Newcastle Museum

About

Newcastle Museum is in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The museum is connected with Newcastle Libraries. It showcases exhibitions across science, industry, local history, and regional culture, with interactive and heritage-focused displays. Since opening in its current location, Newcastle Museum has received many awards for its design, environmental sustainability, exhibitions and tourism.

- Supernova - A hands-on science centre, allowing visitors to explore scientific concepts through a range of interactive exhibits.

- Kuueeyung - Explores how Worrimai and Awarbukarl peoples made traditional canoes out of the Punnah ( stringybark ) tree.

- Fire and Earth - Coal mining and BHP steel production. This includes the BHP Experience, a five-minute show run hourly, explaining the steel-making process using some of the objects on display and some dramatic effects.

- A Newcastle Story - Explores the city of Newcastle through time, from early Aboriginal life through to present day and into the future. Part of this exhibition shows the history and experiences of German-speakers in the Hunter region, telling the stories of German refugees during the Second World War.

- Link Gallery - Houses some large artefacts including a 1980 pipe organ and an 1870 J&A Brown Locomotive No4.

Lift-a-car interactive exhibit in Supernova exhibition

Earth Ball exhibit in Supernova exhibition

60 tonne ladle; part of the BHP steelmaking simulation

Pipe organ on display in the Link Gallery

Newcastle Museum regularly hosts temporary and travelling exhibitions. Notable examples include:

- Model Newcastle (current from 27th September 2025) – An exhibition of models and miniatures that celebrate Newcastle’s history, creativity and community.

- Dinosaurs: Surviving Extinction (September 2024 – March 2025) – An exhibition outlining the evolution of dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period to modern-day birds.

- Supernova - A hands-on science centre, allowing visitors to explore scientific concepts through a range of interactive exhibits.

- Kuueeyung - Explores how Worrimai and Awarbukarl peoples made traditional canoes out of the Punnah ( stringybark ) tree.

- Fire and Earth - Coal mining and BHP steel production. This includes the BHP Experience, a five-minute show run hourly, explaining the steel-making process using some of the objects on display and some dramatic effects.

- A Newcastle Story - Explores the city of Newcastle through time, from early Aboriginal life through to present day and into the future. Part of this exhibition shows the history and experiences of German-speakers in the Hunter region, telling the stories of German refugees during the Second World War.

- Link Gallery - Houses some large artefacts including a 1980 pipe organ and an 1870 J&A Brown Locomotive No4.

Lift-a-car interactive exhibit in Supernova exhibition

Earth Ball exhibit in Supernova exhibition