New Zealand Pavilion

Voyage down a river of Maori heritage

The Whanganui River is so deeply important to New Zealand’s Maori people that in 2017, the nation granted it a special legal identity, giving it all the rights of a citizen. It comes as no surprise, then, that the sweeping cultural tour at the New Zealand Pavilion is narrated by none other than the Whanganui River itself.

With a design inspired by the Maori tradition of hand-crafting containers to safeguard items of value, the pavilion leads visitors on a journey of conservation where the greatest treasure to be protected is our priceless natural world. Immerse yourself in the river’s story, deepen the experience with the pavilion’s web-based app, and journey through the staggering 10-metre-high “vertical river” of water droplets.