Air Force Museum of New Zealand Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Museum entrance
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Former name	Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
Location	Wigram, Christchurch

The Air Force Museum of New Zealand is a super cool place to learn about New Zealand's military aviation history. It used to be called the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum. You can find it at Wigram, which was the very first main base for the RNZAF. This awesome museum is in Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand.

It first opened its doors on April 1, 1987. This was part of the big celebrations for the RNZAF's 50th birthday! The museum's main goal is to keep alive and share the stories of New Zealand's military planes and the brave people who flew them. This includes the Royal New Zealand Air Force, its earlier group called the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, and even New Zealanders who flew for the Royal Air Force.

Discovering New Zealand's Air Force History
Awesome Aircraft to See
- Planes Being Restored
See also

Discovering New Zealand's Air Force History

This museum is home to the national collection of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. This means it holds a huge and important collection of items that tell the story of New Zealand's military aviation. You can explore everything from the very first days of military flying before World War I to the exciting time when the RNZAF was officially formed in 1937.

The collection also covers New Zealanders who fought in the RAF and other Allied air forces during World War II. You'll also learn about the RNZAF's battles in the Pacific and what happened after the war, right up to today. The museum has amazing aircraft, parts of planes, engines, and even art and special items like uniforms. Plus, there's a huge collection of old papers and photos!

You can take a special guided tour that lasts about 30 minutes. This tour takes you "behind the scenes" to parts of the museum not always open to everyone. You might even see the Reserve Collection hangar, where more cool planes are stored. A recently restored plane, an Airspeed Oxford, has been on display since February 2016.

For an exciting experience, try the Mosquito Flight Simulator! It lets you feel like you're on a mission to bomb German battleships in Norway. After the big earthquake in Christchurch in 2011, the museum even helped other museums by letting them store their collections safely.

Awesome Aircraft to See

The museum has a fantastic collection of aircraft. Many of these planes have flown in real missions or were used for training. It's a great chance to see these historic flying machines up close!