Children's stories, experiences and interpretations feature throughout the National Museum of Australia and young visitors are encouraged to make their own contribution to the displays and exhibitions.
kSpace futureworld
The fun starts at kSpace - Creating a City of the Future, a hands-on interactive exhibit allowing children to contemplate what life will be like in the future and then see it materialise in front of their eyes!
Kids at kSpace can design vehicles and buildings in a futuristic Australian world, with their creations coming alive in a sophisticated 3D Virtual Reality theatre complemented by a vibrant soundtrack.
Our Place
Another highlight is Our Place, a discovery display with four different cubbies:
- a treehouse (complete with python and mysterious footprints)
- a tankstand hideaway (shared with a crocodile)
- a backyard cubby
- a magic wardrobe cubby.
Clues are there so that children can guess what region of Australia the cubby comes from. Some clues are easy, some may never be found!
Story Place
At the second discovery space, inside the bowels of a Boab Tree, is the Story Place. The outside of the tree is lined with the favourite stories of children. Inside is the place for live storytelling, puppets, videos and events related to the Museum's exhibitions and topical events.
This free storytelling takes place at 10am every Wednesday (except school holidays) for under-fives and every Saturday and Sunday and every day of the school holidays, from 11am.
Other activities
In addition to the dedicated children's spaces, children and their carers are encouraged to explore a range of topics on their visitor's journey.
Tracing the many names of the Rainbow Serpent, for example, is a challenge in the First Australians Gallery, and is just one of the 29 riddles that can be found throughout the Museum.
Of the six information kiosks which aid a journey through the Museum, the king hit for kids is in the main Hall, one which allows them to track their favourite objects.
