Australian Museum

200 Treasures of the Australian Museum

The Westpac Long Gallery showcases 100 treasures from our collections alongside the stories of 100 of Australia’s most-influential people.

Artist's impression of expanded Crystal Hall entry

We're building a better museum

The first phase of the Australian Museum’s transformation – known as Project Discover – has been completed, and the Museum will reopen to the public soon.

Garrigarrang: Sea Country

From the Sydney Basin to Torres Strait, discover and celebrate the rich cultures of Australia’s Salt Water People, who for tens of thousands of years have lived and flourished on Garrigarang nura – sea country.

Dinosaurs

How well do you know your dinosaurs? Discover the amazing creatures that ruled the world until 65 million years ago in this exhibition that brings the Mesozoic era to life.

Prehistoric Playground

A brand-new stomping ground for Sydney's smallest dinosaur buffs.

Opens 28 November 2020

Birds of Australia

Meet some of Australia’s most famous and fascinating feathered residents and learn about the ingenious ways they have adapted to life on the continent they call home.

1 William Street
Sydney NSW 2010 Australia

Parking and public transport

Information on how to get to the Australian Museum including public transport options and where to park cars and bikes.

Pacific Spirit

Experience the diverse and dynamic cultures of the Pacific and admire the skill, creativity and spirituality of the region’s artists through this collection of colourful treasures from across the region.

Wild Planet

Welcome to life on Earth. Every one of Earth’s millions of species is unique, but they are all connected through evolution. Come and see life in all its glorious diversity – over 400 animals under one roof!

T: +61 (0)2 9320 6182
E: venues@austmus.gov.au

Wedding table setting in the Australian Museum Terrace

Functions and venues

Discover our unique spaces ideal for catered events and functions such as dinners, cocktail parties, receptions, conferences and product launches.

What's on calendar
Functions and venues
Getting here

More visiting information

After a year of renovation, we’re thrilled to announce that on 28 November 2020 we will welcome visitors, members and friends back to a transformed and free Australian Museum.

Plan your visit

Australian Museum news

Discover our research behind the scenes, read stories from our collections and learn about the latest fieldwork findings in our blog.

Latest News Listen to our Podcasts Visit the Media Centre

2020 AM Eureka Prizes: Meet the journalists telling the forgotten stories of Australia's pioneering female computer scientists

How do they do it? Meet some of the 2020 AM Eureka Prizes finalists.

22 October 2020

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2020 AM Eureka Prizes: Meet the innovator utilising diversity to achieve excellence

How do they do it? Meet some of the 2020 AM Eureka Prizes finalists.

20 October 2020

Read now

Frogs call at night, right?

Citizen scientists help us understand just how much Australian frogs call during the day.

15 October 2020

Frank Hurley's 'underwater' photography

In the 1920s there were no waterproof cameras. Instead, on his 1922 Torres Strait and Papua expedition, photographer Frank Hurley designed a mobile aquarium to create an illusion of colourful coral life.

2020 AM Eureka Prizes: Meet the team behind a citizen science initiative unravelling the mysteries of galaxies

How do they do it? Meet some of the 2020 AM Eureka Prizes finalists.

15 October 2020

Read now

Scraps of Coptic Culture

Symbols and identity in complex Egyptian history.

15 October 2020

DigiVol - Butterfly - Junonia octavia sesamus

Conservationists on the couch

Since COVID restrictions were announced, DigiVol has been catapulted to a whole new level. Two million transcriptions have been made over the last six months!

8 October 2020

Fire management on Country

You do not need to be a scientist to know that the environment is sick. That how we are managing Country is not working and things need to dramatically change.

By Rachael Cavanagh

COVID-19 and zoonotic diseases

By understanding and protecting the natural world, we also have the potential to protect ourselves against possible pandemics.

Australian Museum Research Institute
Wildlife genomics

More from our blog

Read about our latest discoveries, research expeditions or discover our interesting archive of blog posts.

Science news
What's new at the Museum
Educational insights

Read our blog posts!

Where nature, science & culture intersect

We are Australia’s first museum, and have over 21 million scientific specimens and cultural objects in our collections. Learn more from First Nations people, discover thousands of animal factsheets and explore our online education resources.

Discover & Learn Animal Factsheets Learning Resources

For teachers and students

Our education programs spark curiosity, develop scientific understanding and enhance cultural awareness in students of all ages.

Video conferences
Museum in a Box
Learning resources

What are we doing?
What is climate change?

