My love of Sydney museums was born from the many visits to our local museums with my mum when I was growing up. It has continued to be a passion right into adulthood, passing on this love to my own children. As a Sydneysider, we have explored the best museums in Sydney, often repeating visits to become familiar with all the exhibits.
This resource draws together all of the museums in Sydney that you can visit with the kids. This includes a bevy of free museums in Sydney.
This list does not include art galleries. You can head to our Best Art Galleries in Sydney resource to explore art in our city.
The Top Museums in Sydney to Visit
Table of Contents
Aboriginal Heritage Museum and Keeping Place
The Aboriginal Heritage Office hosts a museum of Aboriginal artefacts and historical displays covering pre-colonial times to the modern day.
Opening Times: Tuesday to Thursday, 9.00-4.00pm
Ticket Prices: Entry Free
Address: 29 Lawrence St, Freshwater NSW
Website: www.aboriginalheritage.org/museum
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum has always been one of my favourites and I am always looking for an opportunity to visit – whether with the kids or on the teacher evenings they host each year.
In 2020 the Australian Museum underwent an extensive renovation, opening just in time for the Sydney Summer School Holidays. It has become far more accessible and has a distinct fusion feel about it with both the old and modern coming together.
Opening Times: 10.00 am – 5.00 pm everyday except Christmas Day
Ticket Prices: free general admission
Address: 1 William St, Darlinghurst
Website: australian.museum
Australian Museum of Magical Arts
The Australian Museum of Magical Arts is the brainchild of Australian magician James Karp. A tour of the museum takes visitors through an exploration of the library of magic, a collection of magical paraphernalia and illusions providing a glimpse of how a magician orchestrates his magic show.
The kids will find the tour of this Sydney museum quite fascinating with its secret rooms and curiosities.
Opening Times: Tours available Wednesday and Thursday at 11.30am | Saturday and Sunday at 1.30pm | Dusk tours every Tuesday at 7.00 pm | Bookings are essential
Ticket Prices: Adults $44.00 | Children (4 to 12 years of age, must be accompanied by an adult) $33.00
Address: 91 Riley Street, Darlinghurst
Website: sydneymuseums.com.au
Australian National Maritime Museum
If you love the water you will love the Australian National Maritime Museum which boasts quite an array of maritime collections, exhibitions, research and archaeology. What we love most are the many vessels at the museum’s dock including the renowned replica of Captain Cook’s HMB Endeavour, the former Navy destroyer HMAS Vampire, the former Navy patrol boat HMAS Advance and former Navy submarine HMAS Onslow.
General entry to the museum is free and they always have a kids area for hands-on craft open.
Opening Times: Open 9:30 am – 5.00 pm
Ticket Prices: General entry is free | See it all ticket – Family $65.00 (Includes 2 adults and up to 3 children aged 4-15)
Address: 2 Murray St, Sydney
Website: www.sea.museum
Click across to our coverage of our visit to the Australian National Maritime Museum for a look inside the museum.
Chau Chak Wing Museum
Featuring 18 new exhibitions across four floors of galleries, the Chau Chak Wing Museum is Sydney’s newest museum, uniting the Nicholson Collection of antiquities, the Macleay Collections of natural history, ethnography, science and historic photography, and the University Art Collection.
We have been frequent visitors of the Nicholson Collection since I was a student at Sydney university, so I am so very excited that the Chau Chak Wing Museum provides triple the exhibition space previously available. Furthermore, 70 per cent of the items on display have not been seen publicly for over 20 years which mean I haven’t seen them before!!!
Opening Times: Open 7 days | Weekdays 10.00 am – 5.00 pm | Thursday evenings until 9.00 pm | Weekends 12.00 pm – 4.00 pm
Ticket Prices: FREE entry
Address: University Pl, Camperdown NSW
Website: www.sydney.edu.au/museum/
Cockatoo Island (Wareamah)
Cockatoo Island is not technically a museum but as one of the sites that makes up Australia’s Convict UNESCO sites I thought it should be included. Explore the island and learn about the convict and maritime history, or take a guided history or paranormal tour!
