International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch

Next to the airport, 5 minutes walk. Good place for family fun. Hasky and penguin feeding are recommended.

There is a 4D movie and you can go in a area that is -30 degree and I recommend to go on the ride outside. Is fun

Took my niece today, first time either of us have been and we both had an amazing time. Very family friendly and absolutely wonderful staff.

Have come here a couple of times and done the VIP backstage tour, highly recommend.The staff are so accommodating and knowledgeable.

Unfortunately I went wrong day and time to visit. People staying at same motel had been a few days earlier and said it was great and went round twice, so thought Id go. Unfortunately they hadnt mentioned I needed to be there at a certain time and on particular days to see everything and I hadnt bothered to check on google as I just went on what theyd told me. Only day I could go was Wednesday morning, so missed out on the Huskies (not there Wed/Thurs?). Also missed out on penguin feeding as got there 20min too late (be there well before 1030am if going in morning). By time Id stopped and looked at the penguins (rescues that cant be released back into the wildand a few other things inside was 5 mins late for the 4D show and theyd locked the door so missed that too. (they do say it happens in threes, lol). Best bit while there was the hagglund ride outside and only paid $30, I think because penguin feeding had already finished and no huskies either. Would I go back, probably not, but could be an entertaining morning for families with young kids.

Got the tickets at an anniversary promo price of NZD 30 each. Definitely worth the money and we thoroughly enjoyed the hagglund field trip, where we got to sit in a tracked vehicle across various simulated harsh terrain.We also got to see the rescued penguins and interacted with the huskies, not forgetting the storm drome where we got to experience harsh winter conditions (low temperature and strong windsas experienced in the Antarctica.Its extremely close proximity (5 mins walkto the Christchurch Airport make it a must do activity when you travel through here. Expect to spend 2-3hrs for the full experience.

Amazing experience loved it great place for activities and learning. Family of 5 and everyone loved it. 😍

This is a must visit for anybody in Christchurch, Amazing views of little blue penguins, talented staff with great talks during feeding. 4D short films and Hägglund rides also boost the experience. Outside of the thrills the facility is filled to the brim with information about Antarctica.Finally the ability to leave for a short bit (eg. for lunchand return without an extra fee is very nice, especially for people with family members who get tired or hungry relatively quickly.

My friends and I went as a group of 4, and overall it was a great experience ! Staff were lovely and the 4D theatre and Penguins were awesome .My only concern was seeing the huskies. I know one visit only counts for a fraction of what goes on, but these poor dogs were showing so many distress signals. The man was letting kids touch the dogs faces when they were clearly trying to turn their head away. And one pup was panting the whole time and licking his lips when being touched with is another huge stress signal. They were also on incredibly short chains and couldn’t move away. I understand these dogs will be incredibly loved, but they need a chance to be away from prying hands and not be touched when they don’t want to.

Too notch, first class, A1! Great experience for kids of all ages. Very interactive. Very educational.Cannot recommend it highly enough. Should rate as a "Definite" on anyones list of things to see and do in Christchurch.

Hello,I am writing in regards to a complaint I made about our trip to the International Antarctic Centre on July 28th. I emailed via social media and through your website and have had no response so far which has been disappointing as well. I was directed to this email address after reaching out for the second time via direct message to your Instagram page.We visited your centre and paid for the $119 family pass. We are visiting from Hong Kong and my husband and I previously enjoyed it when we had come without children.We were excited to show our young children the penguins we fondly remembered only to find the enclosure was under maintenance. We were not even told the penguin enclosure was under maintenance when purchasing the tickets and given that was the purpose of the trip we were extremely disappointed. This should have been made clear.I felt we paid a big price to have a 4D movie and pet some huskies by a handler who was very disinterested and just on his phone and frankly extremely rude and dismissive of my daughter who was really interested in them and wanted to stroke them. He physically moved her body away from the dogs and made a rude comment which I dont remember what his exact words were now. He should know this is not ok.We have also emailed about the photo we were supposed to receive taken at your centre of which we also still havent received a copy of or had any response about either.What an absolute waste of time and money.I know many have fallen on hard times with covid but at the very least the penguin enclosure being under maintenance should have been made very transparent. We feel deceived and upset after our experience there .

We had a great experience at the Antarctica museum. We enjoyed the Huggland ride the most as we got to sit in an actual 1980 Huggland vehicle used in Antarctica going over simulated terrains. The 4D movie and simulated Antarctica winter storm experience were nice as well. We saw the little penguins, but they were all sleeping in their burrows, very cute regardless! One of the most interactive museums we have visited!

