Te Papa National Museum: Rating It? Like Best There?

[TLCOhio]

From The Australian newspaper tomorrow morning, they have this headline: "New visions and some high ambitions". Be interested from those in NZ and/or those who have visited here about your reactions? Time required to visit, its value compared to other options in Wellington, etc.??

 

Here are some of the highlights for New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa, in this lengthy media story: "The six-level cultural landmark adjacent to Wellington Harbour hosted 1.4 million visitors last year, making it the most visited museum site in Australasia. Melbourne's two National Galleries of Victoria and Queensland Art Gallery's twin sites attract a greater number of visitors, but not to a single building. In Australia there is no equivalent to Te Papa. The 15-year-old museum in New Zealand's capital exhibits and collects art, plus it has social and natural history collections. There's a botanical garden on its own island. Entry is free but some exhibits attract entry fees. There are numerous gift shops. There's a cafe. This all-things-to-all-people approach riles critics, who believe Te Papa's broad focus prevents it from doing anything really well. A fortnight ago, a sizeable exhibition from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts Colour & Light: Impressionism from France & America opened in a new exhibition space. The museum's head of art Jonathan Mane-Wheoki is refreshingly frank about the challenges he faces. He's working from what he describes as 'a visionary and extremely ambitious document' that stipulates how and why Te Papa should become the central focus for New Zealand's art collecting and display. 'We want to establish Te Papa (as) New Zealand's pre-eminent art institution,' Mane-Wheoki says. Te Papa also has significant stores of customary Maori art and Pacific art but those items are considered part of the museum cultural history collection, not its art collection. Mane-Wheoki, who is Maori, wants to rectify this so that Te Papa's art collection is seen as a continuum from tribal works in the same way as are the art collections held in Australian institutions. He also wants to begin collecting more Asian artworks in acknowledgement of the considerable contribution made to New Zealand culture by its Asian population."

 

Below are some visuals about this museum that I pulled up for sharing on our Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014 Solstice roll call. Clearly this museum is trying to be BOTH an art and natural history museum. Interesting, very contemporary building. Looking for ward to seeing it in Wellington. Can't beat the price of "FREE"!! Added suggestions, tips, best timings to visit, etc.?

 

Full story at:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/new-visions-and-some-high-ambitions/story-e6frg8n6-1226687085193

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 136,820 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Here are some various views in connection with the New Zealand's national museum in Wellington. First are a couple of exterior views for the main building and its entrance. Then some interIOR views, including for the giant squid and other items related to NZ and nearby. Final, below is another angle for the contemporary building exterior. All of these are from Bing.com.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dcoy]

Thank you very much for posting. I will be in Wellington next March and was looking for something to do on my own. This looks great and cheep.

 

Don

[babs135]

Visited this museum a couple of years ago and thought it was brilliant. Ideally you need more than the few hours we had at our disposal to see it all; so it's on our 'bucket list' of things to do properly!!!!

[TLCOhio]

Visited this museum a couple of years ago and thought it was brilliant. Ideally you need more than the few hours we had at our disposal to see it all; so it's on our 'bucket list' of things to do properly!!!!

 

Dcoy: Thank you very much for posting. I will be in Wellington next March and was looking for something to do on my own. This looks great and cheep. Don

 

Appreciate the great feed-back and experiences from babs135 in the UK. Very helpful!! On our Jan. 20-Feb. 3' date=' 2014, cruise on the Solstice, I'll probably post on the Celebrity boards a live/blog to share our experiences at this site, in Wellington, lots of pictures, etc., etc. Maybe Don can catch those posts before you do your March visit to the NZ Capital.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio[/font']

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 137,108 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[mr walker]

Visited this museum a couple of years ago and thought it was brilliant. Ideally you need more than the few hours we had at our disposal to see it all; so it's on our 'bucket list' of things to do properly!!!!

 

We also visited the museum on our visit on Radiance OTS earlier this year, and I agree you need more than a few hours. Not knowing the scope of the museum & walking to it from the ship, we had arranged to meet up with others at a set time elsewhere & so only got around 1-2 hours there - not nearly enough time. A much higher priority than the gardens or the cable car in my mind.

[Dcoy]

]Appreciate the great feed-back[/b] and experiences from babs135 in the UK. Very helpful!! On our Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, cruise on the Solstice, I'll probably post on the Celebrity boards a live/blog to share our experiences at this site, in Wellington, lots of pictures, etc., etc. Maybe Don can catch those posts before you do your March visit to the NZ Capital.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry

 

I leave on my World Voyage from Ft Lauderdale on Jan 12 so I will already be on my cruise before your Jan 20 - Feb 3 trip. So unless I get a chance to find some free Internet, I won't be doing much on the web other than quick emails to family.

