Wellington | Wētā Workshop Experience

Discover how imaginary worlds are brought to life

Wellington, New Zealand, is home to an entire community of creative Wētā Workshop artisans who’ve brought life to such films as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, and many others. Wētā Workshop is your gateway to filmmaking creativity. Join our guided tours and learn about the making of movie effects, from armour to weapons, creatures to costumes, make-up to miniatures, and more!

Wētā Workshop – Creative Workshops

With the guidance of Wētā Workshop’s experienced events technicians, you will create your own movie magic right here in Wellington! Your host will be just like you - a true fan! There’s no difference between the people who work at Wētā Workshop and our fans - we’re all into the same cool stuff and your host will teach you the tricks of the trade.

Check out our workshops

Wētā Workshop Events and Updates

1st October and 15th October 2022

Behind the Seams: An insight into our world of costuming

See the process we go through when kitting out actors; these are the props and unique outfits that our fans love, costumes that help actors to excel in their characters and pieces that film producers display proudly in their movies and TV shows. With limited capacity, book your spot today and be in for a rare opportunity.

Blog

How to create the ultimate day out for the film buff's birthday

If you or someone special is soon to celebrate a birthday, make it a magical one with a movie-themed day out! Upsize your celebrations from the plain-old drinks at the pub – we’ve put together the ultimate birthday guide for film buffs, movie nerds, The Lord of the Rings fans, or just those keen to add a splash of creativity to their celebrations.

LOTR anniversary

Journey through Middle-earth

We’ve dusted off the keys and opened the vault to some of our most precious hero props and armour. From Feb 5, 2022, you can experience first-hand, original pieces that were used on set while filming The Lord of the Rings Trilogies.

Sign up

Weta Workshop Experience Young Creatives

Young Creative Workshops

During the school holidays we will be running our Young Creative workshops, click here to sign up to our database and to be the first to hear when tickets are released.

Explore props, costumes and cool stuff

From The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to Avatar and District 9, learn about props, costumes and creatures created for your favourite films. Interact with cool stuff from our creative departments and catch an artist at work.

Enter our world of miniatures and modelmaking

Weta Workshop Experience Miniatures Effects Studio

Weta Workshop Experience Miniatures Effects Studio Stage

Discover the filmmaking technique of miniature effects and learn how they are built for hit TV and film productions. Wander through monumental miniatures from Thunderbirds Are Go and see how we fit an entire island, cityscape, and mansion under one roof!

Group Tour Space

Are you looking for an exciting group activity for your students, organisation, or extended whānau? Wellington’s award-winning Wētā Workshop group tour space is perfect for groups of all sizes. You’ll journey into a private facility filled with props and costumes from some of the biggest blockbuster films ever made.

Contact us for details

Visit our stores

Weta Workshop Experience There and Back Again

Wētā Cave

We also sell a lot of what we make, and in our Wētā Caves, you can purchase all sorts of props, merchandise, collectibles and more. The coolest thing about the items we sell? They are designed and made by the same artists that make the epic stuff you see in the films.

#WētāCave

@chantalmarie

@sylvipolc

More nerding out🤓... this time at the Weta Cave!

If we’re being honest, @wetaworkshop was one of the main reasons we came to New Zealand. And it was worth it🤩
The tour of the Weta Cave is short but oh so sweet and gives you a small taste of how and why they are the absolute best at creating movie magic! 🎥 ✨
We simply could not recommend it enough! What the folks at @wetaworkshop get up to behind the scenes is pure, creative genius. 🤯👌🏻

After our tour, we strolled around downtown ‘Welly’, found some good coffee ☕️(finally) and had one last swing at the playground. 🤸🏼‍♂️
Now we’re about to dive into some chips and ‘tommy sauce’, while watching LOTR behind the scenes footage, because of course.😜

One more day here and then we’re heading on to the South Island!🇳🇿
Yeah, we came for the movie nerd stuff, and we’re staying for everything else! ⛰🙌🏻

@noregretsfamily