The easiest way to get to Cockatoo island is via ferry or river cat. The F3 and F8 services operate to Cockatoo Island daily, departing from Circular Quay and Barangaroo as well as from wharves along Parramatta River. For further information, including timetables, visit the Transport NSW website.
Opening Times: Open seven days a week
Ticket Prices: Free Admission
Address: Cockatoo Island is a literal island in Sydney Harbour | You can visit Cockatoo Island by ferry, water taxi, private boat or kayak
Website: www.cockatooisland.gov.au
The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS)
The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) is Australia’s contemporary museum for excellence and innovation in applied arts and sciences and features three separate locations.
Powerhouse Museum
Opening at its current location, in a converted electric tram power station, back in 1988, the Powerhouse Museum was the first museum I explored when I first arrived in Sydney. The site boasts over 400,000 artefacts with a number of key permanent exhibitions (for kids, make sure to stop by the Wiggles exhibition and the hands on science area).
The Powerhouse Museum also boasts the oldest operational rotative steam engine in the world, the Whitbread Engine.
Controversially, the Powerhouse Museum has been slated to move to Parramatta.
Opening Times: Open daily 10.00 am – 5.00 pm
Ticket Prices: FREE entry
Address: 500 Harris St, Ultimo
Website: maas.museum/powerhouse-museum
Sydney Observatory
Built between 1857 to 1859, the Sydney Observatory is a heritage-listed meteorological station and astronomical observatory, as well as one of the best museums in Sydney.
Visiting the Sydney Observatory is quite an experience for the kids where they have a chance to look through both modern 40-centimetre Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and the oldest telescope in Australia in regular use, a historic 29-centimetre refractor telescope built in 1874.
Opening Times: Open daily 10.00 am – 5.00 pm
Ticket Prices: Now open, free of charge
Address: 1003 Upper Fort Street, Millers Point
Website: maas.museum/sydney-observatory
Museums Discovery Centre (MDC)
We visited the Museums Discovery Centre when it first opened and were blown away by all of the artefacts. With 95% of the MAAS items held in storage most of the time, the Museums Discovery Centre was created to house 60% of the items in its aircraft hangar and six sheds. It’s an enormous complex to explore.
Opening Times: Open Saturdays and Sundays, 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Ticket Prices: FREE of charge
Address: 172 Showground Rd, Castle Hill | Entry to the Museums Discovery Centre is via the gates on Showground Road or Windsor Road.
Website: maas.museum/museums-discovery-centre
La Perouse Museum
Located on the Kamay Botany Bay National Park’s northern headland and housed in a historic Cable Station building, the La Perouse Museum documents the 1787-1788 expedition of Comte de Lapérouse who arrived in Botany Bay a week after the First Fleet before departing and then mysteriously disappearing.
When visiting La Perouse Museum make sure to visit the Macquarie Watchtower, Pere Receveurs Tomb and Bare Island.
Opening Times: Wednesdays and Fridays, 10.00 am to 2.00 pm | Saturdays and Sundays, 10.00 am to 4.00 pm | Closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Ticket Prices: FREE
Address: 1542 Anzac Parade, La Perouse
Website: La Perouse Museum webpage
Museum of Fire
If you are curious about the world of firefighters then the Museum of Fire in Penrith is one of Sydney’s museums that you must visit.
The Museum of Fire is Australia’s largest museum dedicated to fire fighting and includes a fleet of fire engines spanning 1841 to 1998, the Junior Firefighters Zone where the kids can explore all things fire, and an audio scavenger hunt.
Opening Times: Daily 9:30 am – 4:30 pm | Closed Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day
Ticket Prices: Family (2 adults and up to 2 children; or 1 adult and up to 3 children) $28.00 | Additional child on a Family Ticket $3.50
Address: 1 Museum Dr, Penrith
Website: www.museumoffire.com.au
Click to read about our trip to the Museum of Fire and all the tips for visiting.
