Surviving Australia at the Australian Museum

Looking for a family-friendly museum adventure that genuinely wows kids and adults alike? Surviving Australia at the Australian Museum is a big, bold and brilliantly immersive exhibition that dives headfirst into Australia's wildest survival stories.

Surviving Australia at the Australian Museum

This newly reimagined exhibition invites families to discover Australia's most fascinating creatures, from the deadly redback spider and powerful bull shark to ancient giant wombats and downright terrifying fanged kangaroos. With new fossils, life-sized displays and interactive elements, it's packed with moments that make kids stop, stare and ask a million questions.

Exhibition Highlights

The journey begins in Prehistoric Australia, stepping back 33 million years to when Australia broke away from Antarctica and evolved in isolation. Here, families meet strange monotremes, giant lizards, massive wombats and predators that make today's wildlife look tame. It's a prehistoric playground of weird and wonderful creatures that sparks instant curiosity.

Next, explore The Enduring Bush, where towering eucalypt forests, rainforests and scrublands come to life. Children will learn how iconic Australian animals survive heat, drought, and fire, and how First Nations conservation knowledge, including cultural burning, continues to care for Country today.

In The Red Centre, families discover why Australia's deserts are anything but empty. Covering more than half the continent, this section shows how animals survive scorching summers, icy winters, prolonged dry spells, and sudden floods.

Our Island Home plunges visitors beneath the waves to explore coral reefs, kelp forests, mangroves and rocky shores. 

Finally, Big City Life brings things closer to home. Kids will recognise the challenges of urban living as they meet the native animals adapting to city life, alongside the pests that thrive in our concrete ecosystems, and learn how we can make our cities better places for everyone.

With climate change and human impact reshaping the rules of survival, Surviving Australia invites families to think about how we can help write a happier ending for the future. 

Visit The Australian Museum for more details.

Where:  Level 2, Australian Museum
When:   Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm | closed on Christmas Day
Cost:     FREE admission

More Fun in Sydney

Our Favourite Kids' Shows This Season
Sydney's Most Exciting Kids' Museums
FREE Things to Do in Sydney

Have you signed up for our newsletter? Join ellaslist to get the best family and kid-friendly events, venues, classes and things to do NEAR YOU!