While the doors of Auckland Museum are closed, visitors can still experience some of their favourite parts of Tāmaki Paenga Hira online. Launched today, Auckland Museum at Home is an online hub filled with stories, activities, videos and puzzles for the whole family to enjoy for free.
Auckland Museum Chief Executive David Gaimster says the Museum is an anchor point for Aucklanders and it is important it continues to tell the stories of its collections and people in this uncertain time.
“We want to maintain our connection with the city and the communities we serve while our galleries, exhibitions and public programmes aren’t able to operate.”
“From today on our website and social channels you can expect to see an exciting array of regularly updated content designed to educate, stimulate and entertain all of our audiences. From school children and teachers, to those wanting to deep-dive into our Anzac history, to those wanting to learn more about Tamaki Makaurau and Aotearoa while at home, there’s something for everyone.”
Auckland Museum at Home has engaging and entertaining things to see, do, watch and discover for all ages and New Zealanders are invited to visit online:
Watch how volcanoes are made, make an exotic bird case come alive in a puzzle or see some never seen before photos of Sir Edmund Hillary and his expeditions.
From collection objects and stories, to behind the scenes with Museum personnel, to quirky facts, the Museum team has collated a broad range of stories that reflect the past, current and future work of Auckland Museum.
Throughout Auckland Museum at Home the stories are separated into different segments so visitors can find the stories they want, whether they want to learn something new, entertain the kids or are just simply looking for something to do.
Children can explore 3D models of our collection, take an interactive quiz about marine life, see inside a whale, or explore life in the ocean. A series of animated short films transport viewers back in time to stories from when the HMB Endeavour arrived in Aotearoa NZ in 1769.
In a series of curated video playlists find out about the cool jobs and amazing activities Auckland Museum staff get up to every day, view videos, including some featured in our Volcanoes gallery and learn some fast facts such as – did you know that ancestors of whales once had legs? Or that Anzac soldiers during WWI turned jam tins into bombs?
For a deeper look, whether you’re discovering a critically endangered seabird or exploring of the story behind the return of a prized war medal to Aotearoa, the deep dives playlist provides in-depth knowledge on a wide range of topics. For long reads, blogs from the Museum’s archives are revisited about Lucy Cranwell, New Zealand’s first female curator, the Mystery of the Barkcloth Broadsheets, the Sir Edmund Hillary photo archive and more.
Stories contributed to Online Cenotaph provide an account of New Zealand’s history and involvement in WWI, WWII and later conflicts. To contribute to Anzac Day the public are invited to visit the Online Cenotaph and lay a digital poppy in remembrance of a loved one, with more details to be announced around further participation in this day of remembrance to come.
There is also a virtual walk through the galleries of Auckland Museum from home available, using Google Street View, for visitors who are missing seeing inside the galleries.
Even though our doors are closed to visitors, our work carries on.
The Auckland Museum at Home page will continually be updated with new videos, articles and activities.
Visitors are invited to keep coming back to see what’s new and follow Auckland Museum on social channels for updates.
