Western Australian Museum

As a foreigner, I breezed past the natural history exhibits but was *completely* struck by the Katta Dijnoong permanent exhibit – an examination of Aboriginal peoples in WA past and present. The details and stories particularly of white Australian efforts in the 1900s to exploit and eradicate Aboriginal culture in the form of the Stolen Generations blew my mind; as an American, it wasn’t an aspect of history I was very familiar with. The presentation of these facts and stories was excellent, without sugar-​coating. I’ve been living in Perth for four months now and this was the clearest, most shocking and moving portrayal of historical atrocities committed against Aboriginals I have experienced. I think more people should hear the story and this exhibit is a great way to start.

Went to the Dinosaur discovery with the little brother on Saturday. The enrty price was pretty decent (cheaper than the movies). I have to say though I was quite disappointed in the display. I was expecting it to be a lot bigger and more interactive! We were able to walk through the area and see all the dinosaurs in under 20 mins. The displays were informative but I think a little to wordy for young kids to understand.
They had a sand pit outside where kids could dig for bones. Great for the little ones, but I think they needed more engaging activites for older kids (my little brother is 10 and the novelty of sand pits has worn off on him)
I’d love to go back and see the whole museum. I’ve heard great things.

Lovely building let’s start there.
Very friendly staff more than happy to answer all questions great and small.
What impressed me was the WA museum section dedicated to WA aboriginal history and how it covers it all, no sugar coating there.
There is a terrific taxidermy section, incredible bison but I was more fond of the butterfly collection and how impressive that was, tucked away down a narrow hall adjacent to the stuff animals hall. The preserved tassie tiger is something special too.
There is a very detailed geology area with plenty of rocks and crystals of different colours, shapes and sizes. The argyle diamond display has some great information about how diamonds get their colour and there are lots of those shiny and sparkly stones on display.
If you are a chemistry fan then the periodic table with actual elements is for you, if it’s possible to capture the element in small jar then it is on display.
It’s free entry so if you are in the area and need to pass an hour or two wander through and enjoy some great displays

Of all the Perth landmarks, the WA Museum has to be the one I love the most. I remember when I was a little girl visiting the museum riding the lift to all the floors and having my mind blown at the blue whale skeleton. It was massive and although I had seen humpback whales up close, this blew me away. I kept walking back and forth looking up at the ceiling mouth open.
Fast forward a couple of decades we have the current WA Museum site and I’ve always visited even though I’ve seen the exhibits several times before. I can’t get enough of it. I am known to always take a visitor to Perth there. Where else can I show off the scientific, social, and cultural wonder of WA in one building?
The WA Museum pays homage to mining. Let’s get this one out of the way first. There is a small mineralogical display including, moon rock, meteorites, diamond, gold, and so much more. My favourite display in this section is the fluorescent rock sectioned off in here where you enter and can press a button and the lights dim with black lights lighting up the rocks before your very eyes.
Just round the corner are the dinosaur and megafauna skeletons on display and on your way out, there is also a, (naturally), mummified Tasmanian Tiger on display. It was found in one of the caves under the Nullabor.
Within the WA Museum is the newly refurbished Hacket Hall. This used to be the State Library. I love the tin foil roof and the wooden floorboards. I always find myself wishing that the empty bookshelves would be filled with books. On the ground floor is a history of WA in the WA Land and People display.
The taxidermy display includes birds and mammals, and not just Australian ones. There is a bison present which always stops the little ones. A Canadian friend told me that the real ones these days are MUCH bigger.
Just next to the mammals gallery there is a skinny hallway with a butterfly display. It’s stunning to see these specimens under light showing their glittering scales.
While much of the WA Museum has a «Look, but don’t touch» policy, if you head into the Discovery Centre there are drawers that can be opened to look at an array of exhibits from spiders to household items from different eras. In one corner there are live exhibits in the shape of native frogs. There are also skeletons and fossils on display. While this is aimed at children, this is also a space for adults. I’ve come in here more than once to have a look. If you’ve ever needed something identified, this is the first place to stop off at to ask for help.
Western Australian Aboriginal history and culture has been dedicated an entire gallery. Nothing is sugar coated here. Their story is told and the brutality that they suffered in the past is portrayed. This is part of Western Australian history and the WA Museum has worked with Aboriginal people to bring the displays and stories for everyone to explore. This is a permanent gallery and everyone should visit this gallery.
Within the Old Gaol is now Muse Café, a café that does high tea as well as a regular café menu. What I love about this café is that it’s away from the busyness of Perth and it’s tranquil. Their menu also changes with specials that align with major exhibitions on show in the museum.
In addition to all this the WA Museum brings some blockbuster exhibitions to Perth. A Day in Pompeii, Wedding Dress Glamour, Extraordinary Tales, and now the Secrets of the Afterlife to name a few. These do require ticketing and are $ 20 at most for a full priced adult ticket. I’m often volunteering at these. That’s how much I love this place.