NSW Rail Museum
Formerly referred to as Train Works, the NSW Rail Museum is Thirlmere was established back in 1975 and is the best place to head to explore the history of trains in NSW. The museum offers regular train rides including fantastic Thomas the Tank Engine days that the kids will love.
Opening Times: Weekdays (4 to 26 January only): On weekdays, enjoy a 30-minute ride about 1920s timber rail motor CPH 18. Weekday rail motor rides depart the NSW Rail Museum Platform for Picton and return: 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2.00pm | Weekends (2 January to 28 February): On weekends, enjoy a 40-minute ride behind a vintage diesel locomotive. Weekend heritage train rides depart historic Thirlmere Station for Buxton and return: 10.00am, 11.15am, 12.30pm, 2.00pm
Ticket Prices: Currently all visitors are required to pre-purchase tickets online | Adult $15.00 Children $5.00
Address: 10 Barbour Rd, Thirlmere NSW
Website: www.nswrailmuseum.com.au
Q Station
The North Head Quarantine Station, now known as the Q Station, is an incredible site to visit if you are interested in the history of the migration of free and convict Europeans, and the arrival of merchant shipping here in NSW.
Featuring one of our favourite beaches in Sydney, the Q Station is also the place to go for a little history with historical archaeological sites, historical inscriptions and even some geocaches.
Opening Times: Currently closed
Ticket Prices: FREE
Address: 1 North Head Scenic Drive, Manly NSW
Website: www.qstation.com.au
Old Government House
Like Cockatoo Island, Parramatta Park is also included on the UNESCO 11 convict site list. Old Government House is also the oldest surviving public building in Australia and was the country residence of the first ten Governors of New South Wales. Head here for a public tour of the building.
Opening Times: Thursdays to Sundays (10.00 am – 4.00 pm)
Ticket Prices: $37.39 per family
Address: Parramatta Park, Pitt Street Entrance, Parramatta
Website: www.parrapark.com.au
Reserve Bank Museum
The Museum tells the story of Australia’s banknotes against the background of the nation’s economic and social development, from before Federation through to the current era.
Opening Times: Currently closed
Ticket Prices: Admission is free
Address: 65 Martin Pl, Sydney
Website: museum.rba.gov.au
State Library of NSW
Technically the State Library of NSW is not a museum, but it does house some of the country’s oldest books and boasts quite a number of unique finds so I couldn’t help but include it.
The State Library of NSW is the oldest library in Australia and houses more than six million items including the first printed star chart of the Southern Hemisphere (1515) and one of the earliest books of modern zoology (1551-58) – all which you can have a look at during a visit.
Opening Times: Monday to Thursday 10.00 am to 8.00 pm | Friday 10.00 am to 5.00 pm | Weekends and public holidays 10.00 am to 5.00 pm | open every day except Christmas Day, Friday 25 December.
Ticket Prices: FREE
Address: Macquarie St, Sydney
Website: www.sl.nsw.gov.au
Sydney Bus Museum
If your children love transport then they will love visiting the Sydney Bus Museum. What is fantastic about this museum is that it is a working museum made up of over 250 members who together help to preserve a rare, and invaluable collection of historic buses dating from the 1920s to 1980s.
On you visit, the kids will be able to climb aboard a number of buses and explore inside, whilst also taking a ride on a vintage double decker bus to the city and back. Bliss!
Opening Times: 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month.
Ticket Prices: Two adults / Two children family ticket $35.00
Address: 25 Derbyshire Rd, Leichhardt
Website: www.sydneybusmuseum.com.au
Click to read about our amazing trip to the Sydney Bus Museum with kids
Sydney Jewish Museum
Founded in 1992, The Sydney Jewish Museum itself has been beautifully designed to provide visitors with a multi-sensory experience across the exhibits and a richer understanding of the Holocaust and the history of Judaism in Australia.
