Play

Are you ready for more hands-on Museum fun from the comfort of your home? Explore our range of family-friendly activities inspired by items in Museums Victoria's collections and exhibitions!

Can you see sound?

Can we see sound? Check out our newest tesla coils then join us for a simple experiment to see sound at home!

Sensory play with playdough

Join us in learning how to make your very own playdough! Be inspired to experiment with some sensory activities for your little ones.

Constellations in a cup

Hold a galaxy in your hands, with this constellation in a cup activity. Ask a grown up for some help, so you can enjoy the projections together!

Hidden messages in colour

Send a top-secret message using coloured pencils and cellophane!

The blackest black

Learn about one of the darkest human-made materials and how animals use black to their advantage in nature.

Changing colour with cabbage

Create a colour-changing liquid and gorgeous artworks with some cabbage and simple household items.

Make rainbows into energy!

Physicist and Chemist Dr Kyra Schwarz helps us learn about how she uses rainbows in her research.

Why are bubbles colourful?

Do you love watching the swirling colours in a bubble? Learn about where these colours come from with this simple activity.

Colour being absorbed into a paper towel

Let's make a rainbow

There is more than meets the eye with this experiment. Use some household items to pull apart colour and create some gorgeous art.

Make a model of the lung

Learn how to use household items to make a model of how your lungs work!

Woman wearing orange overalls superimposed over astronauts in a spaceship

Hello from the moon!

Have you ever dreamed of being an astronaut, blasting off into space?

MV researchers camped at Native Dog Flat, with night sky capturing The Milky Way Galaxy.

Stargazing in winter

Look up at the night sky with us this winter!

Yellow and pink swirl of star light

Painting a nebula

Massive, glowing, colourful space clouds! Bring these stunning nebulae into your home with a few art supplies.

Night skies with outlined Boorong Constellations

First Peoples in Australia Astronomy

Let’s explore a few of the constellations of the Boorong people of North West Victoria!

illustrations of the solar system

The Solar System in your pocket

This activity will have you creating a paper model of the distances in our Solar System that you can pop in your pocket.

Biscuits with black icing with swirls of colour

Make a galaxy biscuit

Decorate biscuits taking inspiration from the Milky Way.

Make your own ball run!

Why does an apple fall from a tree? Or a spin top spin? Or a ball roll or bounce?

Let's make slime!

Icky yucky sticky disgusting slime! Learn how to use household items to make your own.

Child holding a magnifying glass up to their face

How to make a magnifying glass

Have you ever wondered why things look bigger when you look at them with a magnifying glass? We will show you how to make your own.

Ice

Make it melt

Have you been grabbing treats and ingredients out of the freezer? While you’re there why not grab some ice to experiment with?

Why is cake fluffy?

Have you been helping with baking lately? The kitchen is like a home science laboratory where experimentation can happen.

Magnets

Make magnets at home

Are magnets natural or made by humans? Simon answers this question as he explores some different types of magnets, including lodestones and electromagnets.

Getting sticky with static

Have you ever received a static shock from jumping on a trampoline? Or touching a door knob? Experiment with static electricity at home!

Scienceworks Lightning Room demonstration with young audience.

Mini lightning and thunder

Lightning strikes around the world about 100 times a second. What is lightning, and where does it come from?

Let’s make bubbles

What’s more fun than bubbles? Learn how to use household items to create your own bubble wand!

Port Phillip Bay (?), Victoria, circa 1925.

Make a floating device

Design, build and test your own floating device using creativity, problem solving and a few things from around your house.

A close up view of the moon sculpture, showing craters and other geological features present on the moon surface.

Find the full moon

Full moons only happen once every month! Tonight, why not have a go at our moon activity?

Paper aeroplanes

What makes a paper plane fly better than a piece of paper?

Air cannon instructions

How to make an air cannon

Can you move things with air? Learn how to use household items to create your own air cannon!

Puzzles

We’ve turned some of our much loved collection items and galleries into online puzzles.

Let's make a whirlygig

Make your own whirylgig that spins like a helicopter as it floats through the air.

Let’s make  slimier  slime

Squidgy, stretchy, gooey, slimier slime! Learn how to use kitchen items to make your own psyllium husk slime. 

Skynotes

Our monthly newsletter on where to find the brightest planets in Melbourne.

Why does my shadow change?

Have you ever wondered why shadows can be different shapes or change size during the day? 

The secret of colours

Did you know that you can hide messages in plain sight using colour science?

Why can't you see in the dark

Have you ever wondered why you can't see in the dark? You can use a pinhole camera to show how your eyes work.

The Fact Detectives

From our other museums

Booty and the Beast

How well do you know your animal backsides? Take our quiz to see if you can match them all!

Meteor shower.

Meteors and meteorites

Do you know your meteorites from your meteors? Take our quiz to test your knowledge!

Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, Eastern Spinebill.

What do these birds eat?

Did you know the shape of a bird's bill will give you clues about what that bird likes to eat? Take our quiz and see if you can match the food to the bill!

A brown lizard resting on a branch

The 'Is it cute?' quiz

Watch the videos and then put your knowledge to the test!

Willie Wagtail

Let's draw a Willie Wagtail

Aren’t birds lovely? We love to draw all the beautiful birds that live near us. One of our favourites is the Willie Wagtail.

Tie-dyed masks on a green background

Let's tie-dye a mask

Have you ever tried Tie Dying?

Colouring river animals

Have you been out exploring your local rivers, creeks, beaches or dams? We’d love for you to colour in these different creatures from Victoria's waterways.

Leaves on a table top

Let's make leaf rubbings

Turn fallen leaves into something creative: leaf rubbings, and a stop motion animation!

Colour in of a kangaroo

River animals

Our First People’s Educator Di-Di Vaha’akolo shares some special drawings from our River of Language exhibition

Unrealistic illustration of a Sea Lion

Drawing creatures

Some of the books in our Museum library feature pictures of strange looking creatures, like sea lions with bushy manes and giant sea serpents. Why is that?

Child recording bird sightings on pad

Backyard Bioblitz

Have you ever wanted to carry out fieldwork like our museum staff? Find out how to do your own Backyard Bioblitz!

How to make a paper rat

What do you know about Australia's fascinating rodents? Let's make a paper rat and find out more about our furry neighbours.

illustration of an emu

Acknowledgement of Country poster

Learn about National Reconciliation Week by making your own Acknowledgement of Country poster.

Blue banded bee model

Make a blue banded bee model

To celebrate World Bee Day on 20 May, we show you how to build a model of the blue banded bee.

Pteranodon sternbergi

Ptero-draw!

Did you know that the Pterodactyl was not a dinosaur? Invent your very own pterosaur using our activity sheets.

Diplodactylus tessellatus, Tessellated gecko, female with eggs. Location: Australia, Victoria, Gannawarra, Rifle Butt Road. Survey: MEB 2016 022, Field No: GWH007.

Meet a lizard, make a lizard

Step into the garden with Justin to meet someone special and be inspired to create your very own climbing gecko!

Greeting card - Adorkable

Make a card

While we’re in isolation we thought it was the perfect time for sending a personal, handmade card to someone you care about!

Worm on a black background

Creatures from the abyss

Join us on a journey into the deep before you can then download your very own worksheet of abyssal creatures, and create some of your own!

Dinosaur

Colour in a dinosaur

We’d love to know what colour you think a dinosaur might be. Can you help us out?

Let's draw an owl

Help out our Ornithologists (a big fancy word for people who study birds) by learning more about the owls that live in Victoria.

Dye your own eggs

Make your own creations inspired by the beautiful egg decorating traditions from Eastern and Mediterranean Europe.

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