Australian Museum

COVID-19 Closure

We are temporarily closed to the public in line with the stay-at-home orders issued by the NSW Government.

We plan to reopen on 31 July (subject to health advice).

Find out more

Opening Hours: Temporarily closed
Where to find us: 1 William Street
Sydney NSW 2010
Australia

AM Inside Out

Deep dive into fascinating stories and learning materials for inquisitive minds, everywhere.

Curated for the curious
Activities for kids at home

First Nations

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

Collections
Knowledge
Exhibitions

Climate change

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

What are we doing?
What is climate change?

The Australian Museum (AM) is committed to protecting the health of visitors and staff and minimising the spread of COVID-19. In line with the stay-at-home orders issued by the NSW Government, the AM will be temporarily closed to the public from Saturday 26 June and plans to reopen Saturday 31 July 2021.

Admission guidelines and FAQ

Museum news

Read about our latest discoveries, research expeditions and collection objects on display.

Museum Shop

Advocating for the richness of life, the earth and culture in Australia and the Pacific, the Australian Museum Shop aims to ignite wonder through thinking, learning and play.

AM Member discount

Why not join the family?

Discover even more by becoming a Member. Delve into the Australian Museum’s collections, join a vibrant community and support our groundbreaking research and cultural projects.

Become a Member

Plan your visit

In line with the stay-at-home orders issued by the NSW Government, the AM will be temporarily closed to the public from Saturday 26 June to protect the health of visitors and staff and minimise the spread of COVID-19. We will plan to reopen on Saturday 31 July (subject to health advice).

Admission Information COVID-19 Safety Location & Access

What's on

Discover our exciting exhibitions and program of events including Prehistoric Playground for kids and First Nations cultural programs.

Permanent exhibitions
Special exhibitions and events

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Lunchtime Conversation Series Sport: Levelling the Playing Field

Listen to our recent Lunchtime Conversation Series

Listen to talks exploring the stories and pioneering work of First Nations trailblazers and visionaries.

Conversations with First Nations visionaries
Live talks

Listen now

Museum Shop

Come and explore our exciting range of products inspired by the Museum's collections. All proceeds help fund our science, education and exhibitions programs.

Located at the entrance to the Australian Museum

Shop for beautiful objects

Sydney Science Trail

Get ready to celebrate National Science Week!

13 August - 13 September 2021

Unsettled program series

Experience First Nations culture and histories through this immersive events program. Gain a deeper understanding of the groundbreaking Unsettled exhibition through tours, talks, films, workshops, meditation, weaving and much more.

22 May - 10 October

Find out more

Prehistoric Playground

An interactive stomping ground for dinosaur buffs.

Open daily
10am – 4.30pm

Learn more

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.

Permanent exhibition
Open daily
10am - 5pm

Find out more

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.

Permanent exhibition
Open daily
10am - 5pm

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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!

Permanent exhibition
Open daily 10am - 5pm

Find out more

More visitor information

Discover the richness of life, the Earth and culture in Australia and the Pacific at Australia's first museum in Sydney.

What's on calendar
Getting here
Functions and venues

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.

News highlights Listen to our Podcasts Visit the Media Centre

A sulphur-crested cockatoo opening the lid of a household waste bin.

Contact-tracing of Cockatoos reveals spread of foraging culture

It may seem as though the action of a cockatoo flipping a bin-lid is a simple one – but world-first research by a team including Australian Museum Research Institute Ornithology expert Dr Richard Major has revealed that this behaviour is far more significant than first thought.

23 July 2021

The Climate Cure: The inaugural Talbot Oration

Professor Tim Flannery outlines his manifesto for humanity’s survival of the “climate emergency” in the Australian Museum’s (AM) inaugural Talbot Oration.

Live at the AM
3 June 2021

Find out more

Some of the new solar panels on the roof of the Kalkhoven Wing and the aquarium

News from LIRS: Solar power upgrade - towards zero

Each month, a selected blog from Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation is featured at the AM. For this month, we feature the solar power upgrade at LIRS.

19 July 2021

A black-footed rock-wallaby from Townsend Ridges, WA

A classification conundrum or a new subspecies in the making? Perhaps, it’s both.

AMRI scientists have found an unusual population of black-footed rock-wallabies from the central deserts of Western Australia – and surprisingly, the population didn’t seem to belong to any known subspecies…

16 July 2021

From the deck of CSIRO research vessel Investigator.

Voyage to the deep sea – Destination Unknown

Five AMRI scientists voyage into the deep sea on board the CSIRO research vessel Investigator. Between laboratory preparations and star gazing, excitement builds en route to their destination – a destination that is largely unknown. Alice Yan tells us more about the voyage journey.

13 July 2021

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!