It is a fascinating place to visit with kids, but I do suggest speaking with the museum team when you arrive to discuss which exhibits may be confronting for your children.
Opening Times: Sunday – Thursday 10.00 am – 4:00 pm | Friday and Saturday Closed | Public/Jewish Holidays closed
Ticket Prices: $40.00 (2 adults and 2 students). Children under 10 FREE.
Address: 148 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Website: sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au
Click across to our visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum with kids
Sydney Living Museums
When I was little I was taught that museums are a place to look and wonder – no touching. The Sydney Living Museums are a little different which makes them some of the best of the museums in Sydney to visit with kids
You see, the Sydney Living Museums have been frozen in time. Most of these sites have not been renovated, but rather paused so further deterioration can not take place, and there are usually spaces where the kids can actually touch and play. For example, at Elizabeth Farm most of the furniture is reproduction so the kids could actually climb on the beds!
If you are interested in exploring Sydney through the years, you must visit the Sydney Living Museums. Make sure to check out the Sydney Living Museums pass which will provide a huge saving to your adventure
See Sydney Living Museums pass here.
Museum of Sydney
Built on the very location of the first Government House in Australia, the Museum of Sydney captures the city’s history since European arrival. Watch for the upcoming upcoming installation by Yayoi Kusama, Narcissus Garden (from 20 February).
Opening Times: Open Thursday to Sunday 10.00 am – 5.00 pm | Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
Ticket Prices: Family $38.00
Address: Bridge St &, Phillip St, Sydney
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/museum-of-sydney
Elizabeth Bay House
Once the finest house in the colony, Elizabeth Bay House is a heritage-listed Colonial Regency style house with stunning views across Sydney Harbour. Today it is a museum which steps you inside one of the most splendid private houses ever built in Australia.
Opening Times: Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10.00 am–4pm
Ticket Prices: Family $38.00
Address: 7 Onslow Ave, Elizabeth Bay NSW
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/elizabeth-bay-house
Elizabeth Farm
Once the home of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, construction of the house began in 1793 overlooking Parramatta. Macarthur had been granted the land by the government (It’s important to note that the land already belonged to the Burramattagal clan of the Dharug people) and grew it to over 1,000 acres.
This was one of our favourite Living Museums to visit in Sydney when the kids were little as it was so hands on and one I highly recommend you visit with your family.
Opening Times: Open Wednesday to Saturday 10.00 am – 4.00 pm | Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
Ticket Prices: Family $38.00
Address: 70 Alice St, Rosehill
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/elizabeth-farm
Hyde Park Barracks Museum
A trip to Hyde Park Barracks Museum with kids provides a glimpse into the past with visitors able to see the many lost things that rats scurried away during the Barracks time as not only a place to house convicts, but also as an immigration depot, asylum, law courts and government offices.
Visiting with kids can be fun too with my kids loving the opportunity to lay in the old convict hammocks and also the Sydney school holiday activities they offer.
Opening Times: Thursday to Sunday 10.00 am – 5.00 pm
Ticket Prices: Family $64.00
Address: Queens Square, Macquarie St, Sydney
Website: hydeparkbarracks.sydneylivingmuseums.com.au
Justice and Police Museum
Formerly the water police station, offices and courthouse, the Justice and Police Museum is a heritage-listed site that has become one of Sydney’s best museums, providing a glimpse into what the justice system looked like during the early years of the colony and then as it progressed.
Explore the 1890s holding cells, offices, charge room and courts, while learning about the world of crime, punishment and policing in early Australia.
Please make sure to ask the museum staff which rooms to avoid with children as there are spaces devoted to crime scenes with are quite graphic.
Opening Times: Justice & Police Museum will be closed until further notice.
Ticket Prices: TBC
Address: Cnr Phillip St &, Albert St, Sydney
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/justice-police-museum
Rose Seidler House
Designed by Harry Seidler for his parents and built between 1948 to 1950, Rose Seidler House provides panoramic views of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and is one of the finest examples of mid 20th-century modern domestic architecture in Australia.
