened, creating a bold and immersive journey through the natural world of Aotearoa New Zealand, combining cutting-edge science with mātauranga Māori. It will feature over 1,200 collection items from New Zealand’s natural world, along with dozens of brand-new interactive experiences, from creating your own tsunami to weighing in against a giant moa. A priceless moa egg, one of only 36 in the world, will be at the heart of the spectacular new space(link is external) and two old favourites will return: the colossal squid and a revamped Earthquake House.
Te Taiao Nature is made up of four parts:
- In Te Ika Whenua Unique NZ you will experience what’s weird and wonderful about our wildlife, from the gigantic to the flightless, from multiple species of moa to a plethora of moths. You’ll also discover the abundant whales and dolphins in our seas, and learn about how Zealandia split from Gondwana, and how this isolation has made our plants and animals so unusual.
- In Rūaumoko Active Land you will enter the realm of Rūaumoko, god of volcanoes and earthquakes, and explore the geological forces that shape our land and how we need to act in response. The beloved Earthquake House returns, revamped to be more interactive and to reflect our latest understanding of quake action.
- At the heart of the exhibition is Te Kōhanga Nest, a 70-square-metre, 4-metre-high “nest” woven together from recycled materials. It symbolises the fragility of our natural world, its beauty and power – and hope for the future. Here you will be surrounded by beautiful bird song and images, and in the centre will be a whole but fractured moa egg.
- Ngā Kaitiaki Guardians is inspiring exhibition looks at some of the big environmental challenges that face us, such as pests, water quality, and climate change, and what New Zealanders are doing to care for their own backyard. You will leave the exhibition energised to play their part as kaitiaki [guardians] of our natural world.
Come any time between:
4pm – 6pm on Thursday 9 May OR 8am – 10am on Friday 10 May, please bring your membership card with you for entry, we look forward to sharing this incredible new part of the museum with you!
We’re so excited to have confirmed performances from the TuRongo collective to open our Thursday preview at 4pm and to close our Friday preview at 9:50am.
About the TuRongo Collective:
“We are first and foremost a family who enjoy working with each other and through all of our skills conversations, training and certifications we have developed a health and wellness company that specialize in interaction processes. We collate our expertise and experience in Martial Arts, Weaponry, Stunts, Cultural practices, Holistic and Emotional therapy as a devising method to encourage health and wellness progression inside the platform of performance. It is in short, a tool to enable acceptance amidst difference.”