National Museum Of Australia

Wonderful museum — café awful (eat before you arrive). Museum staff are great. Café staff are rude and condescending.

An excellent place to get an overview of life in Australia, from thousands of years ago to present day. Overseas visitors will get a lot out of it, and locals too will learn about their own country.
Lots of exhibits, displays, and some hands-​on stuff to keep the kids occupied as well. You need about 3 – 4 hours here to get the most out of it.
Worth visiting!

I have to admit that it is annoying to get to if you choose to do a tourist walk. However, it is worth your time.
Inside you will be met by friendly museum assistants, exciting exhibits of Australia and our travel as a nation. Be kind and donate!

What a wacky, wild, and cool museum this is. Many tours available for many parts of it. The one I enjoyed the most was the Garden of Australian Dreams. It’s a very, very interpretative garden (kudos to you if you get everything that is going on here without someone explaining things to you) and well worth a visit. I wish I had more time to see and visit but it just means I’ll stop by again next time I’m in Canberra.

Excellent museum! I tend to get overwhelmed when I go to museums with the plethora of captions to read, but this one was very visitor-​friendly. And interesting! I’m from the US so it was neat to learn so much about Australia and its history. Although the museum is free, I went ahead and paid the additional $ 10 for an hour long tour. He took me through the museum, showing me the highlights of each gallery, but not only that, he also explained the significance of the building itself. It’s amazing how much thought went in to the design of this building! From the knot shaped main hall (representing unity of the Australian people from different origins) to the huge loop out front (called the «Uluru line» representing the connection between the Aboriginal past and the modern Parliamentary Australia) to the windows in the ceilings that are in the shape of the Eucalyptus leaves. After a nice 3 hours in the museum, I enjoyed sitting outside at the tables overlooking the Lake. It was an excellent visit!

Why is it the countless times I have been to Canberra I’ve only just discovered this place?
Had to kill some time with daughter in tow and I always wondered what this colorful museum was about.
For starters, it is FREE. Amazing. Great café and gift shop too.
There is a theatre to watch the history of Australia, lots of multi-​media exhibits to learn about Australia as well. Love the autobiographical section, with its domed audio recordings. They also featured the Azaria Chamberlain story («a dingo ate my baby»).
Outside, there is a water feature, although I don’t think you can wade in it. Also beautiful grounds and fantastic Aboriginal displays.
Next time I’m in Canberra, will probably stop in again!