
Canterbury Museum
Step back through time at the Canterbury Museum and learn all there is to know about this fascinating region
Canterbury Museum
Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch 8013
FREE | Booking not required
Open daily from 9am–5pm
The extensive Canterbury Museum is one of New Zealand's best. With a collection that has been growing since the nineteenth century under the direction of Sir Julius Von Haast, the Canterbury Museum holds a spectacular variety of exhibits from around the world. Behind the historic facade is a myriad of exhibition halls and galleries that both entertain and educate young and old.
All visitors to Christchurch should spend at least an hour or two here - but four or five hours can easily pass as you walk through the 19th century streets of Christchurch, come face to with an Allosaur, gaze upon a 485kg meteorite, step inside Fred & Myrtle's Paua Shell house, visit the 1851 home of Emma Barker and explore Antarctica.
Long term exhibitions include:
- Discovery: Interactive natural history centre
- Antarctic Gallery: Objects and stories of exploration
- Asian Arts: Celebrating the rich and varied arts
- Bird Hall: Displays and dioramas of native and extinct birds
- Christchurch Street: A recreated nineteenth century street
- Early European: Peer into the murky world of the early settlers
- Fred & Myrtle's Paua Shell House: Legendary Kiwiana on an incredible scale
- Geology: Fascinating fossils and spectacular marine reptiles
- Ivan Mauget Speedway King: Learn the story of Canterbury's world champion
- Iwi Tawhito – Whenua Hou: The story of moa and the people that hunted them
- Living Canterbury: Showcasing the natural values of Canterbury
- Mountfort Galley: Sir Julius Von Haast’s original 1870 collection
- Ngā Taonga tuku iho o nga tupuna: The story of the East Polynesian settlers
- The Egyptian Mummy: Acquired in 1887, the mummy of Tash Pen Khonsu sleeps peacefully on view in the museum
- Victorian Museum: A whirlwind tour of the Victorian world
Visit the Canterbury Museum website for more information.
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