ENCORE! at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts brings together 50 objects from 170 years of Australian stage history, and it’s a genuinely fun outing for kids who are into music, fashion or a bit of Aussie pop culture. Kids’ tickets are $10, adults $20, and it runs at Hamer Hall until 9 May 2027.
We go along not quite sure what to expect from a museum built around costumes and props, and it turns out to be a lot more playful than we think. There’s a talking ostrich puppet, Kylie Minogue’s gold hot pants, and a cloak stitched together from patches of Australian musicals. Kids get their own trail of plaques with questions and prompts, so it’s not just adults reading wall text while the kids trail behind.
What to Expect at ENCORE!
ENCORE! is AMPA’s second major exhibition, following DIVA, and it marks 50 years of the Australian Performing Arts Collection. The collection holds more than 850,000 objects, so the curators have picked out just 50 pieces spanning circus, dance, theatre, opera, music and TV.
The exhibition is split into six themed galleries: Time & Place, International Icons, Spectacle on Stage, Finding a Voice, Relics of Performance and Disruption. You move through in roughly that order, though there’s no wrong way to wander.
It leans glamorous. Costumes are lit like they’re still on stage, gold and sequins catch the light everywhere, and the whole space has a proper theatrical feel rather than a standard glass-case museum vibe. Older kids who like dressing up, performing or watching music videos will pick up on that straight away.
Highlights for Kids
Kylie Minogue’s gold hot pants, worn in the “Spinning Around” video, sit in the International Icons gallery alongside Olivia Newton-John’s dress from her 1978 TV special with Andy Gibb and ABBA.
Hugh Jackman’s pineapple-covered costume from The Boy From Oz is a guaranteed giggle. He wears it for the tropical finale “I Go To Rio” on his Australian arena tour, and the kids’ plaque next to it asks children what they’d add to an interactive stage costume: lights, sounds or moving parts. Ours have a lot of opinions.
Ossie Ostrich, the puppet who co-hosted Hey Hey It’s Saturday with Daryl Somers from 1971 to 1994, sits cross-legged just like he did on the studio desk. Parents who grew up watching him will get a kick out of introducing him to their own kids.
The Wirth’s Circus scrapbook is over 500 pages and reportedly needs two people to lift. Kids who like circus or big, dramatic objects will want to know how something got that heavy.
A patchwork cloak stitched from squares representing different Australian musicals is one of the more hands-on ideas in the show, even though you can’t touch it. It gets passed between the longest-serving cast or crew member on a production, like a backstage relay baton, and it once goes missing for a while in a cupboard before someone finds it. The kids’ plaque asks visitors to spot which musicals they recognise on the patches, which keeps ours busy for a good five minutes.
Look out too for Rob Hirst’s drum kit from Midnight Oil, on public display for the first time, and Nick Cave’s handwritten 1987 journal for older kids interested in music history.
What Parents Need to Know
Tickets and Booking
Adult tickets are $20 and kids are $10 (2-15 years), concession and Seniors Card holders are $16. Booking isn’t required, but with a new attraction like this, we’d book ahead online through Arts Centre Melbourne to skip any queue at the door.
BONUS: Entry is free across 10 and 11 October 2026, to mark the reopening of the newly refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre next door. That’s a good weekend to plan around if you’re on a budget.
Opening Hours
The exhibition runs Wednesday to Sunday, from 10am to 7pm on weekends and from midday to 7pm on weekdays (it’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays). Always double-check the Arts Centre Melbourne website before you head in, as hours can shift around public holidays and school holidays.
Getting There and Parking
AMPA is inside Hamer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Rd, Southbank, right by the Yarra. Flinders Street Station is a short walk across the river, and there’s paid parking at the Arts Centre and nearby Southbank car parks if you’re driving in.
Facilities
Toilets and baby change facilities are available on site, and prams are fine to bring in, though the gallery spaces are fairly dim and can get busy on weekends, so a compact stroller will be easier to manoeuvre than a larger one.
Food
Hamer Hall and the surrounding Arts Centre precinct have a few cafe options, and Southbank’s restaurant strip is a five-minute walk if you want to make a proper day of it.
Read more: 13 Best Family-Friendly Restaurants in Southbank Melbourne
What’s nearby
If time allows, combine your visit with a stop at the Australian Music Vault, NGV’s Children’s Gallery or the Royal Botanic Gardens, all free options nearby. There’s also Birrarung Marr playground and Rocks on Wheels playground not too far.
Our Experience
The first thing that strikes us is the acknowledgement of Country at the entrance, which sets the tone before we’ve even seen an object. It explains that this stretch of land by the Birrarung has been a gathering place for performance and ceremony for thousands of years, long before Arts Centre Melbourne existed, and it gives our visit a bit more context than we expect walking in.
Our kids gravitate straight to the “For Kids” panels dotted through each gallery. Rather than dumbing things down, they ask real questions: what would you recognise on the musical cloak, what would you add to a light-up stage costume.
The prompts get a family actually talking to each other in front of an exhibit, rather than everyone reading in silence and moving on.
The Judith Durham section stops us for longer than we plan. Her 1967 dress from the Sidney Myer Music Bowl concert, worn in front of 200,000 people, is paired with a broadcaster’s account of coaxing her out for one last surprise performance decades later.
We also like that the museum doesn’t shy away from the technical side of things. The Barbara Angell make-up case comes with a QR code linking to a longer online story about her career as the first woman to write and perform comedy on Australian TV, which is handy if your older kids want to dig deeper once you’re home.
If there’s a criticism, it’s that some of the wall text is dense for younger readers, so this suits primary-aged kids and up who can read independently, or who are happy to have a parent read the highlights aloud.
Is It Worth Visiting?
Best age group: Primary school aged kids and up, particularly tweens and teens with an interest in music, fashion or performing arts. It’s not built for toddlers or preschoolers, who won’t get much from glass cases of costumes.
Time required: Budget 60 to 90 minutes to move through all six galleries properly, longer if your kids like reading every plaque or you’re combining it with the kids’ trail questions.
Value for money: At $10 a child and $20 for adults, it’s reasonable for a museum visit in the CBD, and cheaper than most ticketed exhibitions in Melbourne.
Who’ll enjoy it most: Families with kids who are into pop music, musical theatre, dance or Australian TV history. Parents will enjoy the nostalgia factor as much as the kids enjoy the costumes.
Overall, we recommend it as a half-day outing, paired with a walk along the Yarra or lunch at Southbank. It’s not a hands-on children’s museum, but the kids’ plaques do a good job of making it feel like more than a look-but-don’t-touch experience.
FAQs
Is ENCORE! at AMPA suitable for toddlers?
Not really. There’s nothing hands-on for very young children, and most of the content is aimed at readers, so it suits primary school aged kids and older much better.
How long does it take to see ENCORE!?
Most families should allow 60 to 90 minutes to see all six galleries.
Do I need to book tickets in advance?
Booking isn’t required, but we’d recommend booking online ahead of a weekend visit to avoid queuing.
Is there an entry fee for babies?
Yes, the children’s price $10 is for 2-15 years
Is AMPA pram-friendly?
Yes, prams are welcome, though the gallery lighting is dim in places and a compact stroller is easier to navigate than a full-size pram.
When does ENCORE! Finish?
The exhibition is on display until 9 May 2027.
