Seasonal surprises: Museums Victoria’s spring school holiday lineup is here

27 August 2024

Plant the seed for a lifelong love of STEM learning in the spring school holidays with Museums Victoria. From 23 September to 6 October, our museums will feature one-of-a-kind exhibitions, hands-on workshops and interactive activities that make learning fun and engaging. Featuring a range of family-friendly programs and seasonal highlights, it’s the perfect opportunity to spend quality time together while exploring our past, present and ever-evolving world.

Embark on an epic prehistoric adventure at Melbourne Museum, Australia’s home of dinosaurs. Dino-mite programs and events will take over the museum in an all-out celebration of Victoria the T. rex. Victoria’s days in Victoria are numbered, so don't miss out on this rare chance to come face-to-face with the real fossil skeleton of a 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex alongside one of the world’s most complete Triceratops fossils under one roof. After the school holidays fun is over, you’re invited to bid Victoria farewell at the closing weekend party on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October.

Exclusive to IMAX Melbourne, T.REX 3D is the most dazzling and accurate Tyrannosaurus rex documentary ever made, bringing the iconic dinosaur to vivid life on the Southern Hemisphere’s largest screen. Narrated by Sam Neill, the film transports you to Hell Creek, Montana, to work alongside three kids and a group of palaeontologists as they uncover a remarkable discovery on a dinosaur dig.

Melbourne Museum’s Road to Zero provides a fascinating look at the future of road safety through innovative projections, interactive touchscreens and virtual reality. Whether you’re captivated by dinosaur history or intrigued by future safety innovations, these experiences promise exceptional engagement and education.

At Scienceworks, dive into hands-on discovery with Air Playground’s playful exploration of invisible forces, and don’t miss Science is a Superpower Festival’s live experiments and STEM challenges. Explore Melbourne’s smelly past with the interactive FlushBack AR experience or be dazzled by the Glow Show’s spectacular display of luminosity.

Melbourne Museum

Victoria the T. rex

Closes 20 October 2024 | Daily | Members: $14 / Adults: $32.50 / Children: $18 / Concession: $22.50 / Children under 3: Free | Tickets on sale now at Melbourne Museum and online
Tickets include general admission to Melbourne Museum featuring Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs
Joint tickets to see T.REX 3D at IMAX available online

Exclusive to Melbourne Museum, Victoria the T. rex is a world-class, interactive exhibition starring the real fossil skeleton of a 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus named Victoria. An incredibly unique experience transporting you back 66 million years to the Cretaceous Period, Victoria is the biggest and best example of a real T. rex fossil to ever be shown in Australia.

Don’t miss the Victoria the T. rex Closing Weekend to send Victoria off in style on 19 and 20 October, featuring a dino disco, mask making, Museum Discovery programs and Tiny Tours, all included with museum entry.

Dino Bites

28 June–20 October 2024 | Monday–Friday | 11:00am–2:30pm | $3–$22

Bites so good, even Victoria approves! After visiting Melbourne Museum’s newest carnivore, head to Dino Bites to sate your savoury or sweet cravings. With loaded Angus Beef or chickpea and kale burgers, zesty salads and rich soft serves, Dino Bites also has the kids sorted with Happy Bites lunch boxes. Open daily and located on Lower Ground.

100 Tiny Dinos

29 June–6 October 2024 | Daily | 9:00am–5:00pm | Included with museum entry

It’s time to embark on Din-O-Seek. Tiny dinosaurs have dispersed throughout Melbourne Museum, and your challenge is to locate them. These diminutive creatures are concealed across the museum, making it a true test of patience and observation to find all 100 of them, including the 11 dinosaur sticker clues and the mysterious Crystal T. rex.

T. rex Masks

21 September–4 October 2024 | Daily | 10:00am–3:00pm | Included with museum entry

After exploring the awe-inspiring Victoria the T. rex at Melbourne Museum, Australia’s home of the dinosaurs, create your own 3-D T. rex mask. Fold your mask into shape, decorate it and then chomp, roar and stomp your way across the museum.

Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs

Daily | 9:00am–4:00pm | Included with museum entry

Come face-to-face with one of the most awe-inspiring creatures ever to walk the Earth, the Triceratops.

Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs is an immersive voyage into a lost world, where visitors will explore the landscapes of the Cretaceous and get to know the creatures that thrived there.

Triceratops in Technicolour

23 September–4 October 2024 | Three sessions per day | Member $15 / Children $20

Create a one-of-a-kind augmented reality Triceratops using Procreate on an iPad Pro. Kids will enjoy designing and colouring their digital Triceratops with simple, step-by-step instructions in a fun, collaborative environment. All the creative technology needed is provided, just bring your sense of adventure. Adults are welcome to join in the fun or relax nearby.

Tiny Tours

27 September–4 October 2024 | Fridays | 10:00am–10:45am and 11:30am–12:15pm | Adult $15 / Member child $18 / Children $22 / Concession free | Includes general entry and entry to the Children's Gallery

Facilitated by learning experts and themed around museum objects that connect children to their world, this 45-minute tour created for early years audiences invites guests to wonder, discover and be amazed.

This season we learn how, in a world of giants, it can be the little things that matter the most. Developed for early years audiences 3 to 5 years. Please contact our bookings team for children older than 5 years.

The tour explores three areas of the museum including 600 Million Years, Dinosaur Walk and Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs. Proudly supported by Best Start, Best Life.

IMAX

T.REX 3D

Until 20 December 2024 | Daily | $10–$25

Discover the ultimate T. rex documentary in IMAX 3D this spring, offering unmatched accuracy and breathtaking visuals. Paying homage to renowned specimens, groundbreaking discoveries and iconic cinematic portrayals spanning a century, this film will unveil how scientific advancements continually reshape our perception of this iconic dinosaur. Brace yourself for encounters with Tyrannosaurus’ fellow Cretaceous creatures, including Melbourne Museum’s prized Triceratops, Horridus.

