Wild water: upgrade in Awesome Forces exhibition

25 May 2005

MEDIA RELEASE

‘Wild water’
An upgrade to the Awesome Forces exhibition

On Friday 27 May, Te Papa’s Awesome Forces exhibition will feature a new section called ‘Wild water’. Awesome Forces is one of the most popular long-term exhibitions at Te Papa, with an estimated 6 million visits since opening in 1998.

Water – in the form of rain, streams, rivers, glaciers, and frost – is the ultimate sculptor of the New Zealand landscape. ‘Wild water’ explores the power of short-term, long-term, and future weather processes. Striking images highlight the three main weather systems that affect New Zealand – southerlies, nor’westers, and cyclones.

‘Wild water’ features a New Zealand digital terrain map. This reveals the country’s diverse landscapes – from youthful to old and stable, and from ruggedly dynamic to drowned.

‘Wild water’ asks questions like: What happens to land that is eroded away, and what are the last things to be eroded? Fascinating records of environmental history, like a fossil kahikatea tree, illustrate the answers. They can be read like books – page by page, layer by layer.

‘Wild water’ also boasts two not-to-be-missed interactives on topical matters. One explores sea level change as a result of climate change. The other investigates tsunami.

‘Wild water’ has been made possible by the generosity of two of Te Papa’s major sponsors: Institute of Geological Nuclear Sciences (GNS) and the Earthquake Commission (EQC). Various organisations provided expert advice – GNS, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Landcare, and MetService.

‘Wild water’ – inside the Awesome Forces exhibition.
Opening Friday 27 May, Level 2. Free entry.

ENDS

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