Project Discover AIA NSW Architecture Award photo submissions

“A singular civic space” Australian Museum’s Project Discover awarded highest honour at the 2021 AIA NSW Architecture Awards

Project Discover has received three major gongs at the 2021 Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) NSW Architecture Awards, including its top honour, the NSW Architecture Medallion.

8 July 2021

The Upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) swimming in seagrass in Lake Macquarie, NSW in 2019.

Putting things the right way around: Identification and distribution of upside-down jellyfish

An AMF/AMRI Postgraduate award helped PhD student, Claire Rowe, provide answers on why upside-down jellyfish have recently appeared in Lake Macquarie, NSW. The search for answers led her to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts in Queensland.

8 July 2021

Blockbuster international exhibitions announced

As part of a $40M Blockbuster Funding agreement created by the NSW Government, the Australian Museum will be able to host and tour major exhibitions over the next four years including: Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs and SHARKS.

Image of Team Snail on Norfolk Island. Andrew Daly, Isabel Hyman and Mandy Reid on Norfolk Island.

The science behind the stamps: Land snail research on Norfolk Island

Australia Post has just released a new stamp issue featuring two of Norfolk Island’s beautiful endemic land snails – species that are currently the focus of taxonomic and conservation work by AMRI scientists.

6 July 2021

The Great Australian Trilobite

A newly discovered trilobite species, found in the collections of the Australian Museum and Geoscience Australia, is the largest species ever unearthed in Australia. At almost double the size of the previous record holder, it is potentially the third largest trilobite species in the world.

2 July 2021

Where nature, science and 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

Animal factsheets

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

Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Extinct animals

Find out more

Object and species identification

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

Identify an animal
Cultural objects
Fossils and minerals

Ask an expert!

Students from Greenpoint Christian School participate in an Educator led session on Climate Change and Biodiversity.

IBM EdTech Youth Challenge

Join the IBM EdTech Youth Challenge and help impact what matters to you in our world.

Competition dates
Judging criteria
Themes and resources

Find out more

For teachers and students

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

Video conferences
Educator-led tours
Learning journeys

Learn more

AMRI Seminars and Lectures

Leading Australian Museum scientists, affiliates and associates present their latest research and findings.

Seminars
Lectures
Video recordings

Climate change

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

What are we doing?
What is climate change?

Learn more

First Nations

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

Collections
Knowledge
Exhibitions

Find out more

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.

The Mesozoic era
Dinosaur factsheets
Australian dinosaurs

Find out more

Science of life

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

Stages of Decomposition
The Human story
Virtual Autopsy

Learn more

Earth science

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

Shaping the Earth
Minerals
Fossils

Discover more

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

Support the Australian Museum Foundation

The Australian Museum Foundation relies on your donation to help invest in the future of the Australian Museum

Ways to join the Foundation
Our supporters

Donate now

Andrew Trevor-Jones, citizen scientist for Australasian Fishes

Citizen science

See our citizen science projects and discover how you can get involved and contribute!

DigiVol online
FrogID mobile app
Australasian Fishes

Get involved

Australian Museum Eureka Prizes

Rewarding excellence in Australian research & innovation, leadership, science engagement, and school science

Key 2021 Dates
School Science
Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more

Become a Member

With unique benefits, special events and exclusive access, an Australian Museum Membership unlocks even more wonder.

Membership packages
Museum discounts

Join and save today

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

Find out more

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.

Support our research
Help save the reef

Get involved

Awards & Fellowships

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

Postgraduate Awards
Research
Fellowship

Find out more

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

Media Centre

Discover the latest news about the Australian Museum and Australian Museum Research Institute. The Media Centre also provides information, images and expert comment on scientific and cultural research, exhibitions and wider Museum activities.

Media releases
Photography & filming
Media contact

Find out more

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

About the Museum

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

Find out more

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.

Reef research
Planning a trip
Fellowships and grants

Discover more

Australian Museum Archival images 200 Treasures

The Australian Museum’s statement of reflection

Cultural institutions have a responsibility to critically reflect on history and how it influences the present.

By Nathan mudyi Sentance

Museum collections

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

Natural Sciences
Cultural collections
Museum Archives

Learn more

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.

Biodiversity & geodiversity
Collections-based research

Discover more

Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics

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

Aviation wildlife strike
Conservation genomic projects

Learn more

Research and expeditions

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

Lord Howe Island
Solomon Islands
Historic expeditions

Discover more

Future plans

Policies & Reports

Review the Australian Museum's policies and publications.

Strategic plans
Annual reports
Protected loans

Visit the Australian Museum in Sydney

Visit Australia’s first museum in the heart of Sydney to discover Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, our collection of Australian dinosaurs, and the deadliest of down under animals. See you at the Australian Museum.

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