Auckland for Kids was invited to visit the new Bug Lab exhibition at Auckland Zoo. Bug Lab is an exciting interactive science exhibition where you can see the world that bugs built. Bug Lab will appeal to the whole family. It is perfect for primary and intermediate school aged children, although older children, parents and grandparents will enjoy it too. Even kids who don't like bugs will find this exhibition fascinating.  We think that Bug Lab is a must see for Auckland children and families in the summer school holidays,

Bug Lab was created by Te Papa and Weta Workshop and their skillful design and craftmanship  is apparent throughout the whole exhibition. It is a cross between a museum exhibit and a film experience complete with specially designed music and lighting to bring visitors on a journey.

​Bug Lab has four magical chambers where you will meet the fascinating Orchid Mantis, Dragonfly, Japanese Honeybees and Jewel Wasp and learn their unique super power. A large-screen video on the exterior of each chamber tells the bug's full story.  Outside the chambers there are lots of interactive activities and challenges for the kids to do.
​

The Orchid Mantis is the fariest and deadliest of them all. The changing lights show how the mantis can easily blend into a garden of flowers so that its dinner will come right up to it. Seeing the Orchid Manits in such large scale lets the kids appreciate all the details that you don't realise are there when you see them in life size.  The kids enjoyed testing their speed to see if there reflexes were as quick as an Orchid Mantis. ​

The dragonfly is a flying ace. Our favourite part of Bug Lab was watching the dragonfly zoetrope  where we were all mesmerised.   

The Japanese honey bees work together to overcome their enemies who are much larger than them.  The honey bees are stunning to see at this scale.  In the hive there is an interactive game to play where the bees are under attack and as a team you need to rub the pads to create enough heat to defeat the giant hornet and save the honey bees.

The jewel wasp is a killer brain surgeon. You enter the 'operating theatre' of the iridescent jewel wasp where you can learn how she turns a cockroach into a zombie -  to feed the kids of course.    The kids (and adults) can have a go at zombifying a coackroach too.  ​The giant scale bugs created by Weta Workshop are so realistic that they are almost a bit scary. We left thinking we are pleased that the bugs in real life are not as big as the models.

The bombardier bettle is an genius of exoskeletons. The bombardier slide is fun, when the kids go down it simulates the gurgling.

​Bug Lab is in a giant dome tent at Auckland Zoo, it's just on the left after the  Zoo Shop and cafe and before you get to the Zoo entry.  Since it is not in the Zoo itself, you can choose to just see the Bug Lab exhibition or get a combo ticket which gives you entry to both the Bug Lab and Auckland Zoo.

Bug Lab made me think about how fortunate Wellington is to have Weta Workshop and New Zealand's national museum Te Papa collaborating to create exhibitions, and that it is now touring at Auckland Zoo. Visitors to Bug Lab can enjoy and learn from the combined skills of a museum and a film studio creating a very engaging exhibition.

​Bug Lab is on at Auckland Zoo from Wednesday 20 December 2017. Bug Lab sessions are booked in one hour time slots, so it is advisable to book your tickets ahead of your visit to ensure you get to go to Bug Lab at the time you would like. Children under 15 years old must be accompanied by an adult to visit Bug Lab.

Auckland for Kids went to check out the exhibition Yayoi Kusasma: The obliteration room at Auckland Art Gallery in The Creative Learning Centre at Auckland Art Gallery.
​

The obliteration room is a room painted completely white with the familar items you would find in a kiwi family home:  sofas, dining table and chairs, kitchen, bookcases, piano and more.  The room and objects act as a blank canvas to be 'obliterated' throughout the exhibition. You are each given a sheet of brightly coloured stickers in the shape of dots when you go into the obliteration room, which you can stick to anything in the room that you like. 
​ 

The installation is by Yayoi Kusama a popular Japanese artist obsessed with polka dots, her paintings, sculptures and art almost always have polka dots in them. Kusama's obliteration room is a simple concept that places as much emphasis on the colorful visual result as the interactive role of the audience.
​

​The kids loved it and thought it was sticker heaven as they could put their stickers on whatever they wanted. Playing on the white spotty piano was fun too. The adults in the obliteration room enjoyed it as much as the children in the room did. This is definitely one exhibition that appeals to all ages: the kids and the kids at heart.

You can't leave with any of the stickers, if the kids have stuck them to themselves.  You will need to make sure you stick the dots somewhere in the obliteration room before you leave.
​

We are looking forward to going in the next few months to see how 'obliterated' the room has become with the vibrant coloured dots and to add some more dots of our own.

The Corsini Collection: A Window on Renassance Floreonce exhibition is from the private collection of the eminent Corsini family in Florence, Italy, and features Renaissance and Baroque painting by artists such as Botticelli, Andrea del Sarto, Caravaggio and Pontormo.

We especially liked the Family Trail and Arno the Corsini family dog that pointed out interesting things about the exhibition for the kids (and the adults).  The family trail and Arno made the exhibition fun for the kids and meant that they didn't ask us to hurry up and finish.  It took the kids a while to find one of the missing pictures in the paintings and we had to do a few laps of the exhibition before we found it together.

There are lots of interesting things for a family day out at the Auckland Art Gallery. As well as the Corsini Exhibition you can also visit Yayoi Kusama: The obliteration room for FREE which is on in the Todd Foundation Creative Learning Centre currently.

The new Sunlight - Ihi Komaru Exhibition opened at MOTAT on 27 May 2017. We were lucky to be invited on the opening weekend to check out the exhibition. 

The exhibition tells story of sunlight, through a fun hands-on, interactive games and challenges.  The science based exhibition was developed by Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History. ​
​

We went to visit the new family-friendly installation Once Upon a Time in Art family friendly installation at the Auckland Art Gallery.

​The Hole of Yellow Archipelago is a fun installation that opened this weekend at Auckland Art Gallery. The installation is a collaboration between artist Judy Darragh, Year 4 students at Balmoral Primary School and TurnSpace Collective from AUT University's Spatial Design Department.
​

Auckland for Kids visited the colourful hands-on exhibition Wavelength designed for children by Auckland Art Gallery and  AUT Colab.