Museums in Sydney

Packed with culture and history, Sydney offers some of the world's best museums and galleries. Curating cutting-edge shows and hosting international exhibits, Sydney museums offer diverse stories and expert information from around the country and world. Here we've curated some of the best museums in Sydney for your next educational adventure.

Australian Museum: Located near the Domain is the Australian Museum. Apart from interesting displays for adults, there's plenty of hands-on stuff for the kids. The Australian Museum claims to be one of the best six natural history museums in the world and has the largest and oldest collections of its type in Australia.

Powerhouse Museum: Just outside Sydney's convention and entertainment precinct, near the exhibition centre, is the Powerhouse Museum. Australia's largest museum, it is devoted to science, aviation and the decorative arts. It has a lot of hands-on exhibits which make it a favourite with children, and is open daily.

Garrison Historical and Military Museum: The Garrison Church, near the Argyle Cut (where convicts were forced to build a road by hand cutting through rock), was consecrated in 1844 and is still in use. The Garrison Historical and Military Museum next to the church traces the history of the English soldiers sent to control the convicts, often with great brutality. Sent to serve in the farthest corner of the British Empire as little more than prison guards with little reward and no glory, many of the soldiers were worse off than the convicts under their control.

Australian National Maritime Museum: The Australian National Maritime Museum covers Australian maritime history from the time of sail and includes several floating exhibits moored in the bay, including the naval frigate Vampire.

Sydney Mint Museum: Originally a 'Rum Hospital' for convict patients (colloquially referred to as 'the Sidney Slaughter House' for the number of fatalities within its walls), the Sydney Mint Museum has lived an array of lives, now open to the public to enjoy the heritage architecture and historical exhibits.