Melbourne Museum

I went to the Melbourne Museum to see the geology exhibit as part of an assignment for my Earth Science class.  I had been meaning to go there for a while, and this finally gave me an excuse.  It's only about a ten minute walk from where I live, and admission is free for students, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to do this.  It was well worth it.

The Melbourne Museum falls somewhere in between natural history and science.  It's got your usual "stuffed" animals, dinosaurs, insects, rocks, and minerals.  But it also has a couple other unique exhibits: a psychology exhibit about optical illusions and brain perception; an exhibit of the history of Melbourne from settlement until today; a display of inventions by young engineers; and a simulated living forest in the courtyard where you could peek into the various ecosystems--logs, ponds, burrows, etc.  It was all really well done.

Stibnite (antimony sulfide) from Banat, Romania

Rhodochrosite (manganese carbonate) from the Capillitas mine, Argentina

Dinosaur foot (paw?)

The mighty Ari!

We're going to need a bigger boat.

In the young inventors exhibit there were a series of really impressive machines that high-school age students had put together.  One kid had put together an internal combustion engine out of old cans and other household junk.  Another made a remote-controlled rocket launcher.  The third-year engineering student in me was a little jealous of their accomplishments, I must admit.

The high schooler's homemade engine.

It's funny how museums become more fun when you're older and have more patience for them.  The ones I've seen here--the Australia Museum and MCA in Sydney, and the Melbourne Museum--have all been well worth the trip.  And over the past couple years I've revisited a lot of the museums in Boston with a much greater appreciation than I had when I was little.  I could spend an entire day in the MFA, for instance.  And the Science Museum--well, it never gets old.