The treasures are waiting in the wings to be displayed in the redeveloped museum. The free public tours this month will take visitors through 150 years of history in 60 minutes.
The collections are being stored while the museum's $262 million rebuild is completed.
The museum asked councils and central government for an extra $64 million to cover the cost-plagued redevelopment after another budget blow-out.
The project had an original budget of $205m, which rose to $247m last year, but escalating construction costs and funding delays have now pushed it to almost $262m.
The museum's board said it needed help plugging the shortfall of almost $92m to keep the museum on track to open in mid-2029.
The public tours will cover highlights including the 4.6-tonne blue whale skeleton, a collection of large pounamu boulders, and visitor favourites like the Sno-Cat that crossed Antarctica in the 1950s and the giant Irish elk skeleton.
The tours will be hosted by museum staff, including curators and experts, who will share insights about the collections.
Museum tumuaki matua director Anthony Wright said the museum is much more than a public attraction in a heritage building.
"The collection of 2.3 million objects is at the heart of everything we do.
"While we are out of Rolleston Avenue we continue to make this amazing collection accessible to the community at the Canterbury Museum Pop-Up, and through loans and public programmes in collaboration with libraries and other institutions in the city and surrounding districts.
"These special tours will give visitors a unique experience and direct access to a host of special and wonderful objects, many of which will be on display again in the redeveloped Museum.
"Tickets for these special tours are limited and I’d encourage people to book their space now to avoid disappointment."
Wright also called on people to support its bid to raise additional capital to complete the construction stage of the redevelopment.
He said people can back the museum by submitting their support for the extra funding through the Christchurch City Council’s consultation process, which opens on Monday night.
- The free tours run from Saturday, March 7, and are open to people 15 and over. To make a booking, click here.
