While a date for Te Papa's Shrek exhibition is yet to be set, a museum representative has been spending time in Tarras this week hearing the late celebrity sheep's story from those in his hometown.
Shrek died in June 2011 at Bendigo Station and his mounted remains have been with Te Papa, in Wellington, since April 2013.
Curators have not provided a date for his public unveiling or any details about the exhibition despite repeated inquiries from the Otago Daily Times.
This week, Te Papa educator Scott Ogilvie has been working with Tarras School pupils to gather material for the planned exhibition about ''what Shrek means to not just them, but the school of Tarras''.
Two Shrek books produced by the school have sold a combined total of more than 50,000 copies and raised an estimated $150,000 to fund a second teacher, school improvements and resources.
Under Mr Ogilvie's guidance and using resources supplied by Te Papa including wool and merino felt, the pupils have created Shrek-themed art which will either be displayed alongside his remains, or elsewhere in the museum.
They have also been working on contributions for Te Papa's long-running ''wonderbox'' project - essentially a mini exhibition in a box - to tell the Shrek story.
The senior pupils are creating a four-minute video about why Shrek is important to the school, using interviews with Shrek's owner John Perriam, former Tarras School principal Noelene Pullar and others.
Mr Ogilvie understood the video would be run on a loop as part of the museum's Shrek display.
Despite the pupils not having been at the school when the international Shrek story broke, there was ''loads of enthusiasm'' for the project, he said.
''I've read the [Shrek] books, but to come here and hear the kids talking about it, it kind of brings it to life more than the books,'' Mr Ogilvie said.
The school's new principal Darryn Rae said it was ''really cool'' for the children to be part of the project.
''This is a wonderful opportunity to be able to work with the guys from Te Papa ... to be involved in this whole process has been amazing for them. The learning involved is huge.''
The pupils would attend the unveiling of the exhibition but logistics could not be confirmed until a date was set, Mr Rae said.
Mr Ogilvie said the unveiling date was ''still up in the air'' as far as he knew, while a Te Papa spokesperson in Wellington told the ODT yesterday they did not know when the exhibition would open but it ''might be in the next financial year''.
