Months-long closure for $7.2m museum upgrade
Waikato Museum is to shut to the public from late July to early December for a major upgrade to make the building watertight and airtight.
The long-planned upgrade was budgeted for to the tune of $7.2 million in Hamilton City Council’s 2021-2031 long-term plan.
Much of the upgrade is to prevent damage to the museum’s collection of taonga, as well as allow for more flexibility when it comes to hosting exhibitions. To this end, a major part of the work will include the installation of an airlock door in the main entrance to provide much better climate control for the building’s interior.
The entire heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system will be renewed. There will be improvements to the electrical system, public bathrooms and flooring.
Outside, the forecourt will also be altered to improve accessibility and visibility from Victoria St.
The phased project to replace the museum’s roof, which began in October, will also be completed during the closure. Lightweight and robust longrun steel is being used to replace the original ceramic tiles, which are more than 30 years old.
The new roof will make the building watertight, reduce maintenance costs and ensure Waikato Museum can continue to maintain a stable and dry environment for the collections.
There will be a partial exception to the closure: during the work, the Exscite activities display for children will remain open and the museum’s
two classrooms on the ground floor will continue to be used for education programmes and public events.
The museum will close its doors to the public at the end of the day on Sunday,
July 22, and will not reopen until December 6.
“This long-awaited programme will ensure Waikato Museum is up to standard and will extend its useful life,”
museum director Liz Cotton said. As this work would be quite disruptive to Museum visitors, the most efficient approach is to close our doors temporarily and just get on with it.”