Australian Museum

We're building a better museum

We are closed to the public to enable our major renovation, Project Discover.

Temporary closure
until mid-2020

Museum Renovation: Closed to the public
until mid-2020
Where to find us: 1 William Street
Sydney NSW 2010
Australia

Polychaete marine worms. Clockwise from the top: Lanice viridis (15 mm length) and Chaetopterus sp. (3-5 cm length) from Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia . Alitta virens (up to 1m length) and Amblyosyllis finmarchica from White Sea Biological Station, Russia. Image: Alexander Semenov
© Alexander Semenov

Australian Museum statement on 2019/2020 bushfires

The Australian Museum team is devastated by the impact of the fires ravaging our communities and our wildlife.

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Functions and venues

Selected Australian Museum event spaces are still available for functions.

Bookings available

Museum news

Read about our latest discoveries, research expeditions and collection objects on display.

Blog posts
Podcast series
Explore magazine
Future plans

Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh

150 original artefacts - final world tour! Discover the glittering treasures of Tutankhamun at this absolute must-see show.

Early 2021

Can you solve the mystery?

Australian Museum Membership

Join now and be the first to enjoy the new-look Australian Museum in 2020.

Great benefits

Where nature, science & culture intersect

We are Australia’s first museum, and have over 21 million scientific specimens and cultural objects in our collections. Learn more about our latest discoveries, animal factsheets and education programs.

Museum News Animal Factsheets Learning Resources

Bushfires and our changed country

The Australian Museum, through its research and engagement with Australia’s people and biodiversity, will be continuing to deepen understandings of how best to respond to the challenges of living with climate crisis.

Australian Museum blog

Read about our latest discoveries, research expeditions or discover our interesting archive of blog posts.

Science news
What's new at the Museum
Educational insights

Read our blog posts!

Climate change

The Australian Museum has been involved in raising awareness and researching impacts of climate change for over a decade.

What are we doing?
What is climate change?

Learn more

Object and species identification

Use our online enquiry forms for help with Australian animal identification, natural history and cultural object enquiries!

Identify a species
Cultural material
Fossils & minerals

Ask an expert!

Cultural collections

Learn about First Nations cultural material in our collections and our engagement with communities to activate stories of living culture.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander
Pacific & International

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Animal factsheets

Discover the astonishing variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, marine life and more in the Australian Museum collections.

Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Extinct animals

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Science of life

Learn about biodiversity, the scientific study of life and organisms, and the story of human evolution.

Stages of Decomposition
The Human story

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Museum in a Box

Learn more about over 30 different Museum Boxes available to educational institutions across Australia.

Real specimens
Learning resources
Hands on experiences

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Natural science collections

Discover the AM's extensive collections and research areas, including the name-bearing type specimens held at the Museum.

Why we collect
Research areas

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Dinosaurs and their relatives

Discover the Mesozoic era of the dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are classified as a group of reptiles, although some of their features are found in mammals and birds living today.

The Mesozoic era
Dinosaur factsheets
Australian dinosaurs

Find out more

Earth science

The Mineralogy and Palaeontology collections include rocks, minerals, gemstones and fossils, and reveal how the earth was formed.

Shaping the Earth
Minerals
Fossils

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About the Museum

The Australian Museum has been inspiring exploration of nature and culture for more than 190 years. Learn more about what we do, our extraordinary collections or our fascinating history.

Our Organisation Our History Visit the Media Centre

Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics DNA lab 2015.

Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI)

AMRI brings together scientific expertise and world-class research infrastructure to increase our knowledge of the world around us and inform environmental decision-making for a better future.

Biodiversity & geodiversity
Collections-based research

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Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station

The Lizard Island Research Station is a world-leading supplier of on-reef facilities for coral reef research and education. Located on the northern Great Barrier Reef, 270 km north of Cairns in Queensland, Australia.

Research
Facilities
Planning a Trip
Resources

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International Collection

Explore the material culture of indigenous peoples throughout the world in our International Collection.

Egyptian
Indonesian
African
American
Chinese

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Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics

Our primary focus is on ecological applications such as species identification, individualisation, conservation and small population management.

Aviation wildlife strike
Conservation genomic projects

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Policies and reports

Review the Australian Museum's policies and publications.

Strategic plans
Annual reports
Protected loans

Organisation & Governance

Learn more about what our organisation, what we do and our fascinating history.

Organisation & governance
History & future plans

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Archives & Research Library

The Museum Archives and Research Library cares for the Museum’s institutional memory and its historic natural history book and journal collections dating from 1836.

Photographic archives
History
Rare books

Explore the archives

Collection care and conservation

We specialise in the preservation of archaeological and ethnographic objects, rare books and archives, and biology and geology collections. Respect for communities’ cultural property are always a major factor in our decisions.

Preventive conservation
Treatment programs

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Australian Museum news

Hear behind-the-scenes stories and read about our latest discoveries, research expeditions and collection objects on display.

Blog posts
Podcast series
Explore magazine
Future plans

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Pacific Collection

Our collections represent living cultures with thousands of artworks, cultural technologies and archaeological material from across Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.

Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
New Zealand

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Join & Give

Make a donation. Become a member or volunteer. Or put your passion into practice on a citizen science project. Find out how you can get involved with the Australian Museum.

Become a Member Make a Donation Contact Us

Westpac Long Gallery Level 1 Collection Cases

Australian Museum Foundation

The Foundation supports the important work of the Australian Museum: it’s scientific research, its exceptional exhibitions and educational programs, and its acquisition of significant objects for the AM collection.

Patron's Circles
Trusts & Foundations
Next Gen
Bequests

Donate now

Australian Museum Membership

Be the first to enjoy the new-look Australian Museum in 2020, with free entry, exclusive events and much more.

Reciprocal offers
Benefits
Packages

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FrogID

FrogID is a national citizen science project that is helping us learn more about what is happening to Australia’s frogs.

Free mobile app
Record frog calls

Find out more

Andrew Trevor-Jones, citizen scientist for Australasian Fishes

Citizen science

See our citizen science projects and discover how you can get involved and contribute!

DigiVol
FrogID
WingTags

Get involved

Join the DigiVol volunteers

Join one of our virtual expeditions and help capture the wealth of information hidden in our Museum.

DigiVol Lab
Online digitisation

Get involved

Life at Lizard: Waging war on the Crown-of-Thorns starfish

Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation

Proudly supporting science at the Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station and elsewhere on the Great Barrier Reef.

Support our research
Help save the reef

Get involved

Sustainability at home

Leading a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle and saving money in the process is easy with these helpful factsheets.

Cut down on waste
Worm farming

Media Centre

Discover the latest news about the Australian Museum and Australian Museum Research Institute. The Media Centre also provides information, images & expert comment on scientific & cultural research, exhibitions & wider Museum activities.

Media releases
Photography & filming
Media contact

Find out more