Melbourne Museum opens its storage rooms to public

THE displays at Melbourne Museum may already be well-loved but stepping “backstage” presents a whole other world of wonder. From live insects to ancient fossils, its hidden wonders will be unveiled to the public in a series of tours in 2018.

Bec Carland with some of the backroom exhibits at the Melbourne Museum.

THE displays at Melbourne Museum may already be well-loved but stepping “backstage” presents a whole other world of wonder.

Melbourne Museum acting head of sciences Dermot Henry says the museum’s collections have been hidden for too long.

“The collections belong to the people of Victoria and the more people who can be exposed to these treasures and vital research, the better,” Henry says.

INSIDE MUSEUM VICTORIA’S HIDDEN STORAGE FACILITY

“The museum has 17 million items stored across three different venues, covering natural, zoological, geological and palaeontological sciences. There’s also a wonderful social history collection and technological and indigenous cultures.”

Back of House tours are about to start at the museum in an effort to share the hidden gems that are not usually displayed such as the taxidermy or model making section or rare book library. People will also have a chance to meet the scientists who work in research areas or manage particular collections such as Bec Carland who manages the fossils and also the live exhibits such as the insect zoo.

“The tours will show how people that manage those animals work and how they manage the breeding programs that will eventually see some of these species being released back into the wild,” he said.

Melbourne Museum is unveiling its hidden gems.

“If the tours prove to be popular, there will be more of them,” he says.

“I’m a firm believer that more people should understand all the aspects of what the museum does. We have a lot of postgraduate students and visiting scientists working at the museum.”

Each set tour will be led by one of the experts who manages the areas.

“It’s very much about people connecting to the experts behind the scenes,” he says.

MELBOURNE MUSEUM OPENS CHILDREN’S GALLERY

The tours will be held intermittently throughout the year and will be specific to certain sections of the museum.

The next tour will be held in January and takes groups through the Vertebrate Zoology section, including many of the fossils and the scientists who research this area of science. People will be able to visit two different collection areas in a single tour.

museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/whats-on/back-of-house-tours