We hosted our zero2hero charity function here this year and the staff were great to work with. The venue was even better. Could not have asked for more.

If you’re in a standing-​around-​looking-​at-​things kind of mood, the WA Museum is a great place to go. It’s especially great if you’ve got a child to take with you. There’s all kinds of great things to learn about and enjoy; my personal favourite is the long butterfly room. There’s also a pretty kickass taxidermy room and a smashing coral exhibit. The kids’ room is well worth visiting if you’ve got a child with you, as they will have a blast looking at the collection of (living) frogs and pulling out drawers to see spiders, bones and artifacts. At the other end of the scale, the exhibit on the state’s aboriginal history upstairs, is sobering as it’s quite frank about the mistreatment and oppression that has gone on here in recent history; if you have any gaps in your knowledge, it is well worth a visit.
The WA museum is quite active in bringing in exhibits from elsewhere and while they’re not always to my taste (Camilla’s right, the recent UK exhibit was crappy and smacked of imperialism), occasionally they’ll do a cracker like the amazing Nick Cave exhibition and the in depth exploration of WA contemporary music scene a few years ago.
Out the front of the building is a playground full of percussive instruments for kids to play on; this is a lot of fun and can be the highlight of a trip here with kids. Given that entry to the museum is by donation (even when they have special exhibits), this is a great value as a day out and well worth exploring.

A few weeks ago I spotted a bus stop decked out to look like a chaise lounge fit for royalty. Turns out that Transperth had not done an about-​face and now considered it’s passengers worthy of regal treatment after providing us with half assed transport, but the velveteen bus seat was in fact an advertisement for an exhibition at the WA museum. Spurred on by their creative marketing, I took full advantage of their free exhibition and visited the joint for some learning. The exhibition, which had come all the way from England, was an exhibit of royal totems and paraphernalia. Looking at a King’s used cutlery didn’t really make for an exciting day, so I checked out the rest of the museum instead. They’ve got skeletons! Of dinosaurs! Stuffed bears! Butterflies! Shiver me timbers!
Needless to say, the whole exeperinece wasn’t too riveting and took about half an hour. Oh well, at least they had air conditioning.

The WA Museum offers hours of fun for the whole family.
Part of the Perth Cultural Centre and easy walking distance from Perth train station, the WA Museum showcases truly extraordinary exhibits and is free to visit (though a small donation is recommended).
You can learn about dinosaurs, Aborigine culture, mega flora and fauna (amongst many other things) and interact with exhibits. There’s even a Discovery Centre for children where they can get hands-​on examining collections, and do all sorts of activities.
The WA Musuem is a great place to visit anytime you’re in Perth.

I used to visit the Western Australian Museum as a child with my mother, and it always fascinated me so much.
Now that the museum has been moved into a newer building which has just had some more work done, it still fascinates me.
Whether you are interested in animals, fossils, or our planet, you will spend hours reading and interacting with the exhibits.
When there are special exhibits on, your money will be well spent. The Pompeii exhibit was amazing, as was the AC DC one, although i would never actually admit it!
There is a café on site as well, because after walking around visiting the exhibits and the surrounding buildings, you can sure work up an appetite.