If you’ve got kids aged 0–12, Scienceworks in Spotswood is one of those places you’ll visit again and again. We’ve been going for years — we’ve taken our kids when they were tiny, watched them grow up alongside the exhibitions, and even snuck back for a Friday night date. This is everything you need to know before you go.
What Is Scienceworks?
Scienceworks is Melbourne’s hands-on science and technology museum, sitting just across the West Gate Bridge from the CBD in Spotswood. It’s part of Museums Victoria — the same group behind Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and IMAX — which matters a lot when we get to membership (spoiler: it’s a no-brainer for Melbourne families).
It’s not a “stand back and look” museum. Everything is made to be touched, pulled, climbed on or tested. Kids who get bored in galleries? They don’t get bored here.
The Permanent Exhibitions, by Age
For babies and toddlers (0–5): Ground Up
Ground Up is the exhibition that keeps toddlers busy while you actually breathe. It’s a dedicated space for under-5s — soft, safe and full of things to stack, build, push and explore. There are light and sound activities, simple engineering challenges and enough space for little ones to roam without you chasing them into a crowd.
It’s where we spent 90% of our first few visits. Even now, with bigger kids, the little ones still want to come back.
This exhibition space also hosts the best set of toilets available on-site. Modern, clean and comfortable with everything for babies and toddlers. This includes quiet feeding areas, baby change tables, and even those little toddler toilet seats.
Read our review of Ground Up.
For primary-aged kids: Think Ahead
Think Ahead is the exhibition for kids who want to know what the future looks like.
Renewable energy, robotics, the way technology is changing our world — it’s big, interactive and genuinely thought-provoking. Best for primary-school-age kids and up, but the whole family will get something out of it.
For teenagers: Beyond Perception
Most museums lose teenagers somewhere between the information panels. Beyond Perception does the opposite.
It’s a permanent exhibition on the upper level — the whole floor — designed specifically for teens, and it shows. The space is dark and atmospheric, full of moving light projections and a generative soundscape that shifts as you move through it. It doesn’t feel like a museum. It feels like stepping into something.
Read our review of Beyond Perception.
For everyone: Sportsworks
Sportsworks is the one that gets every age group competing. It’s all about the science behind sport — reaction times, lung capacity, jumping height, wheelchair racing. You test yourself against the data, and suddenly science feels very personal.
Fair warning: you will argue about who has the faster reaction time. Plan extra time here.
It’s also a nostalgia kick for the parents. Who doesn’t remember racing Cathy Freeman at Scienceworks when they were a kid?
For everyone: The Lightning Room
The Lightning Room is exactly what it promises: a live electricity show with proper lightning, electrical coils and controlled demonstrations that will make your kids’ jaws drop. It runs at specific times during the day, and like the Planetarium, it’s an add-on cost.
Check the daily schedule when you arrive and work your visit around the Lightning Room time you want to catch. It’s a highlight — don’t miss it.
For older kids and adults: The Spotswood Pumping Station
Don’t skip the Pumping Station. It’s a heritage-listed piece of Melbourne history — a massive, beautiful piece of industrial machinery that used to pump the city’s sewage away. Kids think it’s gross and cool in equal measure.
There’s also FlushBack, an augmented reality adventure that takes you back to 1942 and puts you to work keeping the station running. You need a device and the app to do it — worth downloading before you arrive.
The Melbourne Planetarium
The Planetarium at Scienceworks is a big drawcard, and it deserves its own section.
It’s a 16-metre high dome with fully digital projection — the first in Australia to have it. Shows run throughout the day during opening hours, covering everything from the solar system to black holes to what’s in the sky tonight.
Book ahead. Planetarium sessions fill up fast, especially on weekends and school holidays. You can book online when you book your entry tickets. Don’t leave it to chance and don’t assume you’ll get seats when you arrive.
It costs extra. Planetarium entry is not included in general admission — it’s an add-on. Same goes for the Lightning Room. Budget accordingly.
Younger kids and the dark: The Planetarium goes pretty dark. Some littles love it; some find it overwhelming. If your child is sensitive to darkness or loud sounds, it might be worth having one parent take the older kids while the other stays with the baby. There’s a social story available for the Planetarium on the Museums Victoria website — worth reading before you go if you have kids with sensory sensitivities.
Shows change monthly, so check what’s on when you book. Current and upcoming sessions are listed on the Scienceworks website.
Planetarium Nights: The Adults-Only Friday Sessions
Here’s the thing about Scienceworks that most parents don’t know: Friday nights are adults only.
The Planetarium Nights sessions run every Friday from 7pm, with two screenings: one at 7:30pm (astronomy-focused, often including a live presenter-led tour of the night sky) and one at 9pm (a full-dome art film — more immersive and cinematic). You can book one or both.
The bar is open. The lights are low. It’s genuinely a great date night.
We’ve done it a handful of times and it never gets old — there’s something about lying back in a dome watching the universe explained above you that feels special every time. Tickets run around $25–$45. Book well in advance for popular shows, because they sell out.
The Temporary Exhibition Space
One of the best things about Scienceworks is that there’s always a reason to go back.
Every six to twelve months, the temporary exhibition space gets a completely new show. These are premium, ticketed exhibitions — the kind of thing that tours internationally and lands in Melbourne for a limited run. Past shows have covered everything from colour and light to black holes to the science of flight. They’re usually designed for all ages, with enough depth to keep adults genuinely interested and enough hands-on activity to keep kids busy.
Because they change regularly, they’re also the best argument for a Museums Victoria membership — members get discounted entry, so if you visit even once a year for a special exhibition, the membership pays for itself faster.
