Te Awamutu Museum – Education & Research Centre
Here you will find a range of information, interactive and activities designed to engage and inform visitors about the history of Waipā. We also offer opportunities to increase engagement in arts and craft activities.
The Museum building on Roche Street was closed in October 2022 following a seismic assessment which showed the building was vulnerable in an earthquake.
The temporary space opened in March 2023 with a Tui & Tama Club Eco Expo, full of FREE activities and information about the environment from organisations that are eco friendly and have a sustainable practice!
You may notice there are not a lot of objects and taonga from the Collection on display in the temporary space. This is because we are not able to meet the stringent Museum standards of climate control, pest control and security designed to keep objects safe.
This temporary space focuses on its Education, Research and Public Programme offerings, designed to cater of children and adults.
The next step….Te Ara Wai – the new Museum Development being championed by Waipa District Council the current Museum staff.
“We’re a small team connecting our local stories, histories, taonga, and archives with our community”
CURIOSEUM
The ‘Curioseum’ is an interesting space where visitors young and old can explore a range of unique objects and images from the collection, nested in the drawers and cupboard. Since moving into the new space, the objects on show are more robust and able to tolerate fluctuations in temperature.
Children and adults alike have fun opening the drawers and cupboard to reveal amazing objects. If you look closely you may see a dinosaur or two!
FRONT PORCH GALLERY
This space consists of three LED-lit frames that present researched displays on various social history, local stories and events that connect to either the overall public programme theme, or a significant object in the Museum Collection. This is changed monthly and may also include specific objects in cases to explain or expand upon what’s on show.
BACK PORCH GALLERY
The Back Porch Gallery is part of the overall environment especially created for children to explore learning through play, interactive activities and digital projections.
In this space we may project graphic novels for education programmes, participatory interactive that connect to monthly creative activities and support creative play.
TE ARA WAI GALLERY
The Te Ara Wai Gallery offers visitors an introduction to the Museum’s online place-based storytelling website – Te Ara Wai Journeys. It is the first stop on your free self-guided journey of culturally significant sites through the Waipā district. On show are images of taonga objects related to the amazing stories, connected to this landscape. Map out your journey from here and don’t forget to ask about the new Te Ara Wai Journey merchandise especially created for your trip.
Te Ara Wai Journeys – experience places of local and national importance, and discover unique stories told by experts.
Front Porch Gallery
Small displays on social history of the Waipā district, te taiao the environment and special interests highlights!
Back Porch Gallery
A great space especially created for children to explore learning through play, interactive activities and digital projections.
Te Ara Wai Journeys Gallery
An introduction to the Museum’s online place-based storytelling website – Te Ara Wai Journeys.
The Colossal Squid Exhibition
A FREE Te Papa touring exhibition about the Colossal Squid’s Freaky Features!