Crabs, shrimps, lobsters, barnacles, slaters and other crustaceans are the stars of a new mini exhibition presented by The Coach House Museum, NIWA and Te Papa.
Opening on 29 August 2025, Mawhiti Tino Rawe | Clever Crustaceans is a playful exploration of the bizarre and diverse world of five marine crustaceans. They can change their shape, circle the globe, and maybe even cure cancer – crustaceans are the unsung heroes of the sea.
NIWA scientists Rachael Peart and Kareen Schnabel worked with Te Papa experts to deliver this mini exhibition that showcases the importance and special capabilities of the ‘insects of the sea’.
“Crustaceans are arthropods, which means they have segmented bodies and exoskeletons just like insects, so I love describing them as the ‘insects of the sea’. They are captivating creatures. They have adapted to live in an incredible variety of habitats, from beaches and shallows, all the way down to the deepest ocean trenches,” said Dr Schnabel.
Hands-on interactives and real specimens explore the fascinating world and smart survival tricks of these unusual creatures. Take a digital deep dive into a special web hub to discover their superpowers.
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Cluster of Goose Barnacles Lepas anatifera
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Up-close image of Phronima
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Juvenile Lithodes aotearoa, this specimen
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Our team at the Coach House are excited to be hosting Clever Crustaceans which is on display till 4 November 2025. We encourage local Tamariki and their whanau to visit this exhibition while they have the opportunity.
“We’re thrilled to be able to highlight these unsung heroes of our ecosystem. We want visitors to touch, explore and discover these weird and wonderful crustaceans of Aotearoa New Zealand. We were inspired by the work of scientists to understand and protect these crustaceans and their homes, and we’re so excited to partner with NIWA on this special project,” said Dan Parke, Exhibition Experience Developer, Te Papa.
“We are telling the stories of some of our favourite critters. Visitors will learn about the ‘shapeshifter’ kōura with its unexpected life stages as a long-distance open-ocean wanderer, the lightning speed with which the native mantis shrimp spears its lunch, the exceptional eyesight of the open ocean Phronima amphipod – which is even being used in techniques to detect cancer in humans – and the radical changes barnacles have undergone to get their kai (food),” adds Dr Schnabel.
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Goose Barnacle Lepas anatifera with cirri
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A red rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii,
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The Coach House Museum is the lucky recipient of a lifetime of model-making by Palmerston North man, Trevor Hobman.
Trevor – a retired floorer - hand crafted wooden models of ships, aircraft, trams and trains. All the models were made in his garage in Palmerston North using scrap wood he collected, with the only cost being the paint! Before he had a computer to access plans online, he created his own plans of the models, using just photographs and drawings and a good eye for scale.
Trevor’s favourite model was the Mikhail Lermontov, a luxury Russian cruise ship which sank in the Marlborough Sounds in 1986.
For some, the models bring about a sense of nostalgia: "A lot of the old people that come in... it brings back memories”.
Trevor started off with planes but went on to create a variety of models, including a penny farthing. He liked “to make the first ones in the world”.
![Jonny Kan [30 June - 15 August]](/cms_images/newsarticles/811_thumb.png)
