The Reserve Bank Museum

About the Museum

The Reserve Bank Museum provides a fascinating glimpse into New Zealand’s economic and banking heritage. It celebrates and tells the origins and role of the Reserve Bank as the country’s central bank.

An extensive range of interactive exhibits showing the history of our trade and banking system as well as a selection of rare notes and coins from the Bank’s numismatic collection are on display at the Museum. You can check out the Museum’s highlights via our Reserve Bank Museum and Education Centre.

One of the most popular exhibits in the Museum is pioneering New Zealand economist Bill Phillips' amazing hydro-mechanical economic computer – the MONIAC. The MONIAC is currently not operating, but check out the educational video Making money flow: the MONIAC to learn about this exhibition.

School Visits

We are still providing free educational programmes for all school students with prior booking arrangements.

This includes a presentation, which last for about 45 to 60 minutes. You are then welcome to take part in a self-guided tour of the Museum. Please note that not all displays are currently available – feel free to contact museum@rbnz.govt.nz for more information on this.

The presentation is given by members of our Economics team and/or our Policy Department Graduates who will cover topics such as:

• The functions of the Reserve Bank
• The history of money
• Issuing currency
• Maintaining financial stability
• Inflation targeting (including what is inflation, costs of inflation, OCR decision making
• Keeping employment near its maximum sustainable level
• Working at the Reserve Bank (for senior students)

We like to make the sessions interesting, informative and interactive as possible, so we encourage students to come prepared with any questions they may have.

Enquiries about school visits to the Museum can be made through emailing museum@rbnz.govt.nz. Please provide the following details in your email:

• Name of School
• Contact Person / Teacher-in-Charge
• Mobile Number
• Email Address
• Preferred Date and Time of Visit
• Number of Participants
• Student Year / Level

Location

The Reserve Bank Museum is located at 2 The Terrace, Wellington, New Zealand. The Museum is just inside the main foyer. Entrance to the building has wheelchair access.

There is metered street parking and a number of car parking buildings nearby. The council-owned Clifton Terrace car park is manned all day and the Tournament car park off Bowen Street has a ticket machine.

Contact Us

You may reach us through these contact details.

Email: museum@rbnz.govt.nz