Lighting up the Museum

Why we light up the Museum

Have you ever looked up at the Museum by night to see it awash with colours and wondered what the colours represent?

The Auckland War Memorial Museum is an iconic Auckland building. It has customisable lighting technology which allows its exterior to be lit up in displays of vibrant colour.

We mark a range of historical dates, events and cultural celebrations relevant to Auckland's diverse communities through our building lights.

Read on for more information on our current lighting scheme, and upcoming colour schemes.

Current lighting colour scheme

Cook Islands Language Week

From Sunday 1 August until Saturday 7 August, the Museum will be illuminated every evening in red, white and blue in recognition of Cook Islands Language Week.

Upcoming lighting colour scheme

Coming up

Keep an eye out for these colour schemes in the coming months

Indian Independance Day (15 August)
Tonga Language Week (5 - 11 September)
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (13-19 September)

^{Please note that lighting schemes and dates are subject to change without notice.}

A selection of past lighting schemes

31 December

New Year's Eve

11 November

Armistice Day

15 August

Indian Independence Day

June-July

Matariki Festival

Sustainability

Auckland Museum is dedicated to sustainable energy practices. Our lighting system for the building's exterior is entirely solar powered, using one of the largest grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) installations in the country. The amount of renewable energy generated by the panels (65,000 kwh per year) is equivalent to the power consumed by about eight average households.

Read more about our sustainability practices here: