Tour group bookings
Treasures of the Museum Tour
Find out what makes this Museum a must-see!
Step back in time in our internationally known Victorian-styled Animal Attic, hear about the history of our Museum and how collection and display practices have changed. Discover the skeletons in our cupboard like the enormous fin whale suspended in our Maritime Gallery and the most comprehensive collection of articulated moa skeletons in the world. Join us to see these riches and hear their stories.
Experience the unique culture and history of Southern Māori in Tangata Whenua Gallery with an array of taoka (treasures) that includes a 17-metre waka taua (war canoe), amazing pounamu (greenstone) artefacts and two of the three complete moa eggs in existence. Journey further into the Pacific and check out Australasia’s most impressive Pacific collection in our Pacific Cultures gallery. See the wealth of culture from communities there, including a suit of armour worn by a Kiribati warrior and red feather currency from Santa Cruz.
A guided tour is the best way to experience the icons of Tūhura Otago Museum.
Stories of the South Tour
Experience the unique nature, culture and history of Southern New Zealand.
In Otago, our stories are as rich and varied as our stunning landscapes, from lush pasture and tussock-covered hills to the icy heights of the Southern Alps. The way locals and newcomers value and use the land has changed dramatically over time – from grass to gold, fur seals to flax, and clay to coal.
Follow the lives of early Southern Māori journeying through the landscape, and the later waves of immigrants building wealth from natural resources. Journey back in time through the region’s fossil record, from the fragment of crocodile jawbone found in Otago’s ‘Everglades’ to New Zealand’s largest fossil, the impressive seven-metre-long plesiosaur.
See the world’s largest collection of articulated moa skeletons, two of three complete moa eggs in the world, and the biggest raptor that ever existed – the giant Haast’s eagle. Wonder at the diverse abundance of unique local wildlife and recent conservation success stories.
Bespoke Tours
Interested in something in particular, or a different time to suit you?
We are also home to New Zealand’s largest science centre, with an indoor Tropical Forest teeming with live rainforest butterflies, and the only 3D planetarium in Australasia. There is something here to intrigue and entertain every visitor.
Our café and gift shop are the perfect place to refuel and find some treasures of your own.
With guided tours, hands-on interactives, live shows, theatre productions, immersive environments and behind the scenes opportunities, we cater to every age, interest and ability.
Tūhura Science Centre
Our science centre is a place to discover, learn, and play.
Inside the only bicultural science centre in the world, you will experience one of the Māori creation stories through a mixture of traditional knowledge and cutting-edge science and technology. A three-storey indoor slide, a bike-riding skeleton, and 43 other hands-on interactives will awaken curiosity and reveal the science in everything that surrounds us.
Explore the indoor tropical forest with exotic butterflies, a five-metre-high waterfall and a sky bridge. Kept to the humidity and warmth of a tropical rainforest, this is the hottest place in Dunedin!
Find more info here
360-Degree Planetarium
Tūhura Otago Museum boasts the only 3D planetarium in Australasia, a 360-degree dome theatre that surrounds visitors with the wonders of space. Daily live shows, including the Live Space Tour, offer captivating explorations of the Otago night sky. On weekends and holidays, kids can enjoy interactive science experiments. Check our website for the latest line-up of documentaries, films, and cult classics – there’s always something new to discover.
Special Exhibitions
Tūhura Otago Museum hosts world-class traveling exhibitions showcasing captivating displays that encompass a diverse array of themes and topics. With a commitment to providing enriching experiences for visitors, the Museum consistently brings in exhibitions of the highest calibre, drawing in audiences from both near and far.
