Nature's night-time secrets come out of the shadows at Melbourne Museum

31 May 2022

Grounded by First Peoples practices of embodied learning, Tyama is an immersive exhibition experience that explores stories inspired by First Peoples knowledge, the environment and Museums Victoria’s collections.

Melbourne Museum’s 1,000m² Touring Hall space will transform into Victoria’s nocturnal world with large-scale multimedia projections, objects from Museums Victoria’s collections, soundscapes and visually stunning imagery that reimagines how visitors engage and interact with the natural world and the museum experience.

Tyama (Chah-muh) is the Keerray Woorroong language verb ‘to know’. It is about knowing, not just with our minds, but with our whole being, and is an insight into the way First Peoples of Australia relate to ‘Belonging’ in the natural world. It is by engaging closely with all our senses, that we can embody these learnings and understand our place in the world.

Developed in collaboration with Keerray Woorroong citizens Yoolongteeyt Dr Vicki Couzens and Yaraan Bundle, Tyama incorporates First Peoples storytelling to convey the inextricable link between land, language, and culture.

Through the power of storytelling, Tyama blends the physical and digital to create an unmissable museum experience that reawakens our connection to the natural world.

With cutting-edge interactive digital technology, visitors will activate and control the night-time worlds, animating spaces and revealing stories as they go, from the perspective of the creatures we share the sky, sea and land with.

Using 360-degree interactive projections and otherworldly soundscapes, visitors will be immersed in a full-bodied and multisensory environment, taking an active part in their own experience with opportunities to play and interact, and discover objects from the museum collection, or simply stand back in awe.

Danny Pearson, Minister for Creative Industries, said, ‘First Peoples have a deep and profound understanding of the Victorian environment, developed over tens of thousands of years. Tyama delves into that knowledge and explores humanity’s place within the natural world.’

'Combining ancient learnings with the latest technology, this exhibition creates an engaging and educational experience that will transport and delight visitors.’

Lynley Crosswell, CEO & Director, Museums Victoria, said, ‘A transformational museum experience, converging presentation of collections with First People’s knowledge systems and leading-edge digital immersion, Tyama lets visitors experience the wonder of the natural world through extraordinary multisensory digital environments that bring to life the rich cultural and scientific life of Victoria.’

‘Developed in close collaboration with Yoolongteeyt Dr Vicki Couzens and Yaraan Bundle, First Peoples storytelling and traditional ways of learning are at the heart of Tyama, inspiring us to learn about the connections between all living things that create the fabric of our world.’

Yoolongteeyt Dr Vicki Couzens, said, 'Tyama is a chance for people to experience Indigenous ways of Being, Knowing and Doing and take their place as a Guardian of Country. By journeying through the perspectives of animals we share Country with, we re-awaken our senses and are reminded that every animal has something to teach us, a story to tell.’

‘I hope people are inspired to realise that every rock, insect, plant, person has a place of Belonging in nature. That being a part of Country is being a part of one great family and we all have a responsibility to care for our family, our Country.’

Tyama joins the new exhibition opened in March 2022 Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs and the recently announced Gandel Gondwana Garden as one of three major projects that deliver world-leading experiences at Melbourne Museum for audiences from across Victoria and beyond.

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