A visit to the Rose Seidler House provides visitors with an opportunity to view the furniture and fittings form one of the most complete and intact post World War II design collections in public ownership.
Opening Times: Open Sundays only | 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Ticket Prices: Family $38.00
Address: 71 Clissold Rd, Wahroonga NSW
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/rose-seidler-house
Rouse Hill Estate
Constructed in 1858, Rouse Hill Estate was the home of Richard Rouse, the Colonial Superintendent of Public Works and Convicts at Parramatta, and the generations of his family thereafter (six generations in total) and is an example of the ‘rude’ timber farm buildings that were found throughout rural Australia.
A visit to Rouse Hill Estate is quite interesting. The site is the very place where the 1804 ‘Vinegar Hill’ convict rebellion occurred, and the kids can explore the original school that is on the site as well. Each year we head here for the food festival too.
Opening Times: Rouse Hill Estate will be closed until further notice.
Ticket Prices: TBC
Address: 356 Annangrove Rd, Rouse Hill
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/rouse-hill-estate
Susannah Place Museum
If you ever read Playing Beatie Bow you will love a visit to Susannah Place Museum, a heritage-listed former grocery store and workers’ cottages which is now open for you to explore and learn about the history of The Rocks.
Opening Times: Closed until further notice
Ticket Prices: TBC
Address: 58/64 Gloucester St, The Rocks NSW
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/susannah-place
The Mint
Ever since the kids visited Canberra’s Mint they have been fascinated with how money is made.
The Mint in Sydney started off as a hospital for convicts and was originally financed by 45,000 gallons of rum which provided 200 beds. In 1855 it became the became the Sydney Royal Mint where 1200 tonnes of colonial gold were minted into 150 million sovereigns. In 1926 it morphed into a court and offices, before becoming a Heritage site in 1997.
Opening Times: Open Monday to Friday 9.00 am – 5.00 pm | Closed on weekends and public holidays
Ticket Prices: FREE | Visitors are free to wander through the displays and rooms of the Mint building and site.
Address: 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/the-mint
Vaucluse House
Built in 1805, Vaucluse House is quite extravagant and one of the remaining 19th-century mansions still surrounded by its original gardens and wooded grounds.
Purchased in 1827 by William Charles Wentworth (yes, the very man who Wentworth and Wentworth Falls is named), he set about making the original cottage quite a statement with his partner Sarah Cox. However it was never completed and finding the front door is still quite a perplexing issue.
Visit Vaucluse House and explore the grounds and buildings before enjoying High Tea at the Estate.
Opening Times: Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am–4pm
Ticket Prices: Family $38.00
Address: 69A Wentworth Rd, Vaucluse NSW
Website: sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/vaucluse-house
Sydney Tramway Museum
Before the light rail returned to Sydney, trams were something that many people believed was a Melbourne thing unaware that Sydney had an extensive tram system in place. It makes sense then that the Sydney Tramway Museum is Australia’s oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere.
The Sydney Tramway Museum boasts quite a collection of trams including Sydney trams from 1896 to 1997 as well as trams from across Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne, Ballarat and Adelaide) and even from overseas such as San Francisco, Nagasaki, Berlin, Munich and Milan.
Visit the Sydney Tramway Museum with the kids and not only explore the trams but go for a ride on one as well!
Opening Times: Select Sundays | See the website for opening days | Currently Wednesday operations are still suspended.
Ticket Prices: Adults: $20.00 | Concession: $15.00 | School children: $10.00 | Pre-school children: Free | Entry tickets allow you unlimited tram rides & museum entry
Address: Pitt St, Loftus NSW
Website: www.sydneytramwaymuseum.com.au
The Big Dig Archaeology Education Centre
The Big Dig Archaeology Education Centre is part of Sydney Harbour YHA in The Rocks heritage precinct of Sydney. The centre facilitates hands-on archaeology educational experiences and opens the archaeological site to the public.
