Twenty-years after Te Papa's grand opening, Tama Whiting says he feels honoured to have played a big role.
His journey with Te Papa began when he was five. His grandfather was the museums original Maori co-leader and designer of the well-known meeting house.
"When I went on school trips to Te Papa I kind of had that background connection to it which was quite cool," he says.
"It's a pretty special place."
Now, Te Papa is more popular than ever with almost 1.8 million visitors in 2016.
But the museum has been cloaked in controversy since the beginning, when the building took four years to complete while requiring the painstaking move of the Museum Hotel.
The Virgin in a Condom art installation also drew criticism, and led to protests by members of the public.
Dr Linda Tyler who is an Associate Professor for Creative Arts at the University of Auckland says disdain for Te Papa has been a problem since it opened.
"Well it was very fashionable to despise Te Papa when it first opened, people thought it was a theme park and was treating our culture as a disposable entertainment for the masses," she says.
She admits the museum isn’t perfect, and could do better with its art installations and incorporating natural sciences with art and history.
However, she says credit should be given for the things the museum does well.
"In terms of what it’s doing with indigenous collections, I think it really is world leading."
Maori co-leader Arapata Hakiwai agrees.
"Te Papa is a safe space for difficult conversations and a forum for the nation," he says.
"It's part of the vision going forward."
Te Papa is now set to see some big changes coming up for its twentieth year, with the museum addressing some of its big issues.
A new art gallery is due to be opened in March.
And the well-known natural history section will also be getting a revamp.
According to CEO Geraint Martin, the new section will incorporate current environmental issues.
"We're starting to pick up some real important issues that perhaps twenty years ago weren’t quite there like climate change and the impact climate change is having on the world around us," he says.
Big changes to take the museum dubbed 'our place' through the next twenty years.
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