Taupō Museum

Taupō Museum Taupō Museum, sharing Taupō districts stories, art, and culture with the world.

✨Te Wiki o Te reo Māori...all month long! ✨Drop in to learn and celebrate Te Reo Māori with us, not just for a week but ...
31/08/2026

✨Te Wiki o Te reo Māori...all month long! ✨
Drop in to learn and celebrate Te Reo Māori with us, not just for a week but for all of September! Kei te tino hīkaka mātou!
Everyone's favourite exhibits will feature wooden overlay tiles naming objects in Te Teo Māori, helping visitors connect everyday items with Māori language. Children can take part in a special scavenger hunt, while families can enjoy te reo Māori games, puzzles and activities in the museum's Wharenui and Tamariki Area.
Everything is free with entry, so come hang out with us this month!

🔍✨ Did You Know? ✨🔍Botanical Skeletonisation is the artistic and scientific process of removing the fleshy green pulp of...
24/08/2026

🔍✨ Did You Know? ✨🔍
Botanical Skeletonisation is the artistic and scientific process of removing the fleshy green pulp of a leaf to expose its delicate, lacy network of tough veins. This is the technique used by Mrs. Elisa Emma King for our beautiful Botanical Cabinet, displayed at the 1851 Great Exhibition at London’s Crystal Palace.
To come see our own example if botanical skeletonisation, come visit the Taupō Museum!

A conversation carved in wood.Some stories are painted, some are written, and some are hidden deep within the grain of t...
14/08/2026

A conversation carved in wood.

Some stories are painted, some are written, and some are hidden deep within the grain of timber, waiting to be revealed.

Opening at Taupō Museum, The Language of Wood and Responses in Wood brings together four artists connected by a shared material and a deep respect for the natural world.

“Each language we use came together to form one conversation.” – Jodie Appleton

From ancient swamp kauri that has been “marinating for two and a half thousand years” to works shaped through carving, burning, printing, and assembly, these exhibitions celebrate the dialogue between artist and material.

“It’s the excitement of seeing what you get.” – Sally-Ann Davies

A celebration of the whenua, creativity, and the stories held within wood.

🪵The Language of Wood, featuring Jodie Appleton, Sally-Ann Davies & Angela Zajonskowski - Main Gallery
🪵 Responses in Wood, by Jan Ubels - Niven Gallery
📍 Taupō Museum
📅 15 August – 21 September 2026

🎓✨Curator's Corner ✨🎓This cabinet houses a beautiful display of skeletonised flower, plants, and other botanicals. It wa...
04/08/2026

🎓✨Curator's Corner ✨🎓
This cabinet houses a beautiful display of skeletonised flower, plants, and other botanicals. It was composed by Mrs. Elisa Emma King for the 1851 Great Exhibition at London’s Crystal Palace. Displayed inside are the skeletons of more than 30 different plants!

Object: Botanical Display Cabinet, Crystal Palace Great Exhibition, 1851
Dimensions: 670 mm (H) x 360 mm (W) x 240 mm (D)
Materials: Mohogany and Walnut cabinet with metal fixtures, silk, botanicals
Composer: Elisa Emma King
Donor: Lance Hare
Accession No: 1986.002.001

Come see it for yourself at Taupō Museum!

What can ancient rock art tell us about the people who came before us?Join Jeffrey Addison for an insightful pictorial p...
01/08/2026

What can ancient rock art tell us about the people who came before us?

Join Jeffrey Addison for an insightful pictorial presentation exploring the fascinating world of regional rock art.

📍 Taupō Museum, Wharenui
📅 Saturday 8 August | 11am - 12pm
💲 Entry: $5

Learn more about the remarkable images, stories, and cultural heritage hidden across our landscape.

