Nelson Provincial Museum Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao

Nelson Provincial Museum Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao

Nelson Provincial Museum Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao
4
Speciality MuseumsHistoric SitesHistory Museums
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
About
Located in the centre of Nelson we are the waharoa (gateway) for our community to explore and reflect on their cultural heritage and natural history.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • Steph S
    Nelson-Tasman Region, New Zealand333 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nelson Museum
    I took a look at the animal antics collection after a friend suggested it, I’ve loved in nelson of years now and never visited. I always thought you had to pay but this exhibition was free, as is another one in the lower gallery. A great space to explore and get out of the heat/rain/cold. Definitely give yourself a hour or so to explore the whole place or half a hour if you just want to check out the free area. Staff friendly, welcoming and full of knowledgeable
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 11 January 2024
  • Stephanie M
    Sechelt, Canada447 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Learning History.
    It is always fascinating to learn more about the history of any place you visit, to understand culture and the blend of cultures any community has. So a visit to the Nelson Provincial Museum certainly fulfills this quest. Staff were very helpful and very knowledgeable. Certainly we recommend you stop in here when you visit Nelson. It is also located in the CBD so it is easy to find.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 3 February 2024
  • BobWE
    Manhattan Beach, California753 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Displays of local and regional historic treasures
    Setting in the middle of town is this small regional museum, with two floors of geological features, some fossils, landmarks with stuffed animals, 19th century artifacts, listening posts by settlers, Maori instruments and spirit inspired items. During our tour there was a display of photos of humorous animal expressions which was the most entertaining display in the museum. At the entrance is a small museum store. Worth a visit if you have seen most of the rest of the delightful small town. Children may find some of the displays of interest and there is a playroom for the kids.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 18 February 2024
  • evets1232016
    Sydney, Australia456 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good regional museum
    There is a lot of local colonial history here, as well as some Maori history. Also some taxidermy of local birds, and a display of photos and videos of comical moments of animal life. Good for a rainy day.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 25 February 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles222 reviews
Excellent
92
Very good
90
Average
35
Poor
4
Terrible
1

Michael W
Lavenham, UK262 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
After visiting the Suter Gallery, we moved on to this Museum. Upstairs a fascinating exhibition for all ages about the Moon, tying in the anniversary of the landings. Lots of interactive stuff, tiny fragments of moon rock, and more. Then downstairs to a completely different set of exhibits and information about Maori arrivals, European settlers, early commerce and industry, surveying, etc. Fascinating balance.
Written 6 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Novageorge
Sydney, Canada56 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Couples
We stopped in Nelson on the way to Picton and paid a visit to this interesting little museum in the centre of the city. The staff are nice and the exhibits are representative of the local history and culture. We enjoyed the special touring exhibit on automata as well. The museum experience was worth the reasonable visitor admission fee.
Written 26 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian M
Dunedin, New Zealand52 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
Popped in to check it out as I am interested in museums. Good informative displays on Nelson's past but the best treat was the moon exhibition which was out of this world.
Disappointing welcome and I think a donation might be more appropriate than a $5 charge.
Written 28 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

travelbug
Wellington, New Zealand7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Family
Thank you Nelson Museum for displaying “contraptions” a fun interactive exhibition and once again thanks to Ryan for another lovely respectful friendly welcome; such a wealth of information not only of this exhibition but of the collection .
And definitely next time we are in the South Island , Nelson region we will visit again.
Well done Nelson !!
Written 5 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Andy F
Devizes, UK1,361 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Solo
Only went here because I had nothing better to do. Was looking to kill some time. Given the collection here, I had to work at it. The place is not very big and they simply don't have a very big collection of stuff for a museum. It's $5NZ to go in, which is fair enough. The good thing was the information boards & some of the exhibits. The odd thing was trying to work out any logic to the display. There was no thread, no narrative. It seemed to be an eclectic jumble of many different things just lumped together. I found bits of it quite interesting, but overall it was simply confusing. It needs a good sort out.
Written 9 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BobWE
Manhattan Beach, CA753 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Setting in the middle of town is this small regional museum, with two floors of geological features, some fossils, landmarks with stuffed animals, 19th century artifacts, listening posts by settlers, Maori instruments and spirit inspired items. During our tour there was a display of photos of humorous animal expressions which was the most entertaining display in the museum. At the entrance is a small museum store. Worth a visit if you have seen most of the rest of the delightful small town. Children may find some of the displays of interest and there is a playroom for the kids.
Written 18 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steph S
Nelson-Tasman Region, New Zealand333 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Solo
I took a look at the animal antics collection after a friend suggested it, I’ve loved in nelson of years now and never visited. I always thought you had to pay but this exhibition was free, as is another one in the lower gallery. A great space to explore and get out of the heat/rain/cold. Definitely give yourself a hour or so to explore the whole place or half a hour if you just want to check out the free area.
Staff friendly, welcoming and full of knowledgeable
Written 11 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

evets1232016
Sydney, Australia456 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
There is a lot of local colonial history here, as well as some Maori history. Also some taxidermy of local birds, and a display of photos and videos of comical moments of animal life. Good for a rainy day.
Written 26 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stephanie M
Sechelt, Canada447 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
It is always fascinating to learn more about the history of any place you visit, to understand culture and the blend of cultures any community has. So a visit to the Nelson Provincial Museum certainly fulfills this quest. Staff were very helpful and very knowledgeable. Certainly we recommend you stop in here when you visit Nelson. It is also located in the CBD so it is easy to find.
Written 3 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SamMackNZ
Cambridge, New Zealand12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
This was a very nice smaller museum. Awesome history and lovely stories. My wife and I particularly liked the one around the elephants. Lots about classic New Zealand. The museum definitely punches above its weight. When we went, they also had the moon exhibition on which was great to see. Definitely worth dropping in while in town.
Written 28 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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