CANTERBURY MUSEUM | CHRISTCHURCH

Christchurch, Canterbury 8013

03 366 5000

info@canterburymuseum.com

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Opening Hours

9.00 am – 5.00 pm (April – September)
9.00 am – 5.30 pm (October – March)
10.00 am – 5.00 pm (Quake City)

Open everyday except Christmas Day.
Entry is free; donations are appreciated.
Entry to Discovery is $2 per person (under 3 years free).

Kia ora

Welcome to Canterbury Museum. Visit and explore New Zealand's rich cultural and natural heritage. Learn about the past, present and future of Canterbury. There's always lots to see and do at the Museum.

Encounter kiwi-ana and many other subjects that over 700,000 people do a year with 80% of all tourists visiting Christchurch attending the museum.

Entry to the Museum is free; donations are appreciated.

Call us now 03 366 5000 Visit Website or click here to email the Canterbury Museum

Antarctic Display

Museum Christchurch

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The building was designed by Benjamin Mountfort and completed in 1882.

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Redevelopment Plans

Canterbury Museum has unveiled its proposed plans for redeveloping its Rolleston Avenue site.

Museum director Anthony Wright says the proposed $195 million redevelopment is needed to protect the Museum’s historic buildings, its priceless collection, and to bring the interior spaces up to the standards expected of a fit-for-purpose 21^st century museum.

The buildings leak and let in insects and because there is minimal air conditioning and no insulation, temperature and humidity cannot be controlled.

Canterbury Museum Trust Board Chair David Ayers says the buildings aren’t fit for a museum caring for precious collections.

"Bare wiring runs through corridors, water pipes through storerooms, there’s only one lift for the whole building, not enough toilets and we spend a lot of time patching up problems. Apart from the earthquake strengthening in the 1980s and 1990s, which culminated in the 1995 Garden Court building, no major improvement work has been done since the 1970s.

“We simply cannot guarantee the safety of our collection under the current conditions, let alone effectively carry out the research and educational components of our work. We are also very limited in what we can do to improve our visitor experience and show off more of our collection,'' Mr Ayers says.

Under the proposed redevelopment plans the museum’s historic buildings will be base isolated to ensure their preservation and additional spaces created so that more of the museum’s collection can be displayed.

Currently only 1 per cent of the collection can be displayed at any one time.

Mr Wright says the Museum already has in hand well over half of the money needed for the redevelopment, including funds allocated to the project by the four contributing local authorities - Christchurch City, Waimakariri, Hurunui and Selwyn Councils – as part of their obligation under the Canterbury Museum Trust Board Act 1993.

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Redevelopment Plans

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CHRISTCHURCH MUSEUM

Historical Images

Location of CHRISTCHURCH MUSEUM

Contact CHRISTCHURCH MUSEUM

Redevelopment Plans

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