Small but mighty. I love a good natural history museum that isn't all screens. The SA Museum is a wonderland of exhibits - geology, history, biology etc. So much taxidermy (love it!)! An absolutely amazing room of Pacific Island and Indigenous art/artifacts! Minerals! And - it's free! We spent a few hours here and it was well worth our time. read more

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This is an excellent spot to take your kids for enjoyment, particularly during school holidays. Our favorite activity is the scavenger hunt, where children can check off items from a list as they find them, one at a time. I personally love the collection of crystals and rocks, along with the large metallic meteorite at the entrance. My kids are interested in the room filled with bugs and bees. There's also a T-Rex skull nearby. There is no admission fee, but be ready to pay for parking and take a short walk to get there. It's truly worth it. Overall, I rate it five stars. read more

Great free museum! I wanted my daughter to learn something. She's not a museum type of gal, so I lured her here with the promise of seeing a giant squid. There it was in all its glory. Not a real one, mind you, but an actual size type of creature with its tentacles that stretched out over four stories. You have to climb the stairwell to appreciate it. It definitely had the museum-ness to it with the taxidermied section. All those dead animals staring at me with their fake smiles gave me the creeps and I actually had to speed walk through one section before I suffered a panic attack. There is an Aboriginal section and Pacific Islander area and an Egyptian section which also creeped me out. Something about mummies. I think I watched too many horror flicks as a kid. The requisite gift shop is there, but a little overpriced. However since entry is free, one shouldn't complain too much. Great local museum! Once was enough for me, but I'm glad I came. read more

The South Australian Museum offers quite a wide range of fun activities and exhibits. I went when the Biodiversity exhibit was one and this was rather a standout exhibit with copious amounts of information and bright visuals to match. The museum shop offers a range of cool kits and interesting objects that would make good souvenirs or presents. Whilst I do love looking at the dinosaurs, I loved looking at the trilobites and fossils from the cambrian period (515 million years ago) and enjoyed looking through the meteorites, especially a sample of one that was claimed to have amino acids on it - the building blocks for intelligent life. Exhibits are updated often and the building is lovely. I have been here on a few occasions however you could easily go many times and still have something to see. it is not the biggest museum in the world, nor the easiest to navigate around but I love it and it has a certain special charm around it. Plus, did I mention that it was free too. Oh and if you have little children, then I saw that there is a great line up of fun performances and science shows on during the school holidays. This may be looking at for some edutainment value (education/entertainment). read more

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Nestled back off the road a little along North Terrace next to the Art Gallery and historic Uni buildings, the Museum is a place i will always remember visiting in primary school. Whate sticks out in my mind, are the fountains out the frint (which are no longer there), the giant whale skeleton in the foyer, the taxidermed animals in glass windows and the Aboriginal artefacts. A great place to visit for tourists and locals, it is often overlooked because it is quite small and under marketed. They run exhibitions about space, fish, heath etc and have some permanent ones incluing Ancient Egypt, Aboriginal Cultures and The Cloud Chamber Project. The fact that it is free, except for a few exhibitions every now and then, should be reason enough to visit the museum and art gallery right next door. read more

South Australian Museum - Museums Near Me - Adelaide, SA

The Museum was always about school trips and work we had to do on themso much as a kid that I never really enjoyed it or just went to look. Recently we took my son there in the school holidays though for something fun and free to do. It was actually a lot better just going to browse at your own pace and discuss what you wanted and look where you wanted. There is so much to see here and it is all categorised beautifully. My favourites to definitely look out for are the octupus in the walls near the stair well at the rear corner. It goes for so many stories and every level we would run back to those stairs to see what we could see from that level. Gives you a much better idea as to size of this thing (which I am sure is not just an octopus but that what it looks like). And also look out for the lion in the glass enclosure downstairs. It moves its tail and eyes and I almost thought it was real for a minute. You can really get the kids on confused on this one. There is also a great gift shop there. Small but it has an odd assortment of things starting at very low prices. Since you don't have to pay to go the museum you are more likely to buy something here as a souvenir. We got a massive rainbow slinky for my boy at under $5. They also sell those tiny hand wheel musical instruments in so many different tunes. I stood in the shop and turned the wheels on every single one until I had heard all the songs. They must get that all the time......... read more

