What's On
Special event

Halloween at the Museum

Friday 31 October

We're bringing Halloween back! This year we will have even more family friendly adventures and adult only escapades to ensure that no matter who you are, the Museum is your number one Halloween dress-up party destination.

Couldn't make it last year? Unsure what a Halloween at the Museum is like? It's our goal to surpass your wildest imaginings by transforming the museum into a Halloween wonderland. For a small taste of all we have planned, watch this compilation of last year's event and check out the first release of our Halloween program.

There's something for everyone – including Halloween music, activities, entertainment, spooky spaces, terrifying talks, and of course, themed food and drinks.

Tickets

Adult $39

Child U3 $10

Child $24.90

Concession Benefit $36

Member Adult $33

Member Child $8

Member Child Under 3 $8

Member Child $19

Member Concession $30

Date & Time

Friday 31 October

PROGRAM

Kids Monster Halloween Disco 

7 to 11pm | Children’s Gallery Big Box

Dance like a monster under the mirror ball in the Kids Halloween Disco, with spooky songs all night to shake your claws and tails too. 

Campfire Stories

7 to 11pm | Dynamic Earth Gallery

People enjoying a scary campfire story during Halloween at the Museum.
We asked google how to make a campfire indoors. It gave us 40 million matches.

Gather ‘round the campfire for spooky science stories of the supernatural world as we spin enchanting tales of creatures that are stranger than fiction and things that go bump in the night.

New stories start every 15 minutes.

Spooky Science

7 to 10:30pm | Children’s Gallery Garden

Families dressed in Halloween costumes learn about spooky science at a science show during Halloween at the Museum.

Mad science meets frightening physics at our Scienceworks side stage with tricks and treats aplenty from flowing slime to fountains of fog and hair-raising surprises galore.

Frog Fog Garden

7pm to Midnight | Children’s Gallery Garden

Boink Boink, Ribbet Ribbet, creep through the fog and see if you can find the hidden frog skeletons in the Frog Fog Garden!  

Face Painting

8 to 10pm | Galleria

A little girl smiles with enjoyment as she is shown the painted scorpion on her face during Halloween at the Museum.

Join in the Halloween face painting experience with our amazing Halloween witches.

Snake Pit

7 to 11pm | Children’s Gallery

Beware Snakes!! Wrestle with the fluffy snakes in the snake pit. Will you survive the cuddle attack by our silly serpents? 

Adult Only Zone

8pm to midnight | Treetops | Adults Only

A woman wearing a witch costume holding a cocktail with candy teeth impaled on straws.
Sink your teeth into our amazing cocktails!

This is an adults only zone where you can grab a drink at the tavern, watch the kraken, dig into a handful of gold coins, try a slime shot, be horrified by terrifying science, sit in the mist and watch a horror movie marathon, or have your tarot read! More details coming soon.

Horror Science for Grown Ups

8 to 11pm | Treetops | Adults Only

A supernatural science show during Halloween at the Museum.

Horror Science and frightening physics at our Scienceworks adults only science show goosebumps, screams and adult only silly jokes!

Haunted Cinema

7pm to Midnight | Melbourne Story

People dressed in Halloween costumes outside the Melbourne story cinema during Halloween at the Museum.

Step into a haunted 1920’s cinema for a spooky sampling of curated clips and trailers presented by The Melbourne Horror Film Society. From 6:30 to 8:30pm, enjoy family-friendly horror clips from around the world. As night falls, dive into a darker side with back-to-back horror trailers from B grade gorefests to cult classics. 

The Ghost Story Stage

7pm to Midnight | Melbourne Story

A museum tour guide dressed as a bloody butcher talks to audiences about horrible histories during Halloween at the Museum.

The Ghost story stage is running all night with horrible history mysteries, ghostly and gory tales from paranormal Melbourne, terrifying collection objects and even a little Viking mythology!  

Tales as old as time in the haunted halls of Melbourne Museum on a paranormal stage, join us for adventures through space and time. The Ghost Story stage will have new stories every 15 mins all night! Meet you ghostly host for stories with the most!

