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There are places in Sydney that are obligatory to see, such as the Opera House or Harbor Bridge. During our trip we also found a lot of places that made a huge impression on us. One of them is the Powerhouse Museum, where You need at least half a day to see exhibitions.
The Powerhouse Museum is part of the Museum of Applied Art and Science. Its origins (as a museum of technology) date back to the late nineteenth century, but its current location is from 1988. The building where the facility is located in an old power plant in the Ultimo district.
Location and tickets
The museum is located at 500 Harris Street near Darling Harbor, China Town and Central Station. You can get here from all these places on foot. If you want to take a bus directly in front of the museum door, find the bus line 501. An adult ticket costs 15 Australian dollars, and children under 16 enter for free.
Exhibitions
Let me start with the fact that the Powerhouse Museum is huge. You will find here many permanent exhibitions as well as a few temporary. It took us about 5 hours to see them briefly, and we could easily stay there all day long. The number of exhibitions is huge, and their diversity will satisfy the curiosity of even the most demanding visitors.
From the permanent exhibitions are dedicated to transporting, steam revolution, shopping history and space. For the youngest (and those older) there is an experimental zone, where, as in Polish science centres, we have the opportunity to experiment with science. When it comes to the steam exhibition, it shows the history and use of steam for the operation of various devices. The exhibition includes, for example, a steam carousel, locomotives and working engines.
The exhibition about space made the most impression on me. We can see the natural size rocket engine, satellites and the reconstruction of the space station. Inside you can find answers to many questions – for example, how to take a shower, sleep or pee in space. In the station replica, you will also find one room in which the walls are spinning around. We are staying on the floor but after a few seconds the brain begins to play tricks and we are sure that we are spinning around.
During our visit to the Powerhouse Museum, we also found an interesting temporary exhibition. It was very interactive. It has several attractions. The first of them were big coloured rubber balls that played and made music when rolling or colliding. You could move them freely, and the effect was very interesting. The balls shone with a delicate coloured light, and the whole exhibition was in a dark room, which gave an amazing effect. The second part was even more interesting. Various shapes were displayed on the walls and floor (lizards, frogs, people). On the several positions arranged in the room, we could choose the form from the prepared cards, colour it, giving it an individual character and scan in special scanners, and after a while, they appeared on the wall or floor walking and jumping.
We also visited an exhibition about design, Australian designers, medical equipment and Martian vehicles. Finally, we found a fragment of the exhibition (quite large) about The Wiggles – an Australian program for children.
Observatory
Another interesting object that is also part of the Museum of Applied Art and Science is the Astronomical Observatory. It is located near the Harbor Bridge and offers a beautiful view of this most characteristic part of the city. It is worth taking advantage of the evening activities. During our stay, we had classes in the planetarium, we watched various objects through a telescope, and at the end, we fired water bottles (rockets) with compressed air! :)
If you are interested in science and technology, or you are simply curious about the world, then add Powerhouse Museum to the list of must-see places to visit during your stay in Sydney.
