Canterbury Museum

New Zealand · Leisure, Travel & Tourism

Canterbury Museum is undergoing a major redevelopment. While we're closed, you can see collection highlights, visitor favourites and temporary exhibitions at 66 Gloucester Street in the central city. Entry is free and donations are appreciated. The Māori galleries display treasures and tools from our region’s first people. The Christchurch Street and Victorian Museum recreate the nineteenth-century city. Learn about the heroic explorers of the icy continent and see objects from the Museum’s internationally significant Antarctic collection. Other highlights include the gold-plated motorcycle that belonged to world speedway champion, Ivan Mauger and displays of the now-extinct giant bird, the moa. At the world-famous kiwiana icon, Fred & Myrtle’s Pāua Shell House see more than 1,000 pāua shells, the most you’ll find in any one place. Children will love learning about the natural world in their own area, Discovery. Regular special New Zealand and international exhibitions.