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
Around 20,000 shakes are measured every year in Aotearoa New Zealand – about 55 a day – our whenua never stops shaking. Plates collide. Pressure builds. The land ruptures. How do we cope with living on such shaky ground?
You can also check out nhc.govt.nz and getready.govt.nz for more info about earthquakes and what to do if you’re in one.
The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 are among the most significant events in New Zealand’s history. From precious jewellery to tea-towels, Te Papa has been collecting objects and filming stories around the earthquakes. See some of the items on Collections Online.
Following the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, Te Papa started collecting objects and filming stories around the earthquakes – particularly around public support, such as fundraising and spirit-raising initiatives, and around creative and entrepreneurial responses to the earthquakes. Read about some of the people and objects in our blog.
The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 are among the most significant events in New Zealand’s history. Te Papa collected objects around fundraising, spirit-raising, and creative and entrepreneurial responses to the earthquakes.
Watch a series of interviews about creative and community responses to the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Our Earthquake House has had a makeover. It includes a new immersive video experience featuring actors Rachel House and Rākau Tamaira. Making the new video was no simple task – particularly as the whole thing had to be filmed in one shot.
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.
On 14 Nov 2016 an earthquake registering 7.8 on the Richter scale shook Wellington awake. All-in-all Te Papa’s buildings and its collection were virtually unscathed. Out of over two million collection objects, only nine were damaged.
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.
More than 1800 years ago, Zhang Heng, a Chinese astronomer and mathematician during the Eastern Han dynasty, developed this device for recording the ground waves produced by earthquakes. It is the earliest known instrument of its kind.
Dr Hamish Campbell shares his experience witnessing the green lights in the sky following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.
Go underground to see the amazing Kiwi innovation that ‘puts the brakes on’ in an earthquake.
On now
Permanent exhibition
Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga
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.
Education visit
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!
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.
Education resource
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.
Education resource
