Discover
The stories behind the Museum’s collections and exhibitions, and the work of our curators, scientists and staff.
Online Exhibitions
Canterbury and World War One: Lives Lost, Lives Changed
Explore the stories of Cantabrians who fought in World War One and those who stayed behind. Stories, historic photographs and images of notable objects relate the experiences of Cantabrians during the War. 18,000 New Zealand lives were lost during World War One and the lives of those who survived were changed forever by the conflict.
This online exhibition is representative of Canterbury and World War One: Lives Lost Lives Changed, a temporary exhibition at Canterbury Museum from 30 November 2017 to 11 November 2018.
Selling the Dream
Selling the Dream is a collection of world-class tourism posters promoting New Zealand’s unique attractions in an age before television and the Internet. Created by some of the country’s finest commercial artists, the themes promoted through the posters reveal New Zealand’s developing national identity in the early twentieth century.
Blog Posts
Museum curators, scientists and technicians share stories from the Museum’s collections and their internationally-recognised research. Sign up here and we’ll regularly deliver a blog post to your inbox.
'Don’t Emigrate to New Zealand': T C Gregory and the 'Advice to Emigrants' Campaign
Tue, 18 Dec 2018
In the lead up to World War One, British peace campaigner Thomas Churchus Gregory was so appalled by New Zealand's introduction of compulsory military training that he set out to warn people not to move here.
Stories
Short stories from the collection and behind the scenes at the Museum. For easy access to our short stories, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or subscribe to our e newsletter.
Canterbury Museum's rare yellow Kākāpō
Wed, 12 Dec 2018
Kākāpō plumage is predominantly green, mottled with yellow and brownish grey. But one specimen in Canterbury Museum's collection is bright yellow all over thanks to a rare genetic mutation.
Bringing Antarctica to South Korea
Fri, 30 Nov 2018
Hand-carved chess pieces used by stranded Antarctic explorers are among objects from the heroic era of Antarctic exploration Canterbury Museum has loaned to a museum in South Korea.
Delicate antiquities
Fri, 07 Dec 2018
Canterbury Museum has nearly 150 glass vessels of Classical origin. Many were excavated in the nineteenth century from tombs and ancient cities in Cyprus and Lebanon.
