The Australian Museum to shut down for $57.5m renovations
The Australian Museum is closing for a 12-month renovation and will re-open in time for its blockbuster Tutankhamun exhibition in early 2021. Entry is free this weekend ahead of the $57.5m renovations.
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The Australian Museum has free entry this weekend, as the grand old sandstone takes a final bow before closing on Monday for a year-long $57.5 million renovation.
This means many of the exhibits must be packed up to keep them safe while they wait for their new home to be built.
It’s a long time to be without the Sydney favourite but director Kim McKay said it will be worth the wait.
“Just wait what we’re going to show you when you come back in,” Ms McKay said.
When the museum reopens, it will be ready to showcase “probably the largest exhibition ever to visit Australian shores”, Ms McKay said.
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Tutankhamun: Treasures Of The Golden Pharaoh will include 60 objects never seen outside Egypt, as well as 100 other fascinating items being toured while the Grand Egyptian Museum is being constructed in Giza.
The Australian Museum could never have housed the Tut exhibition without the $57.5 million renovation, which starts next week, Ms McKay said.
The building work will affect only the museum’s interior.
“It is really opening up the museum to the public,” she said.
“We will have this wonderful new 1500sq m temporary exhibition space, which means the Australian Museum can host large international blockbuster exhibitions in the future. The whole reason for doing this (is) we were often losing out to Melbourne because we didn’t have a big enough space.”
The historic Westpac Long Gallery, meticulously renovated in 2017, will remain untouched and the overall “character” of the building will be unchanged, McKay said. But she is excited that the revamp, led by Cox Architecture and Neeson Murcutt Architects, will offer a vastly enhanced experience not only for Egyptian pharaohs but for everyday visitors as well.
“We’ve never had enough bathrooms, we’ve never had any cloaking,” McKay said.
“We’ll get a much bigger shop, a second cafe, so really great new facilities for the public. We know that when people visit museums and galleries they’re looking for more than just seeing the objects. They want a whole day out experience.”
Like anyone preparing for major renovations, staff have been busy packing.
Fragile animal skeletons and drawers full of specimens in the children’s discovery area, were packed up and taken off site.
The Pacific collection was moved from on-site storage to a new Rydalmere facility where Pacific communities can still request access to its contents. The minerals collection was sent to Bathurst, where its temporary home is the Australian Mineral and Fossil Museum.
Vibration monitors installed throughout the Australian Museum will ensure the exhibits that remain in the building, such as the dinosaurs, are not jeopardised by the renovations.
“We’ll continue to clean the museum all the way through (the project),” McKay said.
Staff will stay in the building, and the conservation team will monitor the museum’s objects daily.
Despite so many exhibits being moved to storage, popular attractions such as Wild Planet, Surviving Australia and the dinosaurs will all be on view, McKay said.
The Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo is also free this weekend. Advance registration is required for both museums.
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