We loved it, we did all the attractions and spent all morning there, our son was disappointed he wasnt able to do the VIP penguin 🐧 tour, children need to be 15 to do on their own and when we booked online there was only 1 ticket available. The staff were helpful, but a little under staffed for a busy school holiday day. We loved the Huskies, penguin feeding, ride in Haggland and all the information and videos.

An excellent attraction - kids love it and there is plenty for everyone to learn. Many interactive exhibits and especially good were the Haglund outside ride and the Antarctic storm room. Not cheap, but worth it.

A great wet weather activity, a variety of things to enjoy, we got to see Huskies as well as the penguins 🐧. The storm room and 4D theratre all add to a family adventure 😀

We spent half a day here and it wasnt enough. What an amazing experience.A must do. Although we took a preschooler who loved it, we were limited as unable to take her on penguin encounter and un able to go in the hägglaud.

Such a great experience. We bought a VIP pass and got to explore backstage, seeing some of the staff at work.Then a front seat view from the hägglund ride.

What an amazing experience. Great friendly helpful staff. Amazing place to visit well worth the money.

Brilliant. I fully enjoyed our experience here with family. Highlight would be the Haaglund Ride and the Storm room. Listening to the lady talk about the penguins was great knowledge to gather also. Only improvement I believe should be the Haaglund Ride needs to be longer, at least go round the course twice. Otherwise hang around and go back a second time later on in the day. Its over pretty quickly. But a good 3 hours spent.

Great experience and value for money for all attractions that you got. I hope I can visit Scott Base one day and feel the real antarctic environment. But at least you can feel the storm simulation here.

The Hagglund ride was incredible fun, but we wished it wasn’t so short! Another circle around the course again would have been good.The storm simulator was great fun. Huskies were adorable.Overall, it is a very fun place to spend a few hours at.

We were really unsure on whether this was worth the price, as its quite expensive. But wow, it was absolutely worth the money. We spent a good 6 hours here. The staff were all lovely and friendly, the haggland ride was our favorite (a bit frightening for our 5 year old though!And we loved seeing the huskies! The penguin tour guide (Henrywas fantastic, he chatted to us about the penguins and it was awesome learning so much about them. We would absolutely come back here. Lots of fun.

Its good for half a day (2-3 hours), depending on what kind of experience you want. There is a blizzard simulator, no snow, but its cold and windy, its best to wear a jacket and boots. The 4D extreme movie experience was great, and the Hugglund ride was a lot of fun, both of which are worth playing twice if you have the time. You can also go to the wildlife sanctuary to watch the little blue penguins feed and play with the huskies, its all fun.

Had a few hours to fill in so headed here. Best suited if you had kids of any age but still enjoyed our visit. Lots to learn and very interactive. Be warned if you do the artic storm experience, wear more than a thin t-shirt

If u are visiting Christchurch this has to be on ur to do list when u have kids. Keep at least 3-4 hours aside. The penguin feeding shows, the storm session and 4D movie all have timings so if u want to see all. Even I enjoyed the whole experience along with my daughter.

It was a great way to spend the day. Loved seeing the Huskys and watching the penguins have their feed. Next time I wouldnt visit during the school holidays as we were often pushed away from things before being able to finish reading as the kids wanted to use the items.

Was everything we were lead to believe and more. The storm room was excellent. We even got to experience it with really huskies! And the 4D theater was very cool! Cant recommend highly enough!! All staff were great.

Worth every penny spent here. Very interactive information on antartica. Blue penguins and huskies up close encounter. The 4D movies are amazing. Adult and children will like this place.

This should be on everyones place to visit! There is so much to see and do,and non stop entertainment for the whole family. Great value for money,and the staff are extremely friendly and helpful.

Fantastic place, we did the VIP experience which gave us not only a amazing guide but also a great day. Thank you to the staff being super friendly and the wealth of knowledge all the staff was sharing.

The International Antarctic Centre is a must visit in Christchurch. Its near the airport, so you can easily do it before flying back home. The Hagglund ride is really cool and the arctic storm experience is mind blowing. It does get really cold in there, so jackets are recommended. The huskies were a hit with the kids! Book through Bookme for discounted tickets

Good, interesting & fun place to spend 2-3 hours.Much of it is aimed at kids, but there are interesting presentations for all ages.Favourite bit was a ride in the Hagglund!Its proximity to the airport makes it a good choice before you catch your plane out.

Good fun! There are a lot of interactive activities around the exhibitions as well as play areas for kids. The four main events to take part of are the penguin feeding, 4D movie, Snow Storm experience (bring a hoodieand the Hagglund ride. Recommended!