Before any visit, it’s worth checking the Scienceworks website to see what’s currently on.
Sometimes the temporary exhibition lines up perfectly with something your kids are into at school. Sometimes it’s just something brilliant you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
Either way, it’s never the same place twice.
Read more about Colour: See the World in a New Light, currently on until January 2027.
Little Kids Day In
If you’ve got a child under five, Little Kids Day In is worth putting in the calendar.
It runs once a month and takes over the whole museum for the day — but with no school groups. That alone is a game-changer. The place is busy, but it’s busy with prams and toddlers instead of Year 5 excursion groups, which makes the whole experience calmer and easier to manage.
Each Little Kids Day In is a STEM-based playdate, with dedicated zones set up across the museum — Tiny Tinkerers, Bub Hub, Tot Spot, Kinder Clubhouse and Book Nook — plus activities inside the Lightning Theatre and Planetarium.
Each day has a theme, so the activities, shows and performances change every time. We’ve seen live music, craft, hands-on science sessions and more. It’s a great excuse to visit even if you’ve been recently.
Standard entry prices apply — which means little kids are free and members get in at no cost. Check the Scienceworks website for the date of the next one and what the theme is.
Some sessions inside the Planetarium and Lightning Theatre require a free ticket that you grab on the day, so arrive early if those are on your list.
It’s also just a genuinely lovely way to spend a Monday morning with a toddler.
Scienceworks School Holiday Programs
Holiday programs usually include a mix of free inclusions and paid extras. Check the Scienceworks website in the weeks before each school holiday period — they announce programs pretty close to the dates.
See what’s on at Scienceworks for the upcoming:
Birthday Parties
You can book a birthday party at Scienceworks. The venue has spaces for kids’ parties and the environment basically does the work for you — the exhibitions are the entertainment.
It’s worth contacting them directly for current packages and availability. Booking as early as possible is the move for popular dates, especially in school-holiday windows.
Museums Victoria Membership: Is It Worth It?
Short answer: yes, if you’re a Melbourne family.
A Museums Victoria household membership covers 2 adults and up to 6 kids (under 16) and gives you free general entry to Scienceworks, Melbourne Museum and the Immigration Museum for the full year. Since kids under 16 are free anyway, you’re essentially paying for adult admission — and it pays for itself very quickly if you visit a couple of times.
On top of free entry, members get:
- Discounts on special and touring exhibitions
- 10% off at the Museum Shop and cafés
- Discounts on Planetarium and Lightning Room tickets
If you visit Scienceworks even twice a year, the maths work out. If you visit regularly — and once you have the membership, you will — it’s one of the best value family memberships in Melbourne.
Getting There
By car
Scienceworks is at 2 Booker Street, Spotswood. From the CBD, take the M1 to Hudsons Road. Parking is on-site and cashless: $5/day Monday–Thursday, $8/day Friday–Sunday (via card or the EasyPark app). On weekends it can fill up early — Grazeland is nearby and shares some of the traffic.
Limited street parking is available on Hudsons Road and Simcock Avenue if the car park is full.
By train
Take the Werribee or Williamstown line to Spotswood Station, then it’s about a 10-minute walk to Scienceworks. The walk is flat, has kerb ramps at every crossing and is pram-friendly.
By ferry (our favourite)
The Westgate Punt is a passenger ferry service that crosses the Yarra River between Westgate Landing (Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne) and Spotswood Jetty. The crossing itself takes about 5 minutes.
From Spotswood Jetty it’s roughly a 10-minute walk to Scienceworks. On weekends the ferry runs on-demand. Check the Westgate Punt website for the current timetable before you go.
This is genuinely the most fun way to arrive — kids love it, the crossing is short enough not to be boring and it makes the whole outing feel like a proper adventure.
You can also catch ferries from Southbank via Williamstown Ferries as another option.
By bike
Scienceworks is accessible via cycling routes along the Maribyrnong River, Hyde Street, the Yarra River and Hudsons Road. Bike parking is at the front of the building.
Accessibility at Scienceworks
Scienceworks is one of Melbourne’s most accessible family venues. It’s autism-friendly and provides sensory maps, social stories, quiet times and visual guides online before your visit. There are tactile indicators in the elevator, and exhibitions include components for visitors with vision impairments.
The main entrance is flat with no step. The school entrance is stairs only, but the main entrance has full lift access. Prams are no problem throughout the venue.
Practical Tips Before You Go
Book ahead. Buy your entry tickets online and add Planetarium and/or Lightning Room at the same time. You’ll avoid disappointment, especially on weekends.
Arrive at opening. Scienceworks opens at 10 am. Getting there early means you beat the school groups and get the most out of popular exhibitions before they fill up.
Check what’s on. Rotating and special exhibitions change regularly. The Scienceworks website shows current and upcoming exhibitions — worth a look before each visit so you know what’s new.
Feed them before or after. There’s a café on-site for snacks and lunch, but factoring in food before or after your visit takes some pressure off the day.
Factor in more time than you think. You’re not getting out in 90 minutes. Plan for at least half a day, and a full day if you want to see everything.
Opening Hours and Entry Prices
Open daily, 10am–4:30pm. Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day.
- Adults: $15
- Seniors: $12
- Concession: free
- Children (16 and under): free
- Members: free
Additional fees apply for the Melbourne Planetarium, Lightning Room and some special exhibitions. Planetarium Nights (Friday evenings, adults only): approximately $25–$45 per session.
Check museumsvictoria.com.au/scienceworks for current ticket prices and to book.
DON’T MISS OUT!
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