Book through IMAX, or make it the ultimate dino day out with a joint ticket to Melbourne Museum's world-class Victoria the T. rex exhibition here.

Road to Zero

Buckle Up! Your guide to child car seat safety

23 September–5 October 2024 | Daily, excluding 29 September | 10:00am–3:00pm | Free

This holiday program is a unique opportunity for parents and carers to speak with representatives from the Early Learning Association of Australia about choosing and using car seats, when to transition from rearward to forward facing, when to move into a booster and much more.

Children will participate in fun and engaging activities on how to travel safely in cars.

Scienceworks

Air Playground

Until 6 October 2024 | Daily | 10:00am–4:30pm | Adult $25 / Member child $8 / Children $10 / Concession $10 / Senior $20

Don’t miss your chance to be blown away by Air Playground in its final days. Play with air, the amazing invisible elemental force, and experience the science of aerodynamics. Float objects in mid-air, place material in fast moving air-jets, squish a giant inflatable tentacle sculpture with your body, launch balls sky-high with compressed air, craft paper planes to soar and more.

Science is a Superpower Festival

14–15 September 2024 | 10:00am–4:30pm | Adult $15 / Member free / Child free

Developed for primary and early high school students and their families, this inclusive two-day showcase of wondrous scientific discovery is packed with jaw-dropping live science experiments, expert Q&As with Victorian STEM superstars and play-based learning experiences, including real Martian rovers, the soothing science of meditation and special interactives, workshops and activities.

Curiosity is a Superpower

7 September 2024 | 10:30am–3:00pm | Member child $45 / Child $52 / Non-participating adult free / Non-participating concession free

Explore the universe and ask the big questions in this STEM class about astronomy and innovation in science, for girls and non-binary people aged 10 to 12.

How can humans explore the universe? This half day STEM workshop takes on themes of design and innovation in astronomy and space science. During the workshop, participants will experience the wonder of the Melbourne Planetarium, meet with a female scientist, and be challenged to design a building suitable to allow humans to live on the moon.

Kindness is a Superpower

5 October 2024 | 10:00am–3:00pm | Member child $45 / Child $52 / Non-participating adult free / Non-participating concession free

Program a robot and see how science can change the world in this STEM class about future technology and sustainability, for girls and non-binary people aged 10 to 12.

Explore the theme of connection and kindness in this half day STEM workshop where we use science to build a better future.

Participants will meet an invertebrate researcher to learn about surprising relationships in the natural world, imagine the future in the Think Ahead gallery, then take part in a STEM challenge to design and program a helpful robot.

Robots and Coding

19 October, 9 November 2024 | 1:30pm–3:00pm | Adult $15 / Member child $28 / Child $35 / Member / Concession free

Learn how to code a robot in this 90-minute hands-on workshop.

Discover the mechanics behind robot mobility, environmental perception and cognitive processes while guiding an mBot robot through various obstacles. This immersive workshop is tailored for intergenerational collaborative work.

Science Studio

12 October, 2 November, 23 November 2024 | 1:30pm–2:45pm | Adult free / Member child $28 / Child $35 / Concession free

Together, families explore concepts of static electricity, forces, sound and density through active experimentation and discovery. Using everyday materials, this workshop is designed to make science fun and accessible to kids and families. The experiments are easy to replicate, and attendees will receive a take-home booklet filled with activity add-ons and extra experiments, encouraging learners to continue their scientific inquiry and exploration beyond the museum walls.

Please note children must be accompanied by a supervising adult.

The Glow Show

Daily | 12:00pm, 1:00pm, 2:00pm, 3:00pm | Adult $25 / Member child $8 / Child / Concession $10 / Senior $20

Take a seat in our Lightning Theatre and be mesmerised by this visually stunning 30-minute live science show.

Delve into the science of glow and explore the fascinating processes behind luminosity, including the many ways a glow can be produced. Discover the science of fluorescence, how animals can appear bright at night and the brilliant, coloured effects of using different materials to make light.

Weekend Amphitheatre Show

Daily | 12:00pm and 2:00pm | Included with Scienceworks entry

Discover the wonders of air in our free 20-minute live science show. Uncover the secrets of invisible forces, witness levitation demonstrations, and explore the power of air pressure through experiments. Our interactive experiments make the invisible forces of air come to life, leaving you gobsmacked by the wonders that surround us. Fun for all ages, this show is the perfect blend of entertainment and science. Get in early to claim your front-row seats for this onsite spectacle.

Planetarium Shows

Daily | 11:00am–4:00pm | $10 Child and concession / $8 Members

Book into the Planetarium and enjoy an out-of-this-world show exclusive to Scienceworks.

11:00am – Tycho Goes to Mars
12:00pm – Solar System Adventures: Where’s the Water?
1:00pm – Tilt
2:00pm – Solar System Adventures: Where’s the Water?
3:00pm – Starlight
4:00pm – Dark Side of the Moon

FlushBack

Daily | 1:00pm and 2:00pm | General public $3 + museum entry ($0 to $15) / Members $2 + museum entry ($0 to $15) / Extra iPad $5 / Children under 3 free

Scienceworks’ award-winning AR adventure, supported by Melbourne Water, brings to life the heritage-listed Spotswood Pumping Station.

Built in 1942 to deal with Melbourne’s growing (and very smelly) sewage problem, the Pumping Station is considered an extraordinary feature of 19th century engineering and holds a fascinating – and gross – history.

In FlushBack, you’ll travel back in time to complete challenges based on real historical events ensuring the Pumping Station continues to operate so Melbourne doesn’t turn back into ‘Smellbourne’.