Museum & Gallery

MOTAT Museum of Transport & Technology

MOTAT occupies two linked sites in the Te Wai Ōrea Western Springs Precinct, and getting between them is half the fun — a heritage tram shuttles visitors across for free, giving children a ride worth clamouring for before they've even reached the next hall.

How muchTe utu: $10–$19
Ages: 4–89+
WhereKei hea: Western Springs
Rating: 4.5; 4,848 on Google

Get directions Their websitemotat.nz

Perfect for

Museums & Galleries Indoor Activities

LocationTe wāhi

Western Springs

805 Great North Road

Directions Website

What it is

The collection runs to more than 300,000 objects spanning transport, technology and social history, with highlights including the Aviation Hall — which draws serious wow moments even from well-travelled visitors — and Te Puawānanga Science and Technology Centre, where hands-on, minds-on discovery keeps kids absorbed well past lunchtime. Live demonstrations and immersive experiences add another layer, so there is always something unfolding beyond the display cases.

Families with children aged five and over will find plenty to explore at their own pace, and the on-site café means no one needs to flag. Under-fives enter free, making it a practical as well as genuinely engaging day in Western Springs.

What other parents say

Edith Wong5 months ago

It was quite interesting. Enjoyed the science and tech house the most. Guess because it was most practical with what we have studied in science. I felt the display were easy to read and quite interactive. There was the STEM fair there as well. Got 20% off the tickets because was the stardome annual pass. Only thing not much pointers to cafe 😂 Definitely very informative.

kj w4 months ago

The lovely lady who greeted me amazing I wish I could remember her name, she deserves a pay raise (Thursday afternoon ? South African) so informative and knowledgable and seemed happy to be doing what she was doing, loved the exhibits, tram was great, one star off as there is something not right with the aviation hall. I've seen the museum in Christchurch for the Airforce and the planes just seem less shiney and more real, it just seemed a bit fake. I know that makes no sense what so ever, it was laid out well and the families that were there were enjoying it immensely, I just felt the aviation hall was a let down compared to the rest of the place

Read 3 more reviews ↓

Vivienne Imarisio2 months ago

I haven't been here for many many years but I'm glad I returned. The displays are very informative and its great that there are areas that are interactive. We had a lot of fun showing a group of school kids how to use a Bakelite phone..... it was hilarious.... they had no idea.

Polina Outkina5 months ago

Honestly I didn’t think I’d like it so much. Very interesting museum with a lot to share. Cool technology section. One thing to note is that the aviation part of the museum is 30 min walk away or alternatively you can drive there or there is a museum tram that runs every half hour or so. We got in late. I wish we came earlier for this reason. Still made it to aviation part by driving there. Impressive. Though the price of the ticket seems steep, it’s a very worthy museum. Visit both parts, very interesting place!

Simon Winder3 months ago

This little aviation museum punches well above its weight and I say that coming off the back of a recent visit to the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Plenty of ‘wow’ moments and a chat to Brian who flew on the Sunderlands was golden. Even if you’re not an aviation tragic it’s well worth a visit. It’s a unique and special collection and the rest of MOTAT was fascinating as well.

Reviews from Google.