All things KIWI or a trip to the Auckland Museum

The Auckland  museum is a majestic Georgian style building located in a beautiful park called the Domain.

After a long first day, my plans were to spend time learning about New Zealand's natural history.  The museum is magnificent!  The first exhibit that I entered was a wildlife photography contest that highlighted winners from all age groups and from all over the world.  This was the award winning photograph and every picture told a story, captured more than just images, and had everyone admiring in awe.       Next exhibit was on the evolution of wildlife in NZ.  Seeing the birds "stuffed" is not quite my preferred manner, but it did give me a perspective of size and class of the different species.  On to the Native Maori exhibition and to view some of the wooden carvings that they are knows for creating.  I just did a quick overview as I have more opportunities to have the Maori cultural experiences on my journey.  The exhibit that captured my interest was the "Volcano" exhibit.  The history of the volcanic formation of NZ was presented in time lapsed video.  To say that the formation of NZ has been violent is an understatement.  And, as the Tongarriro eruption yesterday proves, it is not over yet.  New Zealand volcanoes are subduction in nature as opposed to "hot spot" areas like Hawaii.  The difference is that hot spot volcano are spawned by hot lava building up pressure and exploding, sending the hot lave flowing down the mountainside, while the hot gases escape fairly easily so that of the two types, these can be less damaging.  The subduction volcanoes heat sea water to a temperature which heats and melts the rock, builds pressure and then when it erupts, it does so with an incredible violence due to the steam, the sticky viscosity of the lava, and the gases are trapped in the lava.  Ash spewing from the subduction is around 77% silicone which is what glass is made of.  This means that the ash is full of tiny shards of glass floating in the air and setting on the ground.   Breathing problems can ensue as well as damage to anything it covers.  If cars are covered and you "scrape" the ash off, you will scratch the paint. 



Interactive children's exhibit