Opening Times: The Big Dig welcomes the general public to visit the site during daylight hours
Ticket Prices: varied depending on program
Address: 110 Cumberland St, Sydney NSW
Website: thebigdig.com.au
The Rocks Discovery Museum
Who doesn’t love a FREE museum especially if it expands your knowledge of a particular place! Located in a restored 1850s sandstone warehouse, the Rocks Discovery Museum provides the story of The Rocks from pre-European days through to today.
We’ve had the privilege of visiting when Aboriginal elders were on site, teaching both Striker and Sunshine about the seasons of Sydney and how the traditional owners caught fish on the harbour.
This is a must stop when you are in The Rocks.
Opening Times: Closed until further notice
Ticket Prices: FREE
Address: Kendall Ln, The Rocks
Website: Head to the Rocks Discovery Museum webpage
Sydney Museum Map
Museums Near Sydney to Visit
There are so many museums in Sydney to explore that it is unlikely that you will get through all of them in a year. Of course, there are also quite a number just outside Sydney too. We have rounded up some of our favourites within an hour from the Sydney CBD that we think should be on your radar.
Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame
Opening Times: Monday to Sunday from 9.00 am – 4.00 pm
Ticket Prices: Family $60.00
Address: St Jude St, Bowral NSW
Website: internationalcrickethall.com
Click across to our visit to the Bradman Museum
Early Start Discovery Space
Opening Times: Open Tuesday to Sunday | Weekdays 9.00 am to 12.00 pm | Weekends 9.00 am to 12.00 pm and 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm
Ticket Prices: $15.00 adults | $7.50 children | Discounts available
Address: Early Start Discovery Space (Building 21 University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong NSW
Website: www.earlystartdiscoveryspace.edu.au
Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum
Opening Times: Thursday to Sunday 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Ticket Prices: Family $45.00
Address: 14 Norman Lindsay Cres, Faulconbridge NSW
Website: www.nationaltrust.org.au/places/norman-lindsay-gallery
Space Science
Opening Times: From 19 Dec-26 January open everyday 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Ticket Prices: $16.00 adult | $12.00 child | additional fee for Planetarium
Address: Innovation Campus, 60 Squires Way, North Wollongong NSW
Website: sciencespace.com.au
PIN – The best museums in Sydney
Other Things to Do in Sydney
Lighthouses are always fun to visit and Hornby Lighthouse is no exception!
Feeding ducks at the local pond is always fun and we have found the best places near you!
If you love enjoying the great outdoors and Sydney’s coastal areas with kids, why not head to Botany Bay with Kids!
Head over to our best indoor playgrounds with kids. and the best outdoor playgrounds in Sydney.
The best things to do in Sydney with Kids : We provide you with a plethora of activities that will keep you and your kids busy. From quick trips to overnight experiences, you’ll love this list of goodies!
One of our most popular posts is our Ultimate guide to Sydney school holiday activities. It is quite possibly the most comprehensive listing you will find.
Love a proking a little adrenaline rushing through your system? Head to our Luna Park post to read all about this heritage listed park.
Where to stay in Sydney with kids. We have rounded up an assortment of great options for you to consider across Sydney.
Looking for a wildlife adventure? We have created the ultimate list of Australian Zoos and Wildlife Parks for your reference. Want something a little more personal? What about one of Sydney’s Animal Encounter experiences where you can touch, feed and even care for some of Sydney’s zoo and wildlife animals?
Of course, when the sun is out you might like to head to one of Sydney’s Water Parks with the kids or even better, one of Sydney’s Best Beaches!
This one is a little scary, but we know some families love seeking out the unusual. How about one or two of Sydney’s Most Haunted places?
Fruit picking is one of our most favourite family experiences. Check out our Sydney Fruit Picking resource so you can head out this weekend!
Get out of the city this weekend and head for a Farm Stay near Sydney.
What about heading to a festival? We’ve pulled together an annual calendar of festivals across Sydney.
Oh…and don’t forget our Strawberry Picking around Australia resource!