Te Papa could be adequately described as a new museum for a new people in the new millennium. It replaces the old museum built in 1936 abd the colonial-era national museum established in 1865, when the country's sensibilities were notably different than they are today. The new national museum of New Zealand is an appropriate ambassador of its people, their culture, and way of life. Clean, creative, and lively, the building reflects the world around it. Quirky additions like modern interpretations of the flying buttress, and aboriginal markings are less symbols of something else, and more the parts that make the whole. And a strong profile shows how the building, like the nation, manages to carve out a proud life for itself, in spite of the forces of nature and probability. One of the forces tugging at it is the motion of the earth. New Zealand has a lively geologic history, so extra steps were taken to make the building resistant to earthquakes. The foundation rests on massive shock absorbers designed to isolate the building from any sudden movements.