A new science and technology experience opening in April 2024
MOTAT is delighted to announce we are bringing you an exciting new development that will make your visit to MOTAT – your science and technology playground – even better and more inspirational.
During the next 12 months, our main exhibition hall at MOTAT Great North Road (Building 5) will be transformed into an interactive science and technology centre, a must-visit attraction for all New Zealanders.
Family friendly
The new experience will provide spaces for all ages and stages, purposefully designed for our visiting families as well as students, providing hands-on, minds-on discovery for everyone.
The new development will be at the heart of MOTAT’s vision to educate and inspire our children - the innovators of tomorrow.
Designed for New Zealand learners
Closely aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum, the experience will deliver fun, highly engaging and educational exhibitions and experiences that draw on STEAMM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, mathematics and mātauranga Māori).
This new experience will be ready for visitors in April 2024 and we can’t wait to welcome you in!
The journey
Please excuse any disruption while we build the new centre – we promise it will be worth the wait!
From 3 April 2023, ahead of the April school holidays and for approximately 12 months, Building 5 will be unavailable to the public, as we first make improvements to its structure and then create the new galleries within it.
To keep you safe, other areas surrounding the construction site will also be unavailable to visitors for the first six months until October this year.
Everything else at MOTAT Great North Road remains fully operational. Activities that would ordinarily take place in Building 5 will be moved to other spaces around the Museum. Tram rides will continue over the 12-month period, as will Little Flick EV rides (with a slightly altered route.)
All current Aviation Hall, Motions Road experiences remain unchanged throughout the development period. However, it will also become home to MOTAT Education for the duration, with all onsite teaching taking place there.
All holiday programmes, Live Days and other events will continue across both MOTAT sites throughout the year, but with more activity taking place at MOTAT Motions Road than in the past.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our visitors for your patience and understanding during the construction period while we bring you this exciting new experience.
