Museum Power Station

• Address: 500 Harris St, Ultimo NSW 2007, Australia;
• Phone: +61 (02) 9217 0111;
• E-mail: info@phm.gov.au;
• Website: https://maas.museum/powerhouse-museum/;
• Work schedule: from 10 to 17 hours without days off;
• The cost: 16 aust. dollars, children - free of charge

One of the most unusual cultural institutions in Australia - the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney - is the main division of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. Exclusivity is attached to it by the fact that it is housed in a building formerly used as an electrical substation for trams.

History of the museum

The first exhibits of the future museum were presented to the general public at the corresponding exhibition of the Australian National Museum in 1878, as well as at international exhibitions in 1879 and 1880. They all made up a collection of the Technological, Industrial and Sanitary Museum of New South Wales. After the fire of 1882 in the Garden Palace, the institution moved from 1893 to a new building on Harris Street called the Technological Museum. Since 1988, the museum occupies the territory of the old power station Ultimo.

Museum collection

From the expositions of the museum you will learn a lot of interesting facts about the history of science. Among them, the most interesting are exhibitions:

1. "The science".
2. "Transport". She talks about the history of local transport for several centuries, from horse carriages to locomotives, cars and airplanes. The central exhibit is the locomotive 1243, the oldest on the mainland, which served 87 years. Near it is a breadboard model of the railway platform. On the other hand, a private wagon of the governor of New South Wales, built in the 1880s, was installed from it.
3. "Steam engines". From the exhibition you can find out how the steam engines were modernized from 1770 to 1930. Here are traction engines, Boulton and Watt engines, Ransom and Jeffries agricultural engine, as well as a steam-driven fire pump that harnessed the horses. The museum has a large collection of mechanical musical instruments.
4. "Communications".
5. Applied Arts.
6. "Media".
7. "Space technologies". Its center is the space shuttle model, made in full size. Besides him, you will see Australian satellites at the exhibition. It is connected with the "Transport" exposition by an underground passage. Also, the staff of the museum are proud of the fact that here is the Mertz telescope, built in 1860-61.
8. "Experiments." This exhibition allows children to get acquainted with the world of scientific inventions. Working with interactive displays, they study sections of physics devoted to light, magnetism, motion, electricity. Young visitors will like the story of how chocolate is made, and especially tasting at each of the four stages of its making. "Computer technology", which presents all computer models - from the very first to the ultra-modern laptops.
9. «EcoLogic». The exhibition is devoted to the problems of anthropogenic impact on the environment. Its visitors can not pass by Ekodoma, where you can switch light sources and see their degree of economy.

In total, about 400 thousand exhibits are stored in the storehouses of the Museum "Power Plant". Many visitors in admiration stop before the model of the Strasbourg clock, dating back to 1887. This is the creation of the hands of the 25th watchmaker from Sydney, Richard Smith, who dreamed of creating a working copy of the famous Strasbourg astronomical clock. Smith personally never saw the original, and in the process of using a brochure describing the timing and astronomical functions of this measuring device.

Exhibition of Jewelry

The exhibition of jewelry deserves a separate description. It presents:

• English ring of the 18th century, organically combining silver and gold. Its enameled middle is decorated with faceted diamonds;
• a copy of the necklace "Satin", made in the Louis XVI style of silver and crystal, imitating natural diamonds. The original was worn by Nicole Kidman in the movie "Moulin Rouge";
• tiara of moonstone and horn;
• a gold cigarette case decorated with enamel and diamonds;
• a gold ring with a miniature eye, surrounded by weaving of hair and small pearls;
• Egyptian amulet from the 9th c. BC. e.
• gold jewelry of Lady Granville, consisting of tiara, earrings and necklaces, made in the form of beetles;
• a necklace of sperm whale and vegetable fibers and much more.

The museum often organizes temporary exhibitions dedicated to famous figures of the public and contemporary art, television shows, popular films. If you are tired, rest in the cozy cafe The MAAS, located on the 3rd level and open from 7.30 to 17.00.

How to get there?

To get to the museum you can either sit on the bus that stops at the Broadway stop, or by purchasing a ticket for the city train to Exhibition Center Sydney station.