The latest exhibition at Te Papa Museum in Wellington is a no-holds barred look at the insect world with exciting models from WETA Works
Creepy crawlies are taking over Wellington's Te Papa, and it's just in time for the school holidays.
The museum has teamed up with Weta Workshop to create Bug Lab, a $5 million exhibit featuring large-scale bugs and hands-on science games.
It took Weta Workshop technicians 40,000 hours of work over six months to create the four immersive chambers featuring different bugs.
Exhibition Creative Director Richard Taylor said his personal favourite was a slide that looked like a bombardier beetle, and made loud farting noises as the children slid down.
"I proposed, by acting it out to the board six months ago, the idea that we'd have a giant bombardier beetle.
"That it would make big farting noises, and get the children giggling and excited about acid firing out of bottoms."
A bombardier beetle slide, which makes farting noises as children slide through. Photo / Frances Cook.
For all the fun and games, the exhibit has a serious purpose. Taylor hopes the silly slide makes children remember the beetle that creates its own acid, and shoots it at victims.
He said people tend to think of bugs as boring or annoying. But they're not only critical for our survival, but also fascinating creatures.
"It actually makes you feel very inferior when you look into the complexity, capabilities, extraordinary qualities of what people may think of being very average things in our world."
While the exhibit's visuals pack the biggest punch, it also features the sounds and smells of insects.
Composer Tane Upjohn-Beatson worked with the team to create a soundscape that plunges visitors even deeper into the bug world.
A female jewel wasp, turning a cockroach into a zombie. Photo / Frances Cook.
He had to get imaginative to create the eerie sounds, including playing a pot plant with a paint brush, and using music of the traditional Japanese Koto.
"It's like moving through a fully immersive sonic world," Tane said.
The exhibit opens Saturday 10 December, and runs until April 17. The exhibit will then travel through various international museums.
