New exhibition turns museum experience right on its head

Museum Inside Out draws on the state’s collection to create an immersive, playful and quietly thrilling one-of-a-kind adventure. It features some of the most significant, historic and exquisite objects – as well as the humble and everyday – reinterpreted in unexpected ways.

Visitors will become players in theatrical sets, be engulfed in strange wonderlands, and be taken on a multisensory journey. They will find themselves in 1854, standing in the moonlight with a meteorite ready to crash to Earth, or enter a world where exotic show birds dance, miniature civilisations rise and fall, and an individual heartbeat lasts for literally hundreds of millions of years.

Museums Victoria has more than 40 exhibitions scheduled for the year, encompassing topics as varied as design, fashion and migration, to experiences that explore technology, innovation and the wonders of science.

“Bring your eyes, ears – most importantly bring an open heart and enjoy the extraordinary combination of the creativity and innovation of our people and the richness of the state’s collection,” said Museums Victoria chief executive Lynley Marshall.

Activities planned over summer include Museum Moves, the unexpected exercise class with the avant-garde Phillip Adams BalletLab. The museum storeroom will open for regular tours, revealing finds ranging from specimens collected by Charles Darwin and John Gould, to a wonderland of extinct animals, spectacular birds and rare books.