What's on at Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Latest from the museum
Birthday Parties
Mission: Best birthday ever
Zip up a flight suit, grab your dog tags, and dive into a fully hosted birthday “mission”. From air & sea adventures for preschoolers to rescue and cadet challenges for older children. Our Programmes team runs the activities, the children get awesome photo moments (and party bags), and you can add catering through our café.
Book a birthday party
Latest Exhibition
Victory!
It is 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
Our Victory exhibition, upstairs in the atrium, marks this significant milestone in world history, and the story of the RNZAF.
Victory includes images and memories of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day which have been sourced from photographs, letters, postcards and personal histories in our collection.
Victory includes insights into how Kiwis celebrated, and how they felt.
Many found it difficult to rejoice after so much loss and suffering.
You’re welcome to come along and learn all about the end of World War Two with us.
Exhibition
The Mighty Hercules
The Mighty Hercules exhibition is on in the Cochrane Gallery upstairs in our atrium. Come and visit and learn all about this extraordinary aircraft.
Learn More
Update
Overseas visitor charge
A $15 entry charge was introduced for all international visitors to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand from 31 March 2025. Tickets available online or from our Welcome Desk on arrival.
The charge is required to cover rising costs and to contribute to our new $20 million extension to house the newest members of our collection – our historic Hercules and Orion aircraft.
Learn More
Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
GOING BOEING: Fresh in from Seattle, Washington, we introduce Edward Lowe!
Edward is a retired Boeing aircraft mechanic who dropped by as part of his itinerary for his third holiday to New Zealand.
He worked for the Seattle aircraft manufacturer for 28 years before his retirement.
Starting with lowest numbers first, Edward worked on the 737, 747, 767 and 787 aircraft lines at the Everett factory, one of the world’s largest buildings.
He stopped by to inspect our Boeing 727 undercarriage, a model he did not build but he’d ‘walked underneath’ a few 727s in his time.
His favourite model over all those years?
The 787 Dreamliner.
“They’re so big, so comfortable and so much went into them, he says.
“When you work on just one section of an airliner each day you get very focussed on it. But then you look up and look around there’s always a real sense of wonder about them – especially the Dreamliner and the 747.’’
Edward has aviation running in his veins, both he and his wife are private pilots and fly a Cessna.
They love New Zealand and what better thing for pilots to do on holiday than visit an aviation museum?
Kia ora and thanks for visiting our museum.
#seattle #boeing #787dreamliner ... See MoreSee Less
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🚨📢WINNER CHICKEN DINNER📢: Sound the klaxons, we have a winner in our latest mystery object competition, and we're throwing in a bonus prize!
Take a bow @AndrewHaworth, who was one of the many who correctly identified the mystery object as the tail light off a BAC Strikemaster, otherwise known as a Blunty (the aircraft, not the tail light).
Andrew wins - wait for it - an Air Force Museum of New Zealand roundel coffee mug AND a James Blunt 'Back to Bedlam' 20th anniversary CD.
We have been trying to give away this James Blunt album for some time. So, since James 'Blunty' Blunt shares a name with the Strikemaster, it only seems fitting to jettison the album this way.
Well done Andrew! You're beautiful!
Please email communications@airforcemuseum.co.nz and we will fire up the Bristol Freighter and air drop your prize out to you.
For the record, things the mystery object was not include:
A Dalek eye.
The Evil Eye.
A reversing camera.
But thanks for your guesses!
Toug#jamesbluntt#MysteryObject #freejamesblunt##BACStrikemasterre#MysteryObjectac#wedonthaveacluey#impossiblepuzzleonthaveaclue #impossiblepuzzle ... See MoreSee Less
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HEY JUDE: Three-year-old Jude Wiemers is the winner of a new Air Force Museum of New Zealand roundel coffee mug - via a circuitous route.
Museum fan Alan Taylor recently won our mystery cockpit competition, and being a good sport, decided his home in South Africa was out of range for our Bristol Freighter to fly him his prize mug.
Instead, he asked that we find the youngest and most zealous aviation fan we could find to give the mug to.
Which led us to Tiger Moth fan Jude - who was visiting with his dad PJ - and was happy to accept the mug along with some stickers and a Hercules poster.
Alan visited out museum in 1998 and remains a fan to this day.
Thanks for your generosity Alan, and well done Jude and PJ.
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Awesome! Very happy it has gone to a deserving young man.
Oh how lovely! Wonder if he might post a drawing of the plane and the mug to Alan!
Aw bless you bro xxx
😘 Lovely story. And looks like he's not gunna let it go either!!
Top man
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