Celebrate Children's Day at MOTAT! Free entry for all children 16 and under on Sunday 4th March.
Bring the whole family along for a FUN-tastic day out and enjoy celebrating the day that is all about children! With truckloads of fun activities including:
• Horse and Cart rides
• Blacksmith
• Lollymaker
• Steam Train rides
• Face Painting
• Military vehicle rides
• Chalk drawing competition - with spot prizes to be won plus one lucky child will get the chance to become a MOTAT Junior host for the day!
Plus - kids show off your talent and register to busk for CanTeen by emailing enquiries@motat.org.nz. All buskers receive a $20 gift voucher to spend in our MOTAT shops!
Terms and conditions: Children registered to busk for CanTeen must be 16 years and under and must be supervised by a parent or guardian for the duration of the time they are busking for CanTeen.
Please note: all children under the age of 14 MUST be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.
Military Weekend is the closest you'll get to being
a soldier without actually joining up.
With military vehicle experiences, mock battles,
military displays, steam train rides and remote controlled tanks,
Military Weekend is a truly awesome experience!
Runs from 10am - 4.00pm
All MOTAT activities are included in your entry cost.
Visit MOTAT's magnificent Aviation Display Hall and see the newest addition to our aviation collection - a RNZAF Skyhawk! From 28-30 October visitors were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Skyhawk NZ6206 being assembled in public.
A team from the Royal New Zealand Air Force provided visitors with information and answered questions as they put together the pieces of this special aircraft and talked about its fascinating history - the only RNZAF Skyhawk to have fired a shot in anger.
Click play to see the Skyhawk being reassembled in MOTAT's Aviation Display Hall
'The Royal New Zealand Air Force busy at work putting all the pieces of this special aircraft, Skyhawk NZ6206, back together.'
'After 3 hard days of work the RNZAF Skyhawk makes MOTAT's award-winning Aviation Display Hall it's new home.'
The Aviation Display Hall is a multi-award winning building that houses one of the most impressive aviation collections in the Southern Hemisphere. The Skyhawk, which has been loaned to MOTAT by the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, joins MOTAT's magnificent display which also includes a Lancaster Bomber, Cessna and two Tiger Moth aircraft.
Visit the Aviation Display Hall today and learn about the stories of the aircraft, the people who flew them and their significant contribution to the development of New Zealand.
The Aviation Display Hall is a multi-award winning building that houses one of the most impressive aviation collections in the Southern Hemisphere. The Skyhawk, which has been loaned to MOTAT by the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, will join a display that currently includes a Lancaster Bomber, Cessna and two Tiger Moth aircraft. Learn the stories of the aircraft, the people who flew them and their significant contribution to the development of New Zealand.
The Skyhawk reassembly will occur over a minimum of three days from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th October and will be included free in your normal admission to MOTAT.
Skyhawk Background
In early April 2011, the Government announced it would take New Zealand's mothballed Skyhawk aircraft fleet off the market, with many of the retired airframes to be permanently loaned to aviation museums across New Zealand.
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said "We have decided to secure this piece of our aviation history for future generations of New Zealanders to enjoy. This draws a line under an important era in New Zealand's military aviation history".
"Homes for four of the aircraft are already determined. Two aircraft (one single-seat and one two-seat) will go to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand at Wigram. Another will go to the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland. A fourth will go to the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Arm Museum at Nowra, Australia. This fulfils a longstanding agreement that we would give one of the ex-Australian Skyhawks back to them."
To replace the Canberra bomber aircraft, the RNZAF purchased 14 Skyhawks in 1970 from the United States. A later purchase followed in 1984 when the Royal Australian Navy's remaining 10 Skyhawks were procured. The Skyhawks served with No 75 Squadron, and with No 2 Squadron at Nowra in Australia, until they were withdrawn from service when the NZ Government disbanded the RNZAF's combat force in 2001. The Skyhawk was a multi-role aircraft capable of conducting fighter ground attack, battlefield interdiction, air to air and maritime strike operations. The Skyhawks were extensively upgraded in the late 1980s to improve their operational capabilities.
In 31 years of active service with the RNZAF each Skyhawk airframe clocked between 5,000 and 8,000 hours. In the latter part of the 20th Century these aircraft served well New Zealand's defence and security needs of that time.
Travel back in time and retrace the steps of a rough and rugged sailor, an early Auckland trading settler or an intrepid explorer in this exciting new tour!
Start your journey at Voyager Maritime Museum located in the Viaduct Harbour on Auckland's beautiful waterfront. Discover how our nation's relationship with the sea has
shaped our history and identity.
Next climb aboard a heritage bus and experience an authentic journey to Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). There you will explore how
New Zealand's technology and transport legacy has changed the face of our nation forever.
The bus ride continues to The Riverhead Historic Tavern, which has been in operation for over 150 years. Here you will enjoy a delicious meal overlooking the upper reaches of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, in one of New Zealand's oldest licensed establishments.
On the final leg of your journey board the Riverhead Ferry for a unique on water experience, taking in the sights of our stunning harbour before disembarking back at Voyager Maritime Museum.
Click here to download a copy of the tour brochure