A must do in Christchurch. There is so much for kids to do, a big interactive learning room, Hägglund rides are included in the price and are a bit of fun (although rather bumpy!the snow storm is a neat experience. Make sure you see the penguin feeding as that is when they are most active. The 4D theatre is not that great, our kids didn’t enjoy it haha

We arrived at 9am for the opening and we spent almost 3.30 in there. It was an amazing experience. The 4D theatre was a bit disappointing but the rest was very nice. People are great and helpful. It is a very famous attraction so I suggest that you go in the week, on a sunny day and as early as you can from 9am.

Absolutely loved it!! Such an interactive place with lots of cool experiences! The Antarctic storm experience is a must and also the Haaglund ride was so much fun! If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see some huskies!

Penguin enclosure was good and they look well cared for. The man driving the truck sounded like he was having a lot of fun, and the off-road track was fun. Some of the gallery pieces are a bit dated now. Needs a refresh!

What an excellent way to find out about the work at Antarctica and experience the many different activities on offer here. Lovely staff. Very helpful in ensuring you know the times of everything on offer so you can plan your visit. Great cafe. Loved the husky dogs and penguins not to mention the ride experience!

Was a great morning out with the family.Learnt plenty about the penguins, huskies, arctic explorers and the arctic itself.Loved the rides in the ice mobiles over the obstacle course.Watch out for that last step, its a doozy !!!

Took my 3 year old and we both had a great time. He absolutely loved the Hagglan ride! Great place to spend a half day.

Fantastic place to take your kids. Lots of information and fun for the family. It literally showcases life and landscapes of Antartica. Don’t miss the Antarctic storm experience and also the Huggland Drive.

Loved it! Woryh the entry fee and additional fee for backstage tour. So informative and our 10 yr old son loved it too

Husky encounter is just a small area, with four husky sleeping. Penguins are cute to see, spend most of my time watching them. Hagglund ride is cool, best activity in the centre. Storm experience is kind of bored. Gallery is similar to the one in Canterbury Musuem. Theres two 4D show, but only allows to see one. Every activity has to follow the timetable given, you miss the schedule, you miss the activity, only one chance.

To be honest, the price was a little high but the experience was fantastic!Quite educational for not only the children but also the adults.And first time seeing 4D! Wow!Must visit, the Huskies are beautiful but do not pat them on the head it is against the rules.Also you will get to meet some very beautiful Penguins.The gift shop is great too!

This educational center is exceptional and well worth visiting, fantastic value. We spent at least three hours here, probably four, which is more than most museum type places for us. The whole thing is very interactive and would be great for children: Antarctic storm experience, 4D movie, penguin feeding (rescued, unable to be released due to injuries but appear well looked after, big area for myself), huskie fund raising, Antarctic vehicle ride and more!

Great place that showcases what happens in the artic but safely! There is penguin feeding show here, interaction with real huskies and also this vehicle ride simulation that they use in the south Pole! Pretty cool and real experience of the terrain! Theres also a 4D movie with water and wind spraying out at your throughout the movie and the best part is the simulation of the artic storm. That was REALLY cold and it was fun huddling together in the cold with loved ones. A family friendly experience. Remember to ask the ticket counter for voucher of $5 off! You can get them for adult tickets. Student ticket prices are cheaper too so if you have a student pass, bring that along!

Ahhh.... Your imagination as a child will exode here. So much activities, so much to read and so much to see. Really good value for money too. The huskeys very gorgeous. Must do thing for adults and kids in Christchurch. The 4D movie was exciting, the wind simulator was so cool and the rides in the snow mobile was so exciting!!

Overall it is a unique chance to learn and experience the Antarctic. The staff are very friendly and helpful. Our children like most of the 4D movie and the storm experience. We also had a clear and informative session to view the blue eye penguin swimming and being fed.However, compare the activities offered with the price we paid, it seems slightly overpriced. Also, for the day we visit, the 4D movie schedule was totally out where the same movie kept repeated to cater for tourist by groups which was quite disappointing.

Great place to spend a lazy afternoon or a whole day. Managed to get a student discount so plus points. Started off with a Hagglund ride outside that tries to simulate how travelling in the Antarctic is. Its a jolty ride and not recommended for people with joint and muscular issues. Next came feeding the penguins which is done twice a day around 10am and 3pm so dont miss it. Be mindful that you can watch the show from both the lower deck showing underwater feeds and from the top deck too. The staff are extremely helpful and friendly which makes the experience fun. The place is also very informative with fossils, simulations, gizmos about life in Antarctica. Dont forget to watch the 4D movies. There is no set way to do the activities and the best way is to ask the friendly ladies at the front desk to customize your visit so you dont miss the scheduled programs. Almost forgot, the storm room is also a great experience and offers opportunities for cool pics.

The place is expensive for what it is, but we did have an amazing time there. It would of be nice to have the schedules on the flyer cuz we wait till Saturday to go to see the huskies and when we arrive they were already gone. Amazing for the kids and the ride was really exciting