17 Jul 2023New exhibition to take visitors through Australia’s deepest caves and into a world of twisted beauty at the Museum of the Great SouthernA new exhibition that explores a hidden underground world overseen by giant prehistoric spiders and includes collaborations with best-selling author Neil Gaiman, has crawled its way into the Museum of the Great Southern. The Sixteen Legs travelling exhibition is based around the environmental and cultural significance of Australia’s deepest caves and the still-living 200-million-year-old Tasmanian Cave Spiders hidden within them.Read more News Kasper Johansen
17 Jul 2023Unique Gascoyne bee species showcased at Gwoonwardu Mia’s Mungurragurra Burrowing Bee Community DayA unique and culturally significant species of burrowing bee has caused a buzz in the Gascoyne region after making an appearance at Gwoonwardu Mia’s Burrowing Bee Community Day. Funded by the Western Australian Museum Foundation, the June 24 event encouraged the community to celebrate the cultural significance of the region's Mungurragurra, known as the Dawson’s Burrowing Bee species.Read more News Kasper Johansen
17 Jul 2023Trans-Tasman museum investment in production of ground-breaking VR filmsThree museums spanning Australia and New Zealand have joined forces for a funding partnership to develop a trio of majestic and ground-breaking virtual reality (VR) films for exhibitions at the museums from 2024 onwards.Read more News Flora Perrella
7 Jul 2023Amazing specimens discovered up to 5,000m below sea level in WA’s Gascoyne Marine Park.For most of the Western Australian Museum’s Aquatic Zoology team, a recent expedition to Gascoyne Marine Park delivered a treasure trove of weird and wonderful creatures from depths of up to 5000m below sea level.Read more News Flora Perrella
30 Jun 2023Australia II: 40 Years On exhibition to launch September 2023A special exhibition to mark 40 years since Australia II won the America’s Cup will take place at the yacht’s permanent home, the WA Maritime Museum, Victoria Quay, in September 2023. The exhibition titled Australia II: 40 Years On will include a brand-new film featuring untold stories by the 1983 winning team members.Read more News Flora Perrella
21 Jun 2023Karlis and Daina Skele arrived in Fremantle from Latvia in 1949. A reflection on Refugee Week.WA Museum Boola Bardip’s Connections gallery highlights compelling stories of refugees from around the world who have made Western Australia home. We encourage you to visit the gallery during Refugee Week to learn of the prolific stories of those who fled their homelands in the hope of a new and safer life in Western Australia. This article highlights one of those stories: the Skele family who fled Latvia, arriving in Fremantle in 1949.Read more News Flora Perrella
16 Jun 2023Western Australian Museum and University of New South Wales entomologists discover unclassified stink bugEntomologists from the Western Australian Museum and University of New South Wales have made the fascinating discovery of a stink bug species that is believed to be new to science, during a two-week Bush Blitz expedition near Kepa Kurl (Esperance) in Western Australia. The currently unclassified bug, measuring around the size of a pea, has two curved horns as well as bright yellow tusks and was found camouflaged on a local Hakea species of plant.Read more News Kasper Johansen
15 Jun 2023Super-sized Shingleback: WA Museum and Flinders University researchers discover Australia's gigantic extinct armoured lizard A fossil lizard discovered by researchers at Flinders University and a member of Western Australian Museum staff has been described as by far the largest and most bizarre skink that ever lived. Related to the Shinglebacks – commonly known as sleepy lizards or bobtails – found in gardens today, Tiliqua frangens or 'Frangens’, was covered in thick spiny armour and measured roughly the size of a human arm.Read more News Kasper Johansen
30 May 2023In Conversation: Uluru Statement from the Heart, opening the door to what it all means Six years ago, under the shadow of Uluru in Mutitjulu, 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Delegates signed a historic statement. The statement comprised two core values, Voice and Makarrata, which aimed to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution and catalyse a truthful mediation between governments and First Nations, respectively. On May 24 at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip a distinguished panel of guest speakers returned to those core values in the lead up to The Voice to Parliament referendum.Read more News Kasper Johansen
30 May 2023One-of-a-kind performance by internationally revered instrumental trio The Necks at WA Museum Boola BardipLegendary Australian instrumental trio The Necks are set to conjure up some one-of-a-kind luminous soundscapes at Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip in a series of two performances on June 2 and 3. Revered internationally for their unique brand of slow burn hybrid instrumentals the trio – consisting of Chris Abrahams (piano), Tony Buck (drums and percussion) and Lloyd Swanton (bass) – will take to the stage with nothing prepared in advance.Read more News Kasper Johansen
