Our venue this year is The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, located at 55 Cable St, Te Aro, Wellington 6011. Play By Play will be presented in the Soundings Theatre on Level 2. For information on how to get there please check out Te Papa’s Website.

There are five mobility parking spaces available on site – two spaces are uncovered and three spaces are under the covered parking lot close to the ground floor entrance.

Certified assistance dogs have the right to access Te Papa when assisting a disabled person. Please ensure the dog wears the appropriate coat and carries a valid ID card.

Wheelchair accessibility seats are considered reserved, please ensure that these seats are left free for folks who may need them. The first row of the theatre will also be ‘reserved seating’ for committee members and speakers – however, anyone who has accessibility needs, no matter how small are invited to find a comfy place here.

We have a dedicated Quiet Area – located in the Angus Rooms, Just past the whale heart and in the lift up one floor to level 3. Attendees are invited to this place any time they need a break or are feeling tired or overwhelmed. We ask that you respect others’ needs in this room and keep any noise to a very low register. To find it, just follow the signs or ask one of our lovely volunteers.

Stickers for Level of Contact and Level of Confidence—At the registration desk, we will have small, button-sized stickers that you can adhere to your badge to show others your preferred levels or methods of interaction.

The bathrooms for Soundings Theatre, are to the left outside the venue near the Story Place.

There are also dedicated gender-neutral bathrooms available on the ground floor, on Level 5 which are accessible via an elevator to the right of the theatre’s exit, as well as gender-neutral bathrooms available through the hallway from the theatre foyer (as shown on the map above), which will be marked clearly.

If you need help with anything, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of our friendly volunteers.

Please also feel welcome to contact our Conference Managers via Instagram.

Please note that only the Soundings Theatre and Foyer are used for the conference – we ask that Play By Play attendees be mindful of the other museum guests.

No food or drinks are to be taken into the hired venue/s – only water is permitted. 

Te Papa Museum is a non-smoking environment. Smoking is only permitted outside the confines of the building and away from the main entrance doors. All types of electronic smoking devices are also not permitted inside the museum building. 

Any personal travelling items such as bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc. are not allowed inside the museum. The museum has a dedicated parking space outside for these items. Personal items such as coats, bags, umbrellas, etc. can be left inside the hired venue. However, any items that are left behind after closing hours will be removed and stored at the Information Desk on Level 2 or phone +64 4 381 7000.

If an earthquake were to occur, please stay away from windows, find cover and remain until all tremors have finished. Should the alarm go off during an earthquake, please remain under the shelter or in the venue. Follow instructions from any visitor services team members or the emergency warden. 

To protect the building from earthquake, the building sits on 150 base isolators. It will sway up to half a metre which is normal. Te Papa is designed to withstand an 8.5 earthquake and is a designated civil defence centre. Te Papa would be among the safer places in Wellington in a major earthquake.