Something wondrous is coming to Melbourne

New multi-sensory exhibition to be revealed, four billion years in the making.

19 September 2025

Two adults and two children interact with digital touch table and look upwards towards a projected image — ‘When you gain knowledge of something, you actually start to respect it. When you respect it, you learn to love it. And when you love it, you care for it’ - Ray Timbery, Bidjigal/Dharawel man

After more than two years of research, planning, conservation and construction, Our Wondrous Planet – the most expansive science and biodiversity gallery in Museums Victoria history – opens at Melbourne Museum on Saturday, 20 September 2025.

Spanning 1,800 square metres across the first floor, the breathtaking multisensory gallery will showcase four different biomes: reef, rainforest, ice and soil - ecosystems which all play a major role in the vitality of the living, thriving global systems on our intricate planet.

Visitors of all ages will experience the planet’s interconnected systems through interactives and learn about the incredible biodiversity of natural environments around the world. Soar through a lush rainforest canopy, traverse the globe on swirling atmospheric currents, connect to root networks under the soil and come face to face with beautiful creatures preserved in time.

Rare State Collections, story-led multimedia and global First Peoples knowledge combine to envelop audiences in the living wonder of global biodiversity in Our Wondrous Planet. By experiencing life on earth in all its glory, visitors will leave this new permanent gallery empowered to nurture our planet for generations to come.

Reflecting on its ambition, Museums Victoria CEO Director Lynley Crosswell said, ‘we set ourselves a challenge to make a multisensory exhibition that will explore a subject as epic and vast as the natural history of the interconnected planet.

‘Our Wondrous Planet is a place to discover life’s extraordinary spectacle and incredible improbability through compelling stories. This beautiful experience artfully showcases Museums Victoria’s unique collections and expertise that will leave visitors astonished.’

The exploratory Our Family space will showcase hundreds of taxidermied animals – many of which were part of Melbourne Museum’s much loved Wild gallery – and reveal the human connection to all other living things through the ‘tree of life’.

In the reflective First Peoples-led space, Our Roots, visitors will feel a sense of care, reciprocity and connection to Country and nature, while Our Moment is an interactive multi-media space encouraging visitors to work together to address ecological problems facing our planet.

Our Wondrous Planet is a gallery for our times which shows that everything in nature’s dynamic living network is truly intertwined, and every single person can make a difference.

Minister for Creative Industries, Colin Brooks, said: ‘Our Wondrous Planet will be an incredible addition to the Melbourne Museum, an awe-inspiring new attraction for Victoria and a celebration of the wonders of nature. This permanent gallery will educate, entertain and challenge us all to consider our natural world and our place in it.’