Rotorua Museum / Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa

Beautiful architecture! A notice board explains that it is closed since 18 Nov 2016. After an earthquake in 2016, the building scored 19% for Seismic Assessment. Any building under 34% New Building Standard (NBS) are earthquake prone so it is closed. Restoration work has been all as well. Hopefully it will be up and running soon.

Great place for a morning and evening walk! This is one the best free and beautiful place to visit while visiting Rotorua. The whole building is fantastic, the garden around it are one the best. The city spent a lot money and time taking care of it. It’s a great a place for a morning / evening walk when you want to enjoy the quietness and beauty of the city! You could also see the lake view there, just drive a bit more.

I used to have great memory inside way before google starts doing reviews. The interior was marvellous. However can’t go in at the moment and repair works will take forever! 9 years in the plan and I think it will likely to reopen sometime in 2030…… a whole generation is gone

Magnificent building structure surrounded by tulips and assorted flowers via government gardens. Best time to visit is late afternoon or early in the morning to avoid the other people crowding the place.. September to october visit was awesome to witness the tulip bloom in the gardens..

Went here for a trip years ago and went to revisit a few months back. It's great to see that this place is still beautiful and well-kept. The outdoor flowers are gorgeous and the museum is reminiscent of a castle.

Sadly it was closed for substantial renovations. We were told that the building failed a seismic assessment after a recent earthquake but took a few yrs for the relevant parties to agree to who foots the bill. Due to re-open 2025 apparently. It’s a beautiful building from afar and up close, would love to head inside once completed, will hit it up properly next trip!

A very beautiful place in rotorua. The architecture of the museum at government gardens is simple yet beautiful European or British style. We didn't visit the museum from inside. But we did spend lots of time in the beautiful government gardens surrounding it. The gardens are beautiful and well maintained. There is a special section for roses. There are washrooms for the convenience of the tourists. Ideal location to have lots of snaps taken. A must visit in rotorua, really beautiful.👌🏼👍🏻

Although museum is not currently ipen, we were still treated to a tour of the area by Ann-Elise Miles. She was amazing. Very informative and was able to show us things we had no idea existed

CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. The building is falling well below earthquake safety standards and will need to stay closed for the foreseeable future. The good news is that it can be fixed! How this happens, how long and how much it will cost needs to be determined. In the meantime Rotorua Museum is running exhibitions, events, tours, and educational programs in other venues around Rotorua

So sad... in January - still closed until further notice. The grounds are super pretty and if you have a blanket, book, drink and lunch -- spread out and enjoy the peace. Not many people hanging out there since the museum is closed -- you'll have a very relaxing break, like I did!

Pretty cool local museum with lots of history, and without the hype of much else in "Rotovegas". The building itself is pretty stunning, but the story of the mud baths is pretty cool too. Don't forget to check out the earthquake movie. I'd said elsewhere that Rotorua doesn't really do justice to Maori culture; however the exhibits here might be an exception to that. There's a really great presentation about Polynesian culture, and the spread around the Pacific. In fact, I went to something similar in Honolulu at the Bishop Museum a few days later, and honestly, the Rotorua one is better. Unfortunately the roof was closed for viewing due to the weather, but I bet it was a great view. Nothing vegan in the cafe, alas. Finally, local celebrity Temuera Morrison (that's the more recent Boba Fett actor in Star Wars, to American readers) does a suitably cheesy job of presenting the museum and narrating the videos

The Rotorua Museum was really one of the highlights of my trip to this town. The museum grounds are impeccably kept and offer more of a botanical garden feel. The first floor of the main building offers the history of Rotorua, and also houses a small giftshop with wonderful jewelry and books. The museum was also once the historic bath house of the city and much of the material showcases the bathhouse era. Definitely venture into the basement, where it becomes apparent that porcelain pipes and sulfur water did not mix. The upstairs of the building has a more modern wing where artwork depicting the volcano eruption is located. At the top of the building is an outdoor deck offering a nice view of the city side. The museum can easily be done in about a half-day, then walk a few blocks over for some nice restaurants and cafes.

Great museum. Has a wonderful feel to it. So much to see and learn about local history.

The museum is currently closed due to damage sustained during the quake that hit New Zealand in November 2016. We didn't learn this until arriving today, and we were very disappointed not to get the chance to see the museum, which we've heard such good things about. Instead, we went to the nearby Polynesian Spa and soaked for a few hours in the baths.

This review is for the cafe not the museum. The museum was pretty cool. Here goes: Coffee was good. Service was mediocre. Quiche came out lukewarm and cold in the middle even after waiting an unusually long time to have it heated up. Lots of noise and activity and tables were dirty and since they didn't have enough employees to handle the load, I just cleaned it myself.