Description
At the Otago Museum, the largest and most important museum in the region of Dunedin, you find seven galleries to be explored. The museum informs the visitors especially about the southern part of New Zealand, its inhabitants, it culture, the geology and natural history. A major focus of the museum is the culture of the Maori populating New Zealand.
When here, you shouldn't miss paying a visit to “Discovery World” which is attached to the museum. Science is playfully made accessible to children here. Live experiments are carried out on-site and research done in the fields of physics, technology etc.
Another area is also very popular: the “Tropical Forest”. This section is modelled on the fascinating tropical rainforest of New Zealand. Coming here, you'll see hundreds of exotic butterflies flying around and plants growing as high as the ceiling. Once in a while, you see a gecko moving rapidly between the leaves or a tortoise trudging through our “Tropical Forest”. “Discovery World” is the perfect venue for the entire family to come to and spend a fantastic day together.
Historical Information
With a significant collection of stones and minerals, the Otago Museum was opened in Dunedin in 1868, located on New Zealand's South Island. The museum first was located south of the Dunedin Octagon in the district “The Exchange”. By constantly growing the stock of samples, it slowly but surely became obvious that a building especially designed for a museum was desperately needed. In 1877, then, the museum moved to the building it has since been accommodated in. Currently, Otago Museum counts more than 480,000 visitors annually.
Interesting facts
- The day pass at Otago Museum is NZD20 making it the cheapest tourist attraction in New Zealand.
How to get there
The Otago Museum is easy to find as it's located in the heart of Dunedin, on the Museum Reserve opposite the University of Otago. From the Octagon it's only a 15 minutes walk to the museum.
If you like to use the public transport, head for Albany Street. It's close to the museum and many buses stop here.
If you travel here by car, you find car parks in the streets surrounding the museum, all of which you will be charged for $ 2.00 per hour. Sundays, parking is free!
Enjoy your stay!