Otago Museum

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Otago Museum main entrance.

Otago Museum original entrance - this wing is now used for research and storage.

Tangata whenua (Māori) gallery.

Reconstructed moa. The museum holds the world's largest collection of moa remains.

The Otago Museum is situated in Dunedin. It is Otago's largest cultural and heritage institution, with a collection of over two million artefacts and specimens from the fields of natural science and human history. It is located close to the University of Otago in Dunedin North, some 1500 metres northeast of the city centre.

The museum has changed over the years, a recent development being the addition of a new display area "Southern land, Southern people", dealing with the prehistory and history of the Otago region, and the refurbishment of galleries devoted to the cultures of Melanesia. The museum has an outstanding Pacific Island collection, Australasia's most significant Classical collection, and the premier ceramic collection in New Zealand. It also houses a large assembly of natural history items. Notable among the latter is material related to New Zealand bird-life, including the world's most extensive collection of Moa remains.

The Otago Museum was founded in 1868. The initial collection consisted of material from the 1865 New Zealand Exhibition (held in Dunedin). The King Street portion of the present building was completed in 1877, and was designed by David Ross (1827-1908). Further wings (the Hocken and Fels) and the centennial, were added in 1910, 1923 and 1963. The museum also houses lecture theatres and an interactive children's display centre ("Discovery World"), as well as a research centre and galleries which regularly host touring exhibitions. The entrance foyer is also home to an extensive shop and cafeteria.

On the 3rd of November 2007 the newest addition to the Otago Museum opened to the public, the 3 storied "Tropical Forest". This attraction features a variety of flora and fauna from around the globe, including many species of butterfly from Asia and the Caribbean.

The museum has over 300,000 visitors per year.