South Australian Museum - Museums Near Me - Adelaide, SA

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Located in the cultural 'hub' off North Terrace, if you're looking for FREE things to do, and especially if you have kids with you, then the South Australian Museum should definitely be one of your pit stops. The museum boasts the largest collection of Aboriginal artefacts in the world, with all 2 levels of the east wing dedicated to it. Up the fancy flight of stairs, the whole floor is decked in the history of the Pacific Islanders. The exhibition area to the right of the entrance is usually pretty good, and every year the Australia Geographic exhibits the finalists from the annual photo competition. My favourite part, and the area children will love is the live reptile and insect room on the first floor. See spiders, snakes, beetles, and the fully working beehive here, aswell as a large preserved collection of butterflies, moths and all sorts in the pull out cabinets. Not easy to navigate to- go through the Aboriginal collection, and go up one level via the stairs or lift. It is definitely not the largest museum in the world, nor in Australia infact, but its free and worth a visit. Good for families with young kids, or lazy weekends when you're in the city and its too hot to do anything else. read more

The South Australian Museum. I love this place!!! Its educational, interesting, and has something for all of the ages! With movies to watch and interactive tablets, its not just a walking preview of history in the Museum. Walking in the front door you are greeted by a giant whale. Okay, possibly not a giant, but certainly a large whale - skeleton. Follow the rabbit warren of corridors and you'll find yourself amongst ye-olde-times Aboriginal artifacts and tools, Islander masks and spears, and the many wild animals of the continents. Every time I go I seem to still be just as surprised that the Elephant is not that much bigger than the Hippo. Some animals on display are not as obvious as the elephant in the room (ba-dom-cha!), and the detail that has been put in to the preservation of these animals is fantastic. If you have one child, many children, or are a kid at heart, the Museum is a lovely way to spend a few hours. You can blame the rain on the reason you entered, or you can purposefully make your way from the bustle of Rundle Mall to the quiet of the South Australian Museum. read more

This is a surprisingly good museum on the lovely U of SA campus, and it is FREE! Much of the collection was donated by early European Australians who donateed things from neighboring pacific islands or early archaeological finds. As such, the museum has a great collection of local natural history. I thought the extensive Pacific Islander collection was quite interesting and impressive (it's a whole floor by itself), and do watch the 1970s movie playing on the TV there showing an interview with a native pacific island shark caller. Though slow by modern standards, the interview with him is interesting in and of itself. But the incredible finale is him going out into the sea on a tiny boat and catching a 2 meter shark by hand! It is stunning. The sea life exhibits are also quite good, and the Antarctic exhibition exhibit provides a very interesting window into that amazing adventure. At present, they also have an exhibition of Audubon drawings as well as those of Australian naturalists. Be sure to read the page in the book open to the description of the wombat. It's just delightful. They also have some great undersea monsters on display - sharks, giant squid, and plesiosaurs. Walk by at night and see their gigantic whale skeleton lit up in all its leviathan glory. read more

There is so much to see here!! It's looks so tiny from the outside but there's such a variety of items to gaze at. There's a tribal room, aboriginal room, wildlife room (with stuffed animals) sea life room, reptile room, mineral room (with rocks and everything) and a Egyptian room.. that's about all the rooms I can think of. I went a couple of weeks ago and the coolest thing I saw was a picture of these three native guys with abnormal skulls and then next to the picture was their actual SKULLS! It was so weird. I looked and saw the same thing with another native woman. I feel the most sad when I go into the reptile room because there poor old snakes look so sad. One time I was there and there was this snake not moving so I staring at the snake and after a while the snake started to slither over to me.. It was all great until this crazy 5 year old ran over and started banging on the glass repeatedly. I walked away and when I came back the sad snake was just frozen I wish the museum would let it be free. I also like looking at the aboriginal dot painting to get ideas for my artwork. (I'm doing art at school this year) The souvenir shop at the front is kind of over priced however, if I was a tourist then I'd definitely buy a magnet or two. There's giant squid that is like three stories high which little kids will adore. When you're on the third floor you can actually stand on top of the giant squid and look down. If your a teen that appreciates history then come here. If you're a parent with kids take them here but they could get bored quickly. I suggest going to the stuffed animal room, the sea life room, reptile room and having a look at the giant squid if you want to engage your children. These places are the places that the under 8 children will probably like the most. However, if your bundle of joy is mature for his/her then take them to all the rooms if you want. I suggest taking your own lunch and don't make eye contact with the guards otherwise you may get strip searched on the spot. Only joking, they don't strip search but they do follow you. In conclusion, it's a great joint. read more