  • Shadows of Little Lon
  • Creepy Collecting
  • The Black Cat Nine Lives
  • The Stagecoach Murders
  • The Trouble at the Asylum
  • The Ghost in the Theatre
  • The Tavern Travesty
  • The Ghoul in the Goal
  • Spooky Spiritualism
  • The Wild Hunt - Nordic Ghost Tale
  • The Zombie Vikings – Nordic Ghost Tale
  • The Vikings Lonely Ghost – Nordic Ghost Tale

The Vampire Squid from Hell

7 to 10pm | Science and Life Gallery

A museum expert crouches behind a wall of marine animal collections preserved in jars during Halloween at the Museum.

Come eye-to-eye with creatures that lurk in the ocean's shadows and inspired the scariest name of the marine world - Vampyroteuthis infernalis - the vampire squid from hell. Presented by Julian Finn, Museums Victoria’s Senior Curator of Marine Invertebrates.

Ultraviolet Underworld

7 to 10pm | Science and Life Gallery

Venture into an eerie ultraviolet underground world of precious gemstones and discover the magic of fluorescence with minerals and precious gemstones from opals to sapphires that glow in the dark with Oskar Lindenmayer, Collection Manager, Geosciences and Dermot Henry, Head of Sciences, Museums Victoria Research Institute.

Zombie worms and other haunting marine life

7 to 10pm | Science and Life Gallery

A museum expert stands beside marine collection items in jars during Halloween at the Museum.

Be haunted by bone-eating zombie worms, volcanic shark graveyards, and other daunting marine creatures that have inspired science fiction writers and movies from ancient oceans to today.

Spooky skull projections

7 to 10pm | Science and Life Gallery

What do monitor lizards, and the Stegosaurus have in common? They both have osteoderms. Discover the tree of vertebrate life with real micro computed tomography µCT-scans, peer inside the skin bones to see what is hiding underneath with Roy Ebel, Museums Victoria Research Institute

Spinning webs and spider traps

7 to 10pm | Science and Life Gallery

Children being show live exhibits during Halloween at the Museum.

Unravel the secrets of spiderwebs from Orb Weavers, Huntsman, Funnel webs to Tarantulas, discover how these master architects spin their intricate traps.

Mysterious Minibeasts

7 to 10pm | Science and Life Gallery

How big can a spider really get? What invertebrates glow in the dark? Meet Simon Hinkley, Collection Manager, Terrestrial Invertebrates and Claire Keely Collection Manager, Insects and Spiders as they answer these and many other spooky questions!

Fangs, Frogs and Frights

7 to 10pm | Science and Life Gallery

Children being shown creepy crawly collections by Museums Victoria experts during Halloween at the Museum.

Learn about the razor-sharp teeth and blood sucking habits of the real-life vampires of the animal kingdom, discover scary skeleton facts with Dr Kylea Clarke, Museums Victoria’s Collection Manager of Terrestrial Vertebrates, Karen Roberts Collection Manager, Vertebrates, Katie Date Collection Manager, Terrestrial Vertebrates and Elise Ireland, Information Officer Sciences

Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard

7pm to Midnight | Melbourne Story Gallery

Assorted treasures discovered in the Galloway Hoard.

This premium touring exhibition is included with all Halloween tickets.

Travel back in time to early medieval Scotland and discover the unique and mysterious treasure trove of Viking-age treasures, from jewellery, personal heirlooms and one-of-a-kind objects from as far away as Central Asia.

The Galloway Hoard is considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the century.

The Bone Zone

7pm to Midnight | Science & Life Gallery

A small child walks along the main thoroughfare of Dinosaur Walk exhibition during Halloween at the Museum.

Walk past the skeletons of 17 prehistoric animals throughout Dinosaur Walk. Discover the origin of life in Victoria told through fossils, models, animatronics and animations. See a world of insects, spiders, snails and other invertebrates in Bugs Alive! and immerse yourself in the lost world of the Cretaceous in Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs.

Children’s Gallery

7pm to 10pm | Just for Kids
10pm to Midnight | Everyone Welcome

Families entering Halloween at the Museum via a boulevard of trees and puppeteers animating giant bees above their heads.

For one night only, children of all ages can explore the Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery, including a spooky Scienceworks side stage packed with mad science and frightening physics, the Fog Frog Garden, The Kids Monster Halloween Disco and more.

