Final weeks special offer - buy one, get one free. 

Bring your friends and whānau to enjoy our major exhibition with this special ticket offer. Buy one ticket to Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches and receive a second ticket FREE*.

*This offer is valid from Monday 17 March to Sunday 27 April 2025. Free ticket must be of equal or lesser value. No limit to number of tickets you can purchase for this offer. Offer excludes school group bookings, who already receive a significant discount, and Member bookings, already entitled to free unlimited entry.

Bloodsuckers exhibition, sculpture
Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches

ON NOW UNTIL SUN 27 APR
FINAL WEEKS SPECIAL OFFER - BUY ONE GET ONE FREE
ADULT $22, CHILD 5-15 $11, UNDER 5 FREE
FAMILY (2 ADULT + 2 CHILD) $59
CONCESSIONS (STUDENTS & SENIORS) $20
FREE ON ANZAC DAY
FREE FOR MUSEUM MEMBERS

Meet the bloodsuckers! From spine-chilling stories to life-saving science, Bloodsuckers explores the biology of blood and the creatures that crave it. Including larger-than-life sculptures, interactives, games and more – come face to face with the fearsome creatures that have played friend - or foe - to mankind for millennia.

It's a matter of life, death, and dinner. 

Child looking at a display in the Bloodsuckers exhibition
Explore the biology of blood and the creatures that crave it

Did you know that only the female mosquitos suck blood? Bloodsuckers explores the incredible diversity, evolution and interconnected world of nature’s vampires. 

Learn about the everyday – and the more exotic - bloodfeeders that live in our ecosystems; they’re abundant, diverse, and play a critical role in our natural world. Discover facts about your own blood, and how it sustains life not just for you - but also for the animals that feed on it.  

You’ll also be introduced to Aotearoa’s very own bloodsuckers, some might be familiar - and some may surprise you! 

Meet Dracula at the Bloodsuckers exhibition
Meet the legends inspired by nature’s vampires

For centuries bloodfeeders have inspired our imaginations through both fear and fantasy.

Discover the truth about vampires, how their myths originated, and the stories about other fantastical bloodthirsty creatures from around the world.

See how people have imagined bloodsuckers in popular culture, from the fearsome Count Dracula to the comical Hollywood versions in movies like Hotel Transylvania.  

Bloodsuckers exhibition
Explore the science and stories behind the bite

Did you know that barbers used to perform surgery and bloodletting? Or that leeches are used in medicine today? 

Explore the fascinating story of bloodfeeders role in science and medicine dating back over 3,000 years. You’ll find out how scientists have used bloodsuckers to help battle diseases, like malaria, helping save millions of lives around the world.

Bloodsuckers exhibition
A bloody good time

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

  • An expansive display of over 200 objects and specimens, from taxidermy birds and vampire bats to leeches, lampreys and fossilised insects

  • A mini-movie theatre starring legendary bloodthirsty creatures and characters from popular culture 

  • An array of life-sized sculptures featuring legendary bloodsuckers from cultures across the world

  • Larger-than-life-sized models of a mosquito, leech, and black fly

  • An extensive selection of objects - from original movie memorabilia, vintage toys, and first editions such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, to an historical vampire hunting kit

  • A recreation of a barber’s bloodletting station with interactive apothecary drawers telling the story of bloodletting in medicine

Disclaimer: There is no real or simulated blood on display in this exhibition. There is, however, content about blood and bleeding. Please be mindful if you are sensitive to visuals or descriptions of blood. 

Anzac Soldier Silhouette
Free on Anzac Day

Join us this Anzac Day for a day of remembrance, tours, music, and poetry. Bloodsuckers: Legend to Leeches will be free for everyone on Anzac Day.

Click through to plan your Anzac Day visit. 

Buytickets

Buy
tickets

Final weeks special offer - buy one get on free for all tickets. 

ADULT $22, CHILD 5-15 $11, UNDER 5 FREE
FAMILY (2 ADULT + 2 CHILD) $59
CONCESSIONS (STUDENTS & SENIORS WITH ID) $20

Bite and Seek Trail
14 DEC 2024 – 27 APR 2025
Bite and Seek Trail
Free with Museum entry

Think you have what it takes to track down the sneakiest bloodsuckers in nature? To celebrate the touring exhibition Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches, grab our massive Bite & Seek trail from Te Ao Mārama South Atrium. 

More to explore

Take a seat in the mini retro theatre and encounter legendary bloodsuckers from movies and popular culture.

Step back in time into a realistic recreation of a barber’s bloodletting station filled with tools they used in the 17th century.

Nosferatu at Auckland Museum

Discover the origins of what we believe about vampires, and see tools used to ward off, and kill suspected vampires.

chupacabra at Auckland Museum

Find out about vampires from around the world such as Puerto Rico’s Chupacabra.

Enhance your visit

Grab a bite to eat at one of our cafés or stop by the Museum Store to claim your stake of Bloodsuckers.

Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches is produced and circulated by ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), Toronto, Canada.

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