The largest museum in the southern hemisphere, Melbourne Museum stands in the Carlton Gardens beside the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building, a striking modern complex of blades and volumes designed by Denton Corker Marshall and opened in 2000. Run by Museums Victoria, it gathers natural history, science, culture and the social story of the state under one expansive roof, having moved from cramped quarters in the State Library building. Its galleries range widely, from dinosaur skeletons and a vast insect collection to displays on human biology, evolution and the natural environment. A living Forest Gallery at the heart of the building recreates a slice of Victorian temperate rainforest, complete with plants and small creatures, while the Melbourne Gallery tells the story of the city and displays the mounted hide of Phar Lap, the champion racehorse who remains a national icon. The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre presents the histories and living cultures of Koorie people from a First Peoples perspective, and a dedicated children's gallery, a Pacific gallery and a touring hall for major international exhibitions round out the offering. An IMAX cinema with one of the largest screens in the world sits within the complex, showing documentaries and feature films. The museum is built for long, varied visits, with enough to occupy families for the better part of a day, and it sits a short tram ride or walk north of the city centre in a historic parkland setting. Cafes, a shop and regular events and school programs support a steady stream of visitors, while changing blockbuster exhibitions draw repeat crowds. As a single destination spanning science, nature, culture and history, it serves both as a family outing and a serious cultural institution for Victoria. Its setting beside the Royal Exhibition Building, itself a World Heritage site that hosted the opening of Australia's first federal parliament, ties the museum to a precinct of deep historical importance. The contrast between the ornate nineteenth-century hall and the angular modern museum captures the meeting of old and new that runs through the collection, and the surrounding Carlton Gardens provide a green setting for a break between galleries.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 11 Nicholson Street, Melbourne, Australia

Telephone: 13 11 02

Website: https://museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum

Opening Date: 21/10/2000