Te Papa open again from Saturday 20 August after sprinkler activation

19 August 2016

Te Papa will be open again at 10am on Saturday 20 August, after a sprinkler activation on Wednesday night closed the museum on Thursday and Friday.

The museum’s normal operating hours will resume from Saturday morning, with Te Papa open 10am – 6pm, seven days a week.

Sprinklers activated in Te Papa’s ground floor and first floor foyers for a short period around 8pm on Wednesday 17 August. There was no fire, and no one was harmed in the incident. Collection stores and exhibition areas were not affected by the water.

Ms Camp said that the delay in re-opening was due to the need to check Te Papa’s systems.

“An incident that sees water in the museum is something that we take very seriously.”

“We are happy to report that everything has been checked and double checked, and we are ready to open our doors.”

“We do regret the inconvenience caused by the closure, and we really appreciate everyone’s patience as we worked to get Te Papa back up and running,” Ms Camp says.

Ms Camp paid tribute to the staff who had worked day and night to get Te Papa ready to open on Saturday morning.

“Te Papa is a complex machine with lots of specialist staff – not just art and history experts, but electricians, chefs, carpenters – you name it, there’s probably one at Te Papa.”

“Everyone has pulled together to get the museum open.”

Ms Camp said the public had been very understanding about the closure.

“We are very grateful for the support we’ve had from our visitors and our clients.”

Media contact

Kate Camp
04 381 7083