I love the Waterhouse Competition and seem to be making it an annual pilgrimage to come visit. This year it is even better than last year and whilst there is an entry fee ($12), IMHO its well worth it. We added to the day by visiting the stuffed animals, it might not be the most acceptable practise anymore, but its always enlightening to hear the kids opinion. Watching the responses to the lion's twitching tale is worth a laugh. The cafe served a fantastic lunch today, salads at aporox $14.50 with a too die for choc raspberry pudding was the perfect place to grab a bite. Service was satisfactory although a little more attention to clearing tables would have been appreciated. The shop had a good selection of different on theme items and a couple of presents were purchased with good prices and service experienced. A fun outing for the family or couples or singles. read more

Chips are lovely and the gluten free options are also good. The staff however are another story. Although I don't mind staff that blend into the wall, my friend who used to own a cafe remarked on their lethargic, grumpy attitudes. Having not ordered I can understand why I might have missed that. That being said, if you ask them for options, they know what's in what they are selling. Security are amazing. read more

PLEASE UPDATE AND EXPAND THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROOM! Now that I have said that - I can say that that the Adelaide museum is pretty extensive! With rooms full of amazing gemstones, ancient sea creatures, Australian natural history, Aboriginal history, Antarctic history, taxidermied animals, giant dinosaur bones and one bloody huge squid thingy - it's great value for money.* *free. However, so many of the exhibits including the stuffed animals and the Ancient Egyptian Room are so old and the same that it's slightly depressing, especially when I was so inspired by the Egyptian room that I wanted to do Egyptology for a while. I review things now - but it did go through my head. I wish there was more information with many of the exhibits - some of them (especially in the minerals section) seem quite vague. It is also extremely busy during school holiday periods with kids. read more

It's free, it's got exhibitions that cover Australian Aboriginal Culture, Whales and Dolphins, World Mammals, Pacific Cultures, Minerals and Meteorites, Ancient Egypt and it is in a beautiful air conditioned environment (a historic building combined with some modern building) that is easy to get around. There are lifts, there are plenty of toilets that don't smell nasty, there is a Biodiversity Gallery, an amazing collection of Butterflies, they always turn on some school holiday activities for the kids that either cost nothing or next to nothing. I'll share a personal story with you. Some years ago I was in there having a look at the butterflies, because it really is one of the most amazing collections of butterflies you will ever get to see under glass, and you know what museums can be like at the best of times with their fossils and stuffed animals - sometimes a little creepy - and while I'm standing there looking at the gorgeous butterflies I notice a reflection in the glass of this really familiar, but very generic face. Lots of bottle blond hair, red lips and sunglasses... and the face seems to be angled in such a way as the owner is looking at me from behind the sunglasses, in the reflection on the glass. Well strike me pink it was Debbie Harry aka. Blondie! So there you go - among all the creepy old stuffed animals and fossils, another creepy old fossil! (No I'm joking I think she's great!) I actually spoke with her for a few minutes and asked how her tour was going, and she actually grunted back at me in true New York style how well the tour was going... So be on your best behaviour, because you never know what old rock and roll legend in the Museum may come out of nowhere and bite you! There is a free tour every day and there are some special exhibitions that come in for limited times, so all up it is an amazing facility that is always busy yet never seems too packed to move around. I love love love it. Did I mention it's free? read more

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Great for children. Educational. My 8 year old daughter enjoys the animal displays on the second level. I enjoy the antarctic explorer section on the upper level. Free admission. Good for school groups. The gift shop below has interesting items for gifts. From time to time there are seasonal exhibitions which require an entry fee. Worth the ticket price. I visited one on mining n it had a mock mining shaft. read more