Western Bay Museum offers free school holiday fun in Katikati

Families looking for a free outing these school holidays need look no further than the Western Bay Museum, housed in Katikati's historic red fire station building. Museum manager Paula Gaelic says there is plenty to see and do, with several new exhibitions on display covering everything from environmental restoration to the wonders of marine life.

Highlights include Ngā Toa Taiao – Environmental Heroes (Maunga ki te Moana), which showcases the mahi of iwi, volunteers and staff in protecting and restoring the natural environment, featuring taxidermy specimens of kiwi, bittern and little blue penguin with surround sound. The Echoes of Exchange exhibit explores how communities stayed connected before the digital age, with a working telephone exchange where visitors can ask for an operator. Meanwhile, the Taonga Māori display presents tūhua (obsidian) and pounamu (greenstone) through the eyes of Northern Tauranga Moana hapū, and raises the question of why Captain Cook renamed Tūhua as Mayor Island.

A touring Te Papa exhibition, Mawhiti Tino Rawe – Clever Crustaceans, takes a playful look at the bizarre world of crabs, shrimps, lobsters, barnacles and slaters. There is also a Sustainable Waihi Beach exhibit featuring a striking display of rubbish collected by a single person in just three hours after a storm, highlighting the damage pollution causes to our ocean environment.

The museum is open seven days a week — weekdays 10am to 4pm, and weekends and public holidays 11am to 3pm — closing only on Good Friday and Anzac Day morning. Entry is free.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).