Ghastly Gondwana Garden

7pm to 10pm | Just for Kids
10pm to Midnight | Everyone Welcome

Explore Victoria’s ancient landscapes and learn about creatures that once walked this land, from dinosaurs and megafauna and touch replicas of the bones, teeth and claws of ancient creatures.

Mystical Melbourne

7 to Midnight | Melbourne Story

A man dressed as a member of the clergy outside little Landsdale exhibition during Halloween at the Museum.

Journey through Melbourne’s past and present, exploring haunted tales, supernatural legends, and the criminal events that have shaped Melbourne’s hidden history.

Vampires Bite Cafe | Main Cafe 

Munch into a meal in the vampires lair!

Two vampires enjoying sundae ice-creams together.
Get a taste of Sundae this Thursday.

vgn=Vegan   v=Vegetarian   gf=Gluten Free

Savoury 

Frankenstein’s fries, chili beef, cheese sauce, sour cream, monster’s mashed avo (gf) 17
Char-spook-ery and cheese 22 
Beef Ghoul-ash with monster mash (gf) 17 
Devilish chicken burger, ghost pepper hot sauce, charcoal bun 17
Pumpkin pizza, trick or treat candy beets, feta, olives (v, vgn option) 18 
Vampire bites pack, chicken nuggets, ghoulish cupcake, harvest vegies and hummus 18 
Hot Chips 12


Sweet & Snacks 

Mummified chocolate brownie (gf, v) 7 
Jack O’Lantern cupcake 8
Halloween Cookies
Zombie Finger Lollipops
Chocolate Pumpkins 10


Ribbit Ribbit Frog Cart | Children's Gallery (Kids only)

Wibbily Wobbly Jelly in my belly at the Frog Cart!

Frog in a Pond Green Jelly 5

Scary Arms Bar | Main Dance Floor

A special drink delivered by a surprise scary arm - which one will you get?

Drinks

Hard Rated Alcoholic Lemonade 375ml 16 
Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin & Tonic 250ml 17 
Smirnoff Double Black 300ml 16
Furphy Original 11 
Great Northern Super Crisp 10
Non-Alcoholic Soft drinks – Pepsi, Solo, Lemonade, Pepsi Max
Water – Cool Ridge Sparkling 500ml, Cool Ridge Still 600ml 5 

The Treasure Tavern | Treetops (Adults only)

Grab a spooky spirit, a creepy cocktail or a slime shot at the adults only tavern!

Cocktails

Hocus Pocus Gin, blue curacao, lemon juice, soda water, purple dust 20 
Vlad’s Blood Red Negoni Campari, gin, rosso vermouth, blood packs (red ice cubes) 22
Vampire Kiss (non-alcoholic) Lyre’s Dry London spirit, grape juice, soda water, candy teeth 18
Slime Shot 16

Drinks

Morgans Bay Sparkling Cuvee 12 
Morgans Bay Sauvignon Blanc 12 
Morgans Bay Shiraz Cabernet 12 
Mulled Wine 15 
Beer & Cider Furphy Original 11 
Great Northern Super Crisp 10 
James Boags Premium Light 9 
Heaps Normal Quiet XPA (zero alcohol) 9
Little Creatures Apple Cider 11 
Ready to Drink Hard Rated Alcoholic Lemonade 375ml 16 
Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin & Tonic 250ml 17 
Smirnoff Double Black 300ml 16 
Non-Alcoholic Soft drinks – Pepsi, Solo, Lemonade, Pepsi Max
Water – Cool Ridge Sparkling 500ml, Cool Ridge Still 600ml
Hot Chocolate  6

Snacks

Salted Nuts
Pretzels 7
Bloody Popcorn 10

Glow in the Dark Bar | Main Foyer

Under the black light things glow and shine - will you dare to try the fluorescing food or glowing goo? More menu items coming soon! 

Fluro Treats 6

Special tickets

We have Early Entry Family tickets for those looking for a scare-free fast track to all our family friendly adventures and the Full Moon Package for the ultimate Halloween fans.

ACCESSIBILITY

Please view our accessibility page for general information. Contact our team on 13 11 02 or email us at [email protected] to discuss how we can support your visit.

Join the mailing list and get the latest from our Museums direct to your inbox.