The 10 Best Museums in Adelaide
A rich and growing cultural scene.
Adelaide boasts of a rich and growing cultural scene, and one of the most apparent
ways of noticing this is in the various museums and art galleries that dot different parts
of Australia. There are modern buildings as warehouses converted to museums so if
you happen to be in South Australia, these are the top museums to check out in
Adelaide.
Art Gallery of South Australia
This gallery is home to over forty thousand sculptures, painting, sketches, prints, textiles, photographs, and designs collected from different parts of the world. Over seven hundred and fifty thousand visitors come to this place every year, and that shows its significance as a Home of the premium art collection. Beyond what it holds, the building itself is fantastic and is one of the most beautiful structures where it is located close to the University of Adelaide.
South Australian Museum
The museum is right beside the Art Gallery of South Australia. If you are interested in the Australian Aboriginal culture and history, there is no better place to come than here. It houses the largest collection of artefacts focusing exclusively on the Australian Aboriginal. In fact, it has a gallery that is dedicated exclusively to this purpose. The building is a five-floor building all filled with all kinds of artefacts, scientific specimens, and fossils. Some of its rare fossils include a leaf-eating kangaroo and a snake that is six metres long.
State Library of South Australia
If there is museum of books, then it has to be this one. It is also on the North Terrace and has a mission of keeping the state memories alive. So far, it has been doing this well after being in existence for almost two centuries. Looking for any material on Australia and the state, you can count on getting it in this library. Its collections include unique books, original manuscripts, first published editions of classics, among many others. It is South Australia largest public library, and you will find information.
Migration Museum
This museum is located in a bluestone building built during the early colonial era. It is right at the back of the State Library and used to be a destitute asylum and indigenous children school. Today, it is a museum that focuses on settlement and immigration history. Objects and artefacts within the building narrate stories about the migrant communities in the state. The purpose of the museum is to promote diversity and multiculturalism.
National Railway Museum
This museum is the Australia biggest undercover railway museum. It has over 100 exhibits that deal with the history of Australia and the state railway operations. It was opened in 1970 and relocated to its current location in 1988. Visitors to this museum gets the chance to board cabs of steam engines, learn about the locomotive tradition of Australia, and walk through several carriages.
South Australian Maritime Museum
Right on the property that houses the Railway Museum is also the Maritime Museum. It could not have been in a better place than the Port. The museum is located in two bond stores from the 1850s and contains an extensive collection of maritime artefacts. If you are looking for anything dealing with South Australia nautical history, this is a great place to check out. You will find objects that explore different maritime stories in interactive exhibitions. There is also the iconic Port Adelaide Lighthouse for you to check out at the waterfront.
JamFactory
These are studios built purposely to train designers and artists in glass, furniture, ceramic, metalwork, and jewellery making. While it may not be a traditional museum, its retail and exhibition space displays premium contemporary art, some of which ranks as best in Australia. The government funds the organisation, and there are also galleries at the North Terrace and Seppeltsfield where objects and arts made from the studio are put on display.
Ayers House Museum
This Victorian home is the last surviving mansion from that era that can be found on that part of North Terrace. It was owned by the Premier of South Australia for five times, Henry Ayers and is open to visitors six days every week. That gives you an excellent chance to explore life as it was in the 19th century for a upper class family.
Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
It is an aboriginal owned and operated art centre, the oldest of its kind. It has been in operation for almost three decades, and the museum displays interactive exhibition dealing with the stories of the First people.
Santos Museum of Economic Botany
It is the last surviving museum of its type in the world and features different plants from all over the world, including the most significant ones to Australia. Every plant that has been of importance throughout Australian history can be found in this museum.