 

Hope you have a great time. See you will be getting away from the Ohio winter. I grew up in the Chicago area and did not like the cold and snow.

 

Don

[t60]

We visited TePapa and agree with everyone you need loads of time there to do it justice, yes way better than gardens and cable car, absolutely fabulous place. Lots of oral history, maori exhibits and reproductions of buildings,canoes, earthquake shaking house to experience, short film shows, natural history stuff, I´d love to visit again in a heart beat. If you can get a floor plan before you go and check out what you want to see, other wise you tend to wander a bit aimlessly just trying to cram everything in.

 

Sandy in Spain

[Chmielel]

The two things I found interesting at the TePapa were the colossal squid exhibition and New Zealand highlighted in an outdoor display complete with a cave and bush city for the children and the child at heart.

[RMLincoln]

We are scheduled to be in Wellington 8am - 6 pm. I think we'd love to spend our day there at the museum. Any suggestions on transport to/from museum/ship? Time? Cost? Thanks for the help, m--

[cjm66]

We are scheduled to be in Wellington 8am - 6 pm. I think we'd love to spend our day there at the museum. Any suggestions on transport to/from museum/ship? Time? Cost? Thanks for the help, m--

 

There will be a shuttle from the wharf into the centre of town. The cost and arrangements for the shuttle vary from line to line. From memory it was $15 approx return. You will be dropped off at the large department store, Kirkcaldie and Staines which is walking distance to Te Papa. Check out their web site for temporary exhibitions, which cost extra and can be booked ahead on line. We did this for a European Masters exhibition - entry at a set time with limited numbers so you get to see the works easily without being rushed.

[kiwijohn]

As a Wellingtonian I would suggest that you take the ship shuttle bus cost around NZ$15 return which will take you to the Civic Centre (Information Centre) and from there you can walk to Te Papa in 10 minutes. If you arrive on a nice day you could walk from the ship to TePapa around the waterfront - this would take about 3/4 hour to an hour. It is a great walk around the waterfront and you could call in at the Wellington City and Sea Museum on the way.

[RMLincoln]

Super info folks! Thanks so much! CCers rock! m--

[kiwijo]

It is a don't miss. Te Papa is New Zealand's national museum and art gallery. If that makes it sound boring and worthy, I've done it a grave dis-service. Te Papa is one of the new generation interactive museums and people usually don't allow nearly enough time for a visit. And at free entry, a low risk investment! Coupla tips:

 

May not work out for cruisers, but Te Papa is open late nights Thursday. It's a great time to be there and any paid travelling exhibitions are usually quiet at that time.

There are guided tours daily, starting with the NZ$14 Introducing Te Papa 60 minute. If you're on a tight schedule, I'd can't recommend this highly enough; get the highlights and your bearings and then spending any additional time re-visiting areas that appeal.

Many visitors won't get up to Level 5, Toi Te Papa, which is the national art collection. Do try!

 

If you're travelling with children, the colossal squid exhibition, the earthquake house and the outdoor dinosaur excavation area are big hits. You can pick up a free Art Detective pack from the L1 reception - perfect for young artists and a big hit with kids around 8-12.

[Grumpy100]

We went there and saw the giant squid. It was cool. We were already very tired from a full day and we had walked everywhere. We then walked back to the ship and did not have a lot of time to see other things. I would like to go back some other time as there is a lot to see. On cruises you don't have alot of time to see things in one day.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

There are guided tours daily, starting with the NZ$14 Introducing Te Papa 60 minute. If you're on a tight schedule

 

On cruises you don't have a lot of time to see things in one day.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the tour. We have been there a couple times now , but have only seen a fraction of it.

 

 

[We Go Cruise Brah]

As a Wellingtonian I would suggest that you take the ship shuttle bus cost around NZ$15 return which will take you to the Civic Centre (Information Centre) and from there you can walk to Te Papa in 10 minutes. If you arrive on a nice day you could walk from the ship to TePapa around the waterfront - this would take about 3/4 hour to an hour. It is a great walk around the waterfront and you could call in at the Wellington City and Sea Museum on the way.

 

Thanks Wellingtonian! We will be there in November and plan to spend our whole day there. The place looks amazing.

[Bowie MeMe]

We will fly to Wellington from Auckland on Feb. 5 before the cruise on Oceanic Discoverer boarding at 5 PM Feb 6. We will not have a car. We are staying across the street from Te Papa AT HOME hotel.

 

Our schedule has us exploring Wellington from 11 AM or so on Weds then seeing the Museum on Thursday morning . Can you tell me what we should see and do with the time that we have to visit Wellington. We will be back to Wellington on Feb. 21 but probably only to get the rental car and start a 10 day land trip of NI. Thanks for your suggestions.