If you would like to make something interesting with our collection dataset you can download the latest version of our database as a zipped tab separated text file.
The downloadable version of the database is licensed under CC-BY-SA Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike and contains only the database fields that are released under that license. These fields are object title, object number, object description as well as temporal, spatial and dimension details. It also contains a persistent URL for each record.
The file is automatically generated each time we update our database so please ensure that anything you make with the dataset clearly identifies when the data was downloaded if you do not plan to update it regularly.
Please also understand that the data contained within is covered by the same caveat that the our site operates under - 'Research and documentation, both textual and photographic, of the Museum's collection is a continuous process and so from time to time the information for an object may be out of date or simply reflect the knowledge available at the time of writing.'
Please do not permalink the file itself - the filename will change from time to time. Please link to this page URL instead.
The file will be quite large and because of its size may not open in consumer-grade spreadsheet tools. It is primarily aimed at programmable usage.
Download: phm_collection_oct09.zip
Important note: As per the conditions of the CC-BY-SA license you must acknowledge the source of this data (Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia) and the date of access if you use it in any published form including a mashup. For further details on the license please see Creative Commons.
If you do use this data for a project then we'd love to know what you've done with it. Not only are we very interested in what you can do with this data, it also helps us justify the release of future data in this manner.
Tell us via the Museum's Contact Us form.