What it is
Te Manawa, Māori for "the heart", brings together art, science and history under one roof. It grew out of the former Manawatu Museum and art gallery and has been run since 1999 by the Te Manawa Museums Trust, controlled by Palmerston North City Council.
The complex stands on land once occupied by the town's railway station, beside the civic centre. It shows changing and long-term exhibitions on the art and history of the Manawatū, hands-on science displays and touring shows. In its grounds stands Tōtaranui, a settler cottage from 1875 and one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city, and since 2011 the building has also housed the New Zealand Rugby Museum.
Getting there by bus
Routes 103 (Cloverlea - Hokowhitu) and 106 (James Line - Pioneer Hwy) stop on Pitt Street at 80 Pitt St - City Fitness (stop A113), about 250 metres away, and at 93 Pitt St (stop A112), around three or four minutes on foot.
From the Main Street Bus Hub (MSBH), served by urban routes 101 to 108, it is about 480 metres along Main Street, and further routes, including 101, 102, 105, 107, 108 and 302, stop on Fitzherbert Avenue at Kmart (stop A105) and Toyworld (stop A107), about 410 metres away.
