Australian Museum, Sydney
The Australian Museum has an international reputation in the fields of natural history and indigenous research, community programs and exhibitions. The Museum was established in 1827 and is Australia’s first museum, with unique and extensive collections of natural science and cultural artefacts. The Australian Museum is open every day of the year except December 25.The Museum has a number of top class standing exhibitions as well as ever changing special exhibitions and events. The standing exhibition includes Indigenous Australian, which is a tribute to the multicultural nature of Indigenous Australia; Skeletons: Framework for Survival, an exhibition of skeletons from mammal, fish, birds, reptiles and insects; Birds, Australian birds in all their varieties of colour, shape and size; Insects, displays of the life cycles of thousands of insects; the Mineral Collections, an awesome collection of more than 850 mineral specimens; More Than Dinosaurs, a display of dinosaurs and Australia’s ancient mega fauna; and Biodiversity: Life Supporting Life, explores the rich variety of life in Australia.
History
The establishment of a museum had been planned in 1821 by the Philosophical Society of Australasia, and although specimens were collected, the Society folded in 1822. In 1826, however, upon the arrival of entomologist and Fellow of the Linnean Society of London Alexander Macleay, who, after being appointed New South Wales Colonial Secretary, began lobbying for a museum.
The Australian Museum is a natural history museum with an extensive Australian wildlife collection as well as archeological items and displays from the beginnings of time. One of its galleries traces Aboriginal history from the Dreamtime to the present.
The Australian Museum is Australia’s premiere natural science museum. It features exhibits on biology, botany, geology and environmental issues. The Australian Museum also offers interesting displays on Australia indigenous peoples. It explores the historical, cultural and economic history of the Aboriginals. Sydney’s popular Australian Museum can be found directly across the road from Hyde Park.
For those aged five and under, the museum offers the delightful Kids’ Island, a fantasy play area, located on Level Two. This includes a shipwreck (complete with a treasure chest) and is divided into various “cubbies,” which kids can send secret messages from and to using special “sound pipes.” Best of all for parents with babies is the Nest, a special padded crawling pit for under twos, as well as baby-changing facilities and a breast-feeding area.
With the largest store of animal, mineral, fossil and anthropological specimens, it is a priceless contributor in the field of public education and entertainment. The Australian Museum in Sydney houses a large collection that ranges from zoology to mineralogy, reptiles to cultural history. The museum’s department of natural history has an extensive assortment that covers archeology, entomology, marine invertebrates, ornithology, mineralogy, and what not! It boasts of a store of 14.5 million specimens that include approximately 5,000,000 insects, 3,000,000 molluscs, 1,000,000 fishes, 1,000,000 archaeological objects, 111,000 anthropological objects and 70,000 rocks and minerals. The anthological collection includes specimens to trace the aboriginals of Asia, Africa and America.
The Australian Museum offered a guided tour that covered the museum and its offerings, including a collection of 68,000 rocks and minerals, the indigenous Australians exhibition, an array of birds and insects and ancient Egyptian artifacts. Allow yourself at least 15 minutes to browse through the museum gift shop to buy something.
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