Temporary exhibitions

Modern times: the untold story of modernism in Australia
Discover how modernism transformed life in Australia across five tumultuous decades.

Australian International Design Awards
Annual selection of outstanding products from the 2008 Australian International Design Awards

 

League of Legends:
100 Years of Rugby League in Australia
Celebrates the centenary of rugby league in Australia. Since its beginning as a breakaway competition from rugby union in 1908.

Yinalung yenu: women’s journey
Indigenous women share their stories and reveal the many roles they've played in Australian society, from traditional times to today.

 

Student fashion
See a glimpse of the next generation of Australian fashion designers at the annual Student Fashion exhibition.

 

 

Permanent exhibitions

Boulton & Watt steam engine
The oldest surviving rotative steam engine in the world

Cyberworlds: computers and connections
An interactive exhibition of the past, present and future world of computers

 

Ecologic: Creating a sustainable future
An exhibition about caring for our environment, our economy, tomorrow's children and ourselves - without destroying the Earth.

Experimentations
Explores the principles of temperature, pressure, electricity, magnetism, light, gravity, motion and chemistry

 

Inspired! Design across time
Over 800 objects from the Museum's collection of Australian and international decorative arts and design, from the 1700s to now.

The curious economist: William Stanley Jevons in Sydney
One of 19th century’s brightest men. His interests also give a unique perspective on Sydney life in the 1850s

 

The Kings cinema
A reconstructed 1930s cinema screening films of the period

Locomotive No. 1
Locomotive No. 1 hauled the first train in NSW between Sydney and Parramatta in 1855.

 

Musical instruments: made and played
A selection of instruments from the Museum’s vast collection

'... never done': women's work in the home
The hidden history of the daily work of women around the home

 

Nuclear matters
A highly interactive exhibition exploring the complex world of nuclear science, medicine and nuclear power.

Space
The history of the human desire to travel beyond the Earth’s atmosphere

 

What's in store? Shopping in Australia from 1880 – 1930
Shopping in Australia from small country stores to big city department stores

Transport
Vehicles that have brought people together, from bicycles and horse-drawn carriages to planes, trains and automobiles

 

The steam revolution
Traces the development of steam power from the first experiments of the 1600s to today’s steam turbines

Strasburg Clock
The treasured Strasburg Clock model is back on display following a long period of restoration.

 

Success and innovation: achieving for Australia
Explores the risks and triumphs of Australia’s manufacturing industries