thumb|right|220px|Entrance to Stonehenge Aotearoa
thumb|right|220px|Detail of the Stonehenge Aotearoa exteriorStonehenge Aotearoa, is one of the largest astronomical installations in New Zealand, an open-sky observatory inspired by and built on a similar scale to the famous Stonehenge in England. The henge is a modern adaptation, inspired by the many stone circles and henges scattered around the world. Stonehenge Aotearoa is designed specifically for its location in Wairarapa region of New Zealand's North Island.
A government grant from MoRST, administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Science & Technology Promotion Fund, supported the construction of Stonehenge Aotearoa, supplementing the significant volunteer time of approximately 150 society members.
The henge, built over 2 years, was opened on 12 February 2005 by Nobel Laureate Professor Alan MacDiarmid.
thumb|View of the causeway that runs from the East to the centre of the henge. Stonehenge Aotearoa was built using hollow wooden and cement board structures, which were then coated with cement and sculpted plaster to resemble hewn stone.
It contains 24 pillars and is in diameter and about high. The pillars are capped with lintels, completing the circle, and a -tall obelisk is near the centre of the henge. From the obelisk, along the meridian line is a 10-metres area called the analemma. The henge is similar to the sarsen cycle of the original Stonehenge and has the same diameter. Entry is via a causeway, which runs due west to the centre. Ten metres outside the circle of the henge stand six heel stones of varying heights.
The modern henge was designed to demonstrate how ancient peoples used such constructions to understand astronomy and also to explain basic astronomical ideas.