Climate change

The Australian Museum has been involved in raising awareness and researching impacts of climate change for over a decade.

Identify a species
Cultural material
Fossils & minerals

Object and species identification

Use our online enquiry forms for help with Australian animal identification, natural history and cultural object enquiries!

Ask an expert!

First Nations

Learn more about this land’s First Nations peoples and cultures.

Collections
Knowledge
Exhibitions

Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Extinct animals

Animal factsheets

Discover the astonishing variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, marine life and more in the Australian Museum collections.

The Mesozoic era
Dinosaur factsheets
Australian dinosaurs

Dinosaurs and their relatives

Discover the Mesozoic era of the dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are classified as a group of reptiles, although some of their features are found in mammals and birds living today.

Stages of Decomposition
The Human story
Virtual Autopsy

Science of life

Learn about biodiversity, the scientific study of life and organisms, and the story of human evolution.

Shaping the Earth
Minerals
Fossils

Earth science

The Mineralogy and Palaeontology collections include rocks, minerals, gemstones and fossils, and reveal how the earth was formed.

Free mobile app
Record frog calls

Get involved

Make a donation. Become a member or volunteer. Or put your passion into practice on a citizen science project. Find out how you can get involved with the Australian Museum.

Become a Member Make a Donation Contact Us

2020 AM Eureka Prizes Award Ceremony

For the first time in the program’s 30-year history, the Eureka Prizes winners will be announced during an interactive broadcast award show, and you're invited to attend.

2020 Eureka Prizes

Take part in FrogID Week

FrogID is a national citizen science project that is helping us learn more about what is happening to Australia’s frogs.

EOFY campaign
Ways to join the Foundation

Help us to support our community during challenging times

The Foundation supports the important work of the Australian Museum: it’s scientific research, its exceptional exhibitions and educational programs, and its acquisition of significant objects for the AM collection.

Donate now

Work at the Museum

Discover the exciting roles in research, exhibitions, education and communicating the relationship between people, culture and the natural environment.

Research
Exhibitions
Communication
Scholarships

DigiVol Lab
Online digitisation

Join the DigiVol volunteers

Join one of our virtual expeditions and help capture the wealth of information hidden in our Museum.

Get involved

Australian Museum Membership

Be the first to enjoy the new-look Australian Museum in 2020, with free entry, exclusive events and much more.

Reciprocal offers
Benefits
Packages

Join now

Awards & Fellowships

The Australian Museum Foundation & Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI) offers several different fellowships to visiting researchers.

Postgraduate Awards
Research
Fellowship

Support our research
Help save the reef

Life at Lizard: Waging war on the Crown-of-Thorns starfish

Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation

Proudly supporting science at the Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station and elsewhere on the Great Barrier Reef.

Get involved

Sustainability at home

Leading a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle and saving money in the process is easy with these helpful factsheets.

Cut down on waste
Worm farming

Museum mobile apps

From our citizen science to augmented reality games, treasure hunts and audio exhibition tours, discover our mobile apps.

Audio guide tours
Augmented reality games
Citizen science

Download free apps

About the Museum

The Australian Museum has been inspiring exploration of nature and culture for more than 190 years. Learn more about what we do, our extraordinary collections or our fascinating history.

Our Organisation Our History Museum Collections

Organisation & Governance

Learn more about our organisational structure, what we do, the passionate people who work at the Australian Museum and our fascinating history.

Organisation
Governance
Our history
Future plans

Biodiversity & geodiversity
Collections-based research

Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI)

AMRI brings together scientific expertise and world-class research infrastructure to increase our knowledge of the world around us and inform environmental decision-making for a better future.

Natural Sciences
Cultural collections
Museum Archives

Museum collections

Why do we collect things? Discover the history and future of our millions of collection treasures and research areas.

Lord Howe Island
Solomon Islands
Historic expeditions

Research and expeditions

Learn about past Australian Museum expeditions from around the globe that have contributed to our collections and research.

Aviation wildlife strike
Conservation genomic projects

Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics

Our primary focus is on ecological applications such as species identification, individualisation, conservation and small population management.

Research
Facilities
Planning a Trip
Resources

Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station

The Lizard Island Research Station is a world-leading supplier of on-reef facilities for coral reef research and education. Located on the northern Great Barrier Reef, 270 km north of Cairns in Queensland, Australia.

2020 Eureka Prizes program
FAQ and key dates

Australian Museum Eureka Prizes

Rewarding excellence in the fields of research & innovation, leadership, science engagement and school science.