Te Papa museum, the national Museum of New Zealand

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Hello all friends, I hope you are well! It has been a while since I wrote in Connect.

Today, I go through some old photos of New Zealand where I have been living for couple of years (literately over 6 years ago), I saw some interesting ones about Te Papa museum and I wanted to write about it. Te Papa Tongarewa museum (or known shortly as Te Papa) is the national museum of New Zealand, located in Wellington capital city. Te Papa is a Maori word meaning “Container of Treasures” - map here. The museum is one of the major attractions in Wellington while it is located by the Oriental Bay and very close to other attraction sites in Wellington. It is within walking distance from the Beehive or costs 2NZ$ by bus. Sunday farmer market and the New World Supermarket is also closed by. Outside of the museum, frequently there are different exhibitions to show to the public, including the airplanes, the vessels, the war marines.

Some features about the museum to be known of:

• The building has: 6 floors, with size of 36,000 square metres. The museum weighs 64,000 tonnes and sits on 152 base isolators to protect the building from earthquake movement. You heard it right - New Zealand is located on the ring of fire which means it has earthquakes just like in Japan. Some said it happens about 200 times a day, mostly light one which you cannot really feel. Check information about the earthquake here
• Exhibition: there is a wide range of stuff shown in the museum, the Maori arts, antiques and culture, the origin of New Zealand, the earthquake history and its stimulation, the World War I and how New Zealand involved and also some performance (depends on schedule)
• The museum is open every day, 10am-6pm, with guides.
• Time spent: around 2-3hours
• Admission fees: free
• Official site to explore more: home | Te Papa
• Year Founded: 1992, official opening: 1998
• Numbers of Visitors: 30 million (2019)

The museum is where you learnt about ones’ arts, history, culture, architect and many more. Te Papa is one of the greatest sources for such knowledge about New Zealand. Before visiting the museum, I had little knowledge about New Zealand as a whole. It is a worth a visit should you be in Wellington. I highly recommend the visit!

You might also want to check out the Maori arts and styles in my other posts about New Zealand, which you can find here: Local Guides Connect - Maori’ Carvings and styles - Local Guides Connect

[Ewaade_3A]

@indahnuria hello, have you been to this beautiful place, Sophea has written about?

Thanks for sharing this Sophea. It feels great to hear that some buildings can be constructed in this way to prevent earthquakes…

Here, many buildings are constructed in special way to avert floods

@Sophia_Cambodia

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Thank you @Ewaade_3A almost all new buildings in Wellington are built that way so it can be protected, even the Beehive building and the parliament. They have isolators to help reduce the risk of falling down.

About the flood issue, I did see the sign on some hills to say “Tsunami escape route” or start evacuating from this line (along the Manner Street which is quite far from the beach/bay). Wellington is quite a hilly town so yes, it makes sense.

[indahnuria]

Hi @Ewaade_3A … yes I have been here many times but I haven’t got the chance to share it here in Connect. Have something drafted about one of the amazing exhibitions they have but I need to refine it. Hopefully I will be able to wrap it up soon.

Thank you @Sophia_Cambodia for sharing all the details. We know why Te Papa museum becomes the nation’s pride here! You manage to visit other museums as well here? I love the portrait museum as well as the Wellington one!

[Sophia_Cambodia]

I see, I have seen the Weta Cave, the cable museum and have seen the ANZAC Memorial… but not others @indahnuria

[indahnuria]

So many cool museums around @Sophia_Cambodia and I hope I can explore more of them as well. How about in Cambodia? I visited Cambodia once but it was back in 2012 or 2013… too long a go!

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Yes, you are right @indahnuria there are a diversity one to explore and I think even having lived there for two years there are still things to excite me if I ever go to visit there again.

For Cambodia, there are also several museums to see. A list on Google map can be found in this article here.

Name of Museums	Location	My articles	Status	Google map
- The National Museum of Cambodia	Phnom Penh		State owned museum
- Angkor National Museum	Siem Reap		State owned museum
- War Museum Cambodia	Siem Reap		State owned museum
- Cambodia Landmine Museum	Siem Reap		Private owned museum
- Choeung Ek Genocidal Center	Phnom Penh		State owned museum
- Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum	Phnom Penh		State owned museum
- # Тheam’s Gallery	Siem Reap		Private owned gallery
- # VIMEAN SOKHA MUSEUM	Siem Reap		Private owned museum

[NahidHossain]

Anyone looking to learn more about the Te Papa museum in New Zealand can benefit greatly from this post. The history, holdings, and forthcoming events of the museum are all thoroughly described. The details given are quite insightful and helpful. @Sophia_Cambodia Many thanks for sharing.

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Thank you for such beautiful comments @NahidHossain they said to believe it is to see it.My words cannot do justice to what it has to offer to its visitors. It offers a lot more for those who are keen for museum it is a reminder that if you are in Wellington, New Zealand, do not miss this cute place!

[FaridTDF]

Hola @Sophia_Cambodia , me gusto leer tu post sobre el museo, la cultura Maori se expandió casi por todo el Pacífico, en especial la Polinesia, llegando hasta la isla de Pascuas, que en algún momento tuve oportunidad de visitar, tu post me trajo recuerdos de ese viaje, gracias por compartir.

Saludos Farid.

[Sophia_Cambodia]

It is beautiful @FaridTDF and you looked so young back then! Right, such a diversity - I only learnt about Maori and its culture when I arrived New Zealand. It is beautiful and so different.

[Tandrima2]

Nice to read your post @Sophia_Cambodia Your post is very attractive and full of informations.