Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Open every day 10am-6pm
(except Christmas Day)
Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
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.
Currently touring Aotearoa New Zealand
Check the tour schedule below for venues
This touring exhibition uses mātauranga Māori and a scientific lens, this hands-on, interactive exhibition delves into the realm of Rūaumoko, the atua of volcanoes and earthquakes, and the youngest child of Ranginui and Papatūānuku.
The story is told through the effects of Rūaumoko, his important contributions to living on the whenua, how we can be prepared, and the science involved.
You will be taken on a journey through interactive activities, tectonic plate models, volcanic rock samples, a shake table, and kōrero from Rūaumoko.
Whirinaki Arts & Entertainment Centre, Upper Hutt
13 April – 2 Aug 2026
Taupō Museum , Taupō
30 Jan – 30 Mar 2026
Te Awamutu Museum, Te Awamutu
23 Oct 2025 – 26 Jan 2026
Tauranga Library, Tauranga
22 Aug – 22 Oct 2025
Thames Museum, Thames
19 Jun – 19 Aug 2025
MTG Hawke’s Bay, Napier
5 Mar – 16 Jun 2025
Pātaka Art + Museum, Porirua
7 Dec 2024 – 27 Feb 2025
Pat Stodart
Touring Exhibition Manager
Email: touringexhibitions@tepapa.govt.nz
In partnership with
Supported by
Restless whenua, strong people. Rūaumoko, god of earthquakes and volcanoes, lays his challenge – his restless rumblings present us with taonga as well as hazards. A country where colliding and subducting plates cause quakes, volcanoes, tsunami, and landslides.
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.
Activity book
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?
Understand how natural hazard events may impact you, your home, and your community. Explore where natural hazard events have occurred in Aotearoa New Zealand before, and learn about natural hazard risks where you live.
Explore the Natural Hazards Portal on the Natural Hazards Commission website.
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.
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.
Enter the realm of Rūaumoko, god of volcanoes and earthquakes, and explore the geological forces that shape our shaky land and experience what an earthquake feels like in our quake house in Te Taiao | Nature.
