Oct

Sydney - Powerhouse Museum Review

By Stuart

Heya all,
Sunday’s post this week is coming to you a day early this week. *grins* Lucky you!! - Last weekend I decided that I would head to the Powerhouse Museum, located in Darling Harbour. Getting to the Powerhouse Museum is quite easy. If you are in Darling Harbour then it is only a short 5 minute walk. Otherwise if you get off at Central Station you have about a 15 minute walk to get there.

Introduction

The Powerhouse Museum was originally opened to the public in 1988 and has since grown to comprise 22 permanent exhibitions, additional temporary exhibitions and a range of more than 250 interactive activities (Statistics taken from Powerhouse Museum Website).

So… what is the Powerhouse Museum… they have a collection of items from the old to the new, everything from fashion, clothing and items from the 1800s to items in innovation from the last few years developed by todays leading university students.

Now to some of the exhibitions.

Fashion - New & Old

This first area was focused around fashion. It had a lot of modern items and as you went further into the exhibit it was almost like stepping back into time. This was not just about clothes and fashion, however also things like fashion in the home, in pottery, furniture and the like. It was really quite interesting to see the old and the new side by side. It really does make me wonder what fashion will be like in another 100 years time, just how much things will change and what the world will look like.

Modern Innovations

The second area along was for modern innovations. This was a collection of some of the most prized innovations in recent years. It included both corporate innovations as well as items that had been developed by leading university students. Below are two examples, the first is for bicycles and assists to make them more visible with the use of bright lights on the helmet, gloves, and handlebars. The second is for firefighters to set up and point a hose at fire, so that the fire can be hosed unattended while the firefighters can focus on rescues.

“The Steam Revolution”

The next area I visited is known as “The Steam Revolution”. This was a favorite for me… as to why I guess it is just a guy thing, large engines… some primal instinct… who knows. This was also the first area that had some interactive activities which included small, manual air compressors and lifting weights as well as the opportunity to crank a driveshaft in order to power a series of small lights.

Space - The Final Frontier?

Next on the line was a tribute to Space Travel. A lot of the items in this exhibit were models (some life size others not), however it was still spectacular to see. There was also a large look inside an example space shuttle. Looking at living quarters, excercise bays, and of course the bathroom. When I first walked into this room, I was amazed at all the models hanging from the roof. Sadly, I could not get a decent photo as the roof was quite high up and of course the flash was hence, completely pointless *hehe*. So this is one you will have to see for yourself.

Sustainability

In the Sustainability section, there was a heavy focus on conserving the worlds resources. It covered ideas and new innovations in and around the home to help conserve energy. The below image of a car is a new hybrid model a Holden none the less, using electricity to replace petrol. The other image which look like a home, were actually a set which they had showcasing how light dimmers can conserve energy around the home and how touch screens may soon replace light switches to control devices around the home.

In Short

The Good:

A very wide range of things to see
Regular events happening at different times of the day
You can see what you want when you want, and jump back and fourth between areas
Many interactive exhibits
Exhibits covered not only history but recent and future times as well
Prices were *very* reasonable. See Powerhouse Museum - Hours and Charges for details
Cafe prices were no more expensive than you would find anywhere else in Sydney (this was a very pleasant change)
So many exhibits that I could only cover a *percentage* of them here

The Bad:

Due to school holidays it was quite crowded and there were LOADS of little kidlets around
There was just so much to see, to do it all in one day can be difficult
While taking kids along they may get tired easily as it is a lot of walking around the complex
The two temporary exhibits that they were running were nothing to write home about. SpecialFX I visited however the Diana Princess of Wales exhibit I did not.

In Summary

Overall I had an awesome day, and it has been a lot to try to fit into this one little page. I tried to get as many photos as possible for you, as one comment that had been put forward to me was that people really did want more photos. The reasonable cafe prices were (as mentioned) a very nice surprise. I had a pie and chips + 600ml Diet Coke for less than $10AUD. There is something at the Powerhouse Museum for everyone to see for all ages as well. I never seem to tire of going there. Weighing up the cost of the day (Less than $20AUD) for many hours of entertainment I had, the Powerhouse Museum really is priceless value if you are in town. On My 1-5 scale of 1 being not worth a visit and 5 being a must see. I give the Powerhouse Museum a 5/5. This is a must see while you are in Sydney.

Well I hope you have enjoyed reading this. Before I give you the final photos from the day. I would just like to say, if you do enjoy reading my reviews and would be interested in donating some money towards the upkeep of this site and also what it costs in time and money to go out and do the reviews and then writeups it would be greatly appreciated. You can donate through paypal (the same payment system used for a lot of Ebay transactions) by clicking the little Paypal Donate Button below. It of course is not required… but is appreciated.