Melbourne Museum

Melbourne Museum is a building in Carlton Gardens that rises over multiple floors, with sections devoted to natural science, the heritage of First Peoples, and the story of this region. Galleries open onto one another through wide corridors and tall spaces filled with exhibits ranging from fossils to everyday objects.

The institution welcomed its first visitors in 2000, consolidating collections kept in different locations since the middle of the 19th century. This move brought together objects previously scattered between the State Library building and other sites across the city.

Inside the complex, galleries dedicated to the region's First Peoples show how communities continue to maintain ties to the land through ceremony and storytelling. Visitors often encounter recordings, objects and artworks that reflect daily life and spiritual practice in ways that go beyond museum conventions.

Visitors entering with children under 17 find that permanent exhibitions are open to them without charge, though adults purchase entry passes at the front desk. The layout works best when approached floor by floor, following signs that guide you through different thematic sections.

Suspended from the ceiling in Forest Gallery hangs the full skeleton of a blue whale stretching 25 meters (82 feet) from head to tail. Seeing this enormous creature overhead gives a sense of ocean scale inside a closed space, with visitors often pausing to take in its size from different angles.

Location: City of Melbourne

Inception: 1854

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible

Operator: Museum Victoria

Address: 11 Nicholson St, Carlton VIC 3053

Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00-17:00,09:00-17:00

Phone: +61383417777

Website: https://museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum

GPS coordinates: -37.80334,144.97144

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:26