I just re-discovered this thread.. I've been to the exhibition twice during my stay in Wellington and it was just awesome. There were costumes from every important character there and of course they also told you something about them. They also showed you the techniques they made the hobbits seem smaller with and my homestay sister and me had a picture in Gandalf's carriage where she seemed as small as Frodo and I was as big as Gandalf. You could also see a miniature of Minas Tirith which I found very impressive. They also showed you some of the weapons (e.g. Aiglos, Gil-Galad's spear). Also you could see some of the different orc costumes and how they did Gollum. What I found very cool where the pictures of Alan Lee and John Howe that you could see there. Yeah, it was definitely really cool
