Powerhouse Museum – Ultimo – free entry to amazing exhibits for families

The Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo, Sydney has free entry and offers some of the best experiences, better than many paid exhibitions. It’s an incredible labyrinth of varied exhibitions from coalfired trains, space travel, steam engines, pottery and much more. Definitely a place that you should bring your kids to, because there are so many fun activities aimed at kids whether it’s building blocks, playing with magnets or building elaborate obstacles for rolling balls. Some of the exhibitions change from time to time.

Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo is literally across the road from JMC Academy

You can get to the Powerhouse Museum by light rail and then walking the rest of the journey after getting off at either Paddy’s Market or Exhibition Centre station. The main entrance to the Powerhouse Museum is on its western side. Unlike Melbourne, there is no free tram or light rail zone…

After walking through the entrance you are greeted to various exhibit teasers like the coalfired trains, World Pride exhibition, etc

Highlights	Some incredible exhibitions are hosted at the Powerhouse Museum. It can take a few hours to fully enjoy the whole museum.
Cost	Free
Location	500 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007
Website	https://maas.museum/powerhouse-museum/

The whole exhibition is incredible in how aesthetically pleasing the whole museum looks and feels. It feels modern and is super clean. There are so many interactive sections in the museum to engage with that teach you things you probably hasn’t thought about before. Plus, there are heaps of photo opportunities.

Closer view of the train but you can't get into the driver's section — Closer view of the train but you can’t get into the driver’s section

We visited on a Saturday morning and it had plenty of people, but wasn’t crowded. Most were families with young children around 2 to 8 years old. The venue has lifts for prams and people with disabilities.

Behind the train timetable is the space section with a walk-through space shuttle and various artifacts from space

Amazed by how such an incredible museum is entirely free

My toddler absolutely loved the museum. There was so much she was able to do. In the lower floors, there is a section dedicated to science experiments that kids can partake in with their siblings and parents. It’s a great place with plenty of options. It amazed me that there was so much I could learn from them.

I thought the section with the various older aircraft, coalfired trains, and space shuttle was super rad. There are 3 floors and some in between floors. You could get up close and touch a lot of these things. In the space shuttle area, you can see what it’s like to be inside a space shuttle, with videos and sound recordings, and various factoids on display. There is a lot of information about Russian space travel.