Sport is like a religion in Australia and at the National Sports Museum you can learn all about the nation’s love affair with sport and some of its greatest athletic triumphs. The museum is located inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground, affectionately known as the MCG. Dedicated to Australian sport, there are displays and exhibitions relating chiefly to Australian football, cricket and the Summer Olympics. Other displays also reflect upon sporting achievements in tennis, netball, rugby union and league, golf, soccer and basketball. Since the Australian Racing Museum was absorbed into the National Sports Museum in 2010, there are also many displays that relate to horse racing.

There are plenty of interactive displays along with important sporting memorabilia, which fascinates kids and adults alike. The museum is located on two levels and has around 2500 pieces on display. Some of the best known sporting memorabilia on display includes the Waterford Crystal Ashes cricket trophy; baggy green caps of several Australian test cricketers and gold medals from several of Australia’s Olympians including Cathy Freeman and Edwin Flack – who was Australia’s first gold medal winner. Interactive displays give visitors the chance to try out their athletic prowess as well as become a sports journalist on the news desk.

Housed in what is widely regarded as one of the finest Gothic Revival 19th century buildings in Australia, the City Museum of Old Treasury is a great place to learn more about the history of the city of Melbourne. The building was completed in 1862 and used as one of the chief governmental buildings for 130 years and initially as a place to store much of Melbourne’s wealth from the gold rush. After completing its governmental role in 1992, the building was restored and opened as the City Museum of Old Treasury in 1994. Today there are several permanent exhibitions as well as temporary and visiting installations.

One of the permanent exhibitions is Victorian Archival Treasures, where you can learn about Ned Kelly, gold miners of the 1850s, indigenous Victorians, famous criminals and the settlement of Melbourne. Built On Gold chronicles the gold rush period of 1852 – 1862 and the exhibition is housed in the building’s former gold vaults. Growing Up In Old Treasury is the story of the Maynard family who lived in the basement of the building in the 1920s when the father was superintendent. It is open from 9am to 4pm Sunday to Friday and it is closed on Saturdays.

The Melbourne Museum is the largest museum in the southern hemisphere and has seven