24 May 2023Reconciliation Week at WA MuseumBe a Voice for Generations Saturday 27 May – Saturday 3 June Read more News Madeleine Pengelly
19 May 2023One of the world’s largest public sculpture projects hits PerthOne of the world's largest public art projects has arrived in Western Australia to raise awareness about endangered animals. 'Wild About Babies' is designed by artists Gillie and Marc and features 21 bronze sculptures of endangered species from across the globe. The free exhibition is launching on International Endangered Species Day.Read more News Robyn Ambrosius
18 May 2023Saving the World… Museums, Sustainability and Well-beingInternational Museum Day Opinion Piece by Alec Coles, CEO WA Museum On May 18th we celebrate International Museums Day. Since 2020, the theme for this annual celebration has supported the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s theme Museums, Sustainability and Well-being, focuses on the following three goals:Read more News Robyn Ambrosius
18 May 2023Western Australian Museum celebrates prestigious award and International Museum Day WA Museum has proudly emerged as the 2023 institutional winner of the esteemed ICOM Australia Award, announced on May 16. Read more News Kasper Johansen
11 May 2023An exploration of the collection of the National Museum of Australia through carefully crafted music: Grigoryan Brothers This is Us comes to WA Museum Boola Bardip.Incorporating all their influences from classical to jazz, the sounds of acclaimed guitar duo, Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, will echo through the hallways of Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip and WA Maritime Museum this week. Performing a suite of carefully crafted pieces from their latest album, This is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia, the pair invite listeners to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the National Museum of Australia on May 12,13 and 14.Read more News Kasper Johansen
9 May 2023Journey to the edges of the universe in Beyond the Milky Way a 360 degree virtual reality documentary at the Museum of GeraldtonTake a journey on one of the greatest international scientific endeavours in history through stunning 360° virtual reality when Beyond the Milky Way launches at the Museum of Geraldton on Saturday, 13 May.Read more News Kasper Johansen
27 Apr 2023New exhibition at Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip reveals secrets of world’s first mechanical computer The story behind what is believed to be the first mechanical computer and a Western Australian engineer’s six-year journey to reconstruct it, have been revealed at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip’s new Reconstructing the Antikythera Mechanism exhibition. Created in ancient Greece around 200 BCE, the Antikythera Mechanism is a sophisticated astronomical calculator that integrated several mathematical calculations based on observations by early astronomers from ancient cultures including the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks.Read more News Kasper Johansen
26 Apr 2023Victoria Quay heritage cranes to be restored, repaired and repurposedIn a collaborative effort between Fremantle Ports and Western Australian Museum, the iconic heritage cranes that grace the western end of the Victoria Quay skyline in Fremantle will be conserved and prepared for future exhibition. Working closely with the Heritage Council, Fremantle Ports and Western Australian Museum have developed a conservation strategy to restore and re-erect a representation of each crane type as part of the Victoria Quay redevelopment.Read more News Robyn Ambrosius
18 Apr 2023Western Australian Museum Talks - How Eclipse Chasers: Past, Present and Future put a natural phenomenon into context. April 20, 2023, will be remembered as the day a natural phenomenon mesmerised millions when a rare hybrid solar eclipse filled the early afternoon sky. The start of totality will be signalled by a diamond ring haloing the syzygy of the sun, moon and earth, and onlookers will be shrouded in its celestial shadow. Those who went to our recent Eclipse Chasers: Past, Present and Future talk will know the intricacies of what is happening around 383,000 km away from Earth.Read more News Kasper Johansen
12 Apr 2023Consultation to improve protection of shipwrecks in WA watersHistoric shipwrecks and other maritime archaeological sites stand to be better protected under the proposed changes to the 50-year-old Maritime Archaeology Act 1973 (WA). The Western Australian Museum (WA Museum) is reviewing the Maritime Archaeology Act 1973 (WA) to ensure WA meets its commitments under Australian law and international developments, and that all WA maritime archaeological sites and associated material receive adequate protection.Read more News Robyn Ambrosius