Queensland Museum facts for kids
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Queensland Museum at South Brisbane
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| Established | 20 January 1862 |
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| Location | South Brisbane |
| Collection size | 1,000,000+ |
| Visitors | 2,000,000+ |
The Queensland Museum Kurilpa is a fantastic place in Queensland, Australia. It's the state's main museum. Here you can explore natural history, learn about different cultures, and discover amazing science and human achievements.
The main museum is in South Brisbane. But there are also special museums in North Ipswich, East Toowoomba, and Townsville City. The Queensland Government helps fund the museum.
Contents
Discover the Museum's Journey: A History of Queensland Museum
The Queensland Museum started a long time ago, on January 20, 1862. It was created by a group called the Queensland Philosophical Society. One of the main people who helped start it was Charles Coxen.
The museum didn't have a permanent home at first. It moved around Brisbane quite a bit. Its first home was The Old Windmill from 1862 to 1869. Then it moved to Parliament House (1869–1873). After that, it was in the General Post Office (1873–1879).
In 1879, the Queensland Government built a special building for the museum. This building was on William Street. The museum stayed there for 20 years.
Later, in 1899, the Queensland Museum moved again. This time, it went to the Exhibition Hall. Today, this building is known as the Old Museum. It's located in Bowen Hills. The museum called this place home for 86 years!
Finally, in 1986, the Queensland Museum found its current home. It moved to the Queensland Cultural Centre at South Bank. It's right next to the Queensland Art Gallery. There's even a special bridge and tunnel connecting the museum to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. In 2004, lifts were added to the bridge. These lifts make it easy to get to the Cultural Centre busway station. You might even spot a big cicada sculpture near the lifts!
Explore the Queensland Museum Network: Multiple Locations
The Queensland Museum isn't just one building. It's a network of museums! Each one offers something unique and exciting to explore.
Queensland Museum: South Brisbane's Hub
The main Queensland Museum is in South Brisbane. It's part of the Queensland Cultural Centre. This area also includes the State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Art Gallery, and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
This museum helps visitors connect with Queensland's past, present, and future. You can see cool travelling shows from all over the world. There are also exhibitions that tell Queensland's own story. You can learn about its ancient past, the cultures of Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. Plus, you can discover Queensland's amazing plants and animals.
The museum also does important research. They study biodiversity (all the different living things), geoscience (the Earth's rocks and land), and cultural history.
Don't miss SparkLab at the Queensland Museum! It's a hands-on area. Kids and adults can do interactive activities. You'll discover the science behind everyday life.
Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying: Maps and More
This museum opened in 1982. It's located on Edward Street in Brisbane. Here, you can learn all about how land is measured and mapped. It's a great place to see old maps and surveying tools.
Workshops Rail Museum: All Aboard for Trains!
The Workshops Rail Museum opened in August 2002. It's located in the old North Ipswich Railway Workshops. If you love trains, this is the place for you!
The museum has 15 large train items. It also has thousands of smaller objects related to trains. Sometimes, you can even see real, working steam locomotives here. These are from the Queensland Rail Heritage Fleet. They are displayed when they're not being used on the main railway lines.
Cobb & Co Museum: Horse-Drawn Journeys
In 1987, the Queensland Museum needed more space for its collection of horse-drawn vehicles. So, they opened the Cobb & Co Museum in Toowoomba.
This museum is home to the National Carriage Collection. You can see all kinds of vehicles from the time before cars. There are farm wagons, delivery carts, and even fancy carriages like the landau.
Cobb+Co Museum also has special heritage workshops. You can learn skills like blacksmithing, silversmithing, leadlighting, and leatherwork.
Museum of Tropical Queensland: Explore the Tropics
The Museum of Tropical Queensland is in Townsville. Its most famous exhibit is the HMS Pandora gallery. The Pandora was a ship sent to catch the famous HMS Bounty and its crew. But the Pandora sank off the coast of Cape York in 1791. Hundreds of items from the shipwreck have been found. You can see them on display here!
Kids often love the MindZone. It's an interactive science center. Other parts of the museum show off rainforests, corals, and amazing sea creatures. You can even see fossils from ancient times.
World Science Festival Brisbane: Science Fun for Everyone!
The Queensland Museum Network has a special agreement. They are the only ones allowed to host the World Science Festival in the Asia Pacific region. The first World Science Festival Brisbane happened in 2016.
This festival takes place every March. The main events are in Brisbane. But there are also smaller events in places like Toowoomba, Townsville, and Chinchilla, Queensland. It's a great chance to explore science in fun ways!
Special Exhibitions: Amazing Displays
The Queensland Museum often hosts incredible special exhibitions. These shows bring unique items and stories to visitors.
- Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul was a big exhibition. It ran from September 2013 to January 2014. It showed 230 priceless objects. These items were from between 2200 BC and AD 200. The exhibition gave a peek into the ancient Silk Road. It featured amazing archaeological finds from Central Asia. You could see beautiful jewellery, sculptures, and gold work.
- Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb was another major exhibition. It featured four Egyptian mummies. Plus, there were over 100 items from the British Museum, London. This exhibition was held from April to October 2012.
Caring for Cultural Heritage: Returning Objects
The museum has a program to return cultural items to Indigenous Australians. These items were collected by the museum between 1870 and 1970. The program started in the 1970s. It's about respecting and returning important cultural property to its rightful communities.
See also
- List of museums in Queensland
- North Stradbroke Island Historical Museum
- Repatriation of human remains - Australia
- Steve Van Dyck, senior curator of vertebrates
- Scott Hocknull, senior curator of geology
