- by Jono Lineen
- 28 October 2021
For visitors, opening day of a new exhibition is exciting, but for Museum staff it can also bring a welcome sigh of relief as a project they have been working on for months, or years, is finally released to the world.
For curators, conservators and producers it’s the months leading up to an opening that are often the most exciting, as well as the most stressful. Those months before the big reveal are full of trials and testing. All the ideas they have been planning and building towards start to take shape.
So let's look at how the new Tim and Gina Fairfax Discovery Centre is shaping up in the weeks leading up to its grand opening in 2022. For over four years now we've been working towards creating this wonderful children’s space.
Wambumwuny area
The new Wambumwuny area is currently still a bare space but by the opening it will be vibrant and engaging. We can’t wait to install the kangaroo pods where kids can crawl in, listen to the story of how the kangaroo got her pouch and relax as if they were actually inside a pouch.
Chris the sheep’s area
In Chris the sheep's area we feature the story of the world’s woolliest sheep. Here kids will be able to make their way through a maze that helps them imagine what it's like for sheep as they move through a mustering area towards a shearing shed. As you can see, the maze is almost complete.
Trim the cat area
Rigging styled on a 18th-century sailing ship will span the Trim the cat space and help kids understand how Trim felt as he made his way around the HMS Investigator. Trim was Captain Matthew Flinder’s cat and was the first feline to circumnavigate Australia on board Flinder’s ship.
Billabong area
In the Billabong area kids can dress up as fantastical animals and imagine how a bunyip feels being the only one of its kind. As you can see, there is still a lot of work to be done.
The Discovery Centre will feature over 100 objects from the National Historical Collection that relate to the themes of creativity, change and collecting. We hope they will spark conversations between generations that will help keep history alive.
We are so excited to open the new Tim and Gina Fairfax Discovery Centre and hope to see you there in 2022.
In our collection
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