Australian Museum

The Australian Museum has been inspiring exploration of nature and culture for more than 190 years.

Our mission is to be a leading voice for the richness of life, the earth, and culture in Australian and the Pacific. We are a dynamic source of reliable scientific information and a touchstone for informed debate about some of the most pressing environmental and social challenges facing our region: the loss of biodiversity, a changing climate and the search for cultural identity.

Underpinning our research is an irreplaceable collection of international standing – more than 21 million objects representing a timeline of the environmental and cultural histories of the Australian and Pacific regions.

Our collection holds many artefacts from Indigenous Australia and the Pacific, a record of human diversity and a living wellspring for regional cultural diversity. It contains unique fossils, minerals, meteorites and gemstones that provide a geological perspective of the plant. It houses representative specimens of native Australian mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and countless invertebrates that tell many stories about our unique wildlife.