☎ 03 376 0414 📧 [email protected]

HistoryTalk GreatLakeTaupo

FINAL DAYS /// Maiea /// To SurfaceAs Maiea /// To Surface nears its close, we invite you to experience this remarkable ...
30/07/2026

FINAL DAYS /// Maiea /// To Surface

As Maiea /// To Surface nears its close, we invite you to experience this remarkable exhibition by the artists of Toi Tūwharetoa one last time.

Commemorating the centenary of the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board, the exhibition honours the enduring hononga between Ngāti Tūwharetoa, the environment, and the waters that shape and sustain their lands.

The exhibition closes on Monday 3 August. This weekend is your last chance to step inside, reflect, and be immersed in its stories. ✨

This handy little antique stapler uses a steel mechanism to cut and thread the paper through itself to secure pages toge...
28/07/2026

This handy little antique stapler uses a steel mechanism to cut and thread the paper through itself to secure pages together, all without using metal ‘clips’ or ‘staples’. The technique is called the 'bump fastening method’, which was initially patented in 1911 in the US. The Ideal brand of clipless paper fasteners come from Japan, but were also sold in England, and subsequently imported into New Zealand. This example we have in the collection was likely from around the early-1920s and is made from wood and steel.

Object: Ideal Clipless Paper Fastener, Wood Steel, c.1920s
Dimensions: 80 mm (w) x 120 mm (H) x 50 mm (D)
Manufacturer: Ideal (Japan)
Donor: Edna Smith
Accession No: 2003.017.001

Thank you to americanstationer.wordpress.com for their excellent research!

🔍✨ Did You Know? ✨🔍In the early 20th century, potato chips used to be sold in metal tins, and the salt was provided in a...
21/07/2026

🔍✨ Did You Know? ✨🔍
In the early 20th century, potato chips used to be sold in metal tins, and the salt was provided in a small satchel you mixed in yourself. Before plastic packaging took over around the 1970s, chips would also be packaged in sealed waxed paper bags and cellophane. 🥔

Come see our very own Smiths potato chip tin on display in the Busy Store, at Taupō Museum!

✨ Maiea /// Te Whare o Io Matamoe Rongoā Clinic ✨Join Maiea Curator Tyrone for a special gathering of Te Whare o Io Mata...
16/07/2026

✨ Maiea /// Te Whare o Io Matamoe Rongoā Clinic ✨

Join Maiea Curator Tyrone for a special gathering of Te Whare o Io Matamoe Rongoā Clinic, exploring and acknowledging the relationship between art and healing.

🌀 Saturday 25 July 2026 
🕙 10am–2pm 
📍 Niven Gallery, Taupō Museum

Nau mai, haere mai /// all are welcome.

Rongoā MāoriArt CommunityHealing 🌀

✨📝 Curator's Corner 📝✨This wooden wall-mounted telephone was in use in Atiamuri until 1975, and is an example of the Eri...
14/07/2026

✨📝 Curator's Corner 📝✨
This wooden wall-mounted telephone was in use in Atiamuri until 1975, and is an example of the Ericsson Model AB530-590, colloquially named 'Scroll Top Ericsson' in New Zealand and the 'Commonwealth Type' in Australia. Prior to the mid-20th century, few people had telephones in their homes. Instead, they would visit the local telephone office to make calls, using a model like this one.
Object: Ericsson Magneto 'Scroll Top/Commonwealth Type', Wooden Wall-Telephone

Dimensions: 670 mm (H) x 360 mm (W) x 240 mm (D)
Material: Walnut or Oak, with metal
Manufacturer: L M Ericsson & Co. (Stockholm, Sweden)
Serial No.: 1068342 (c.1912-1913)
Donor: Ian Grieves
Accession No: 1979.053.001

Come see our Ericsson and the rest of the Busy Store at Taupō Museum!

Address

4 Story Place
Taupo
3330

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 4:30pm
Thursday 10am - 4:30pm
Friday 10am - 4:30pm
Saturday 10am - 4:30pm
Sunday 10am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+6473760414

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