New Zealand Rugby Museum (NZRM) - home to more than 40,000 items from the sport's history - has unveiled its new home at the Te Manawa complex in Palmerston North.

Initially founded in 1969, the relocated museum is housed on the first floor of the revamped Te Manawa facility near the city's Convention Centre and boasts four sections.

Rugby Relics; Have a Go; Rugby Tribe; and Discovery Library are the four themed areas of the museum, which aims to provide visitors with an interactive and educational experience.

The Have a Go area allows guests to use their skills against five interactive features, while an exploration of the history of rugby in New Zealand is undertaken in Rugby Relics.

NZRM director Stephen Berg said: "[The museum is] designed to provide a 'minds, hands, feet and body-on' taste of many aspects of the game and be more inviting and accessible to the public.