Become a Friend

The Friends of Waikato Museum are part of the wider Museum family and their support enables the Museum to flourish and grow. Join the Friends for as little as $20 a year, meet like-minded people, receive invitations to special events and openings and enjoy a range of discounts and concessions.

Start your membership by filling out this online form:

Friends of the Museum membership [opens in new window]

For more information contact the Membership Secretary.

• Friends of Waikato Museum newsletters and advance exhibition information
• Invitations to exclusive Friends‘ exhibition openings at the Museum
• Invitations to Friends’ bus trips to galleries, museums and sculpture parks
• 10% off the admission fee to the Museum’s paid exhibitions, events and activities
• 10% discount at Te Whare Taonga o Waikato’s shop
• 10% discount on beer from Hamilton Beer & Wine Co
• 12.5% discount on wine from Hamilton Beer & Wine Co
• 10% discount at Poppies Bookshop Hamilton
• 10% discount at Gordon Harris Art and Graphic Supplies
• 10% discount at Auteur House DVD/video rentals
• 10% discount at Hood Street Bistro

• Individual $30
• Concession $20 - Super Gold Card holder, full-time student, etc
• Joint $50 - Any 2 individuals under the age of 65, does not have to be a couple (e.g. mother and daughter)
• Family $60 -  Any combination of family members (e.g. grandmother and grandchildren). The group gets 4 membership cards that they can share

*rates as of 1 January 2023

The Friends of the Museum raise funds to support Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum & Gallery to "flourish and grow".  

Traditionally, over many years, the Friends have gifted works of art to the collection but as storage space has reached capacity, we have worked with our Director, Liz Cotton, to expand the variety of our gifts.

Recent contributions include:

• A Merit Award Prize ($1000) at the biennial NZ Contemporary Art Awards
• Children’s Day performers in music and science ($1000)
• Refurbishment of the lower floor of Exscite ($5000)
• Conservation of works in the Museum's collection ($5000)
• A Museum staff professional development scholarship ($3000)

By becoming a Friend, you are contributing to the many activities the Committee undertakes to make our Museum a welcoming and educational asset to our city.

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Friends of Waikato Museum, we commissioned artist and writer Peter Dornauf to write the first book to recognise the extraordinary contribution of the Waikato's contemporary artists in a broad range of artistic genres.

Peter's book "101 Contemporary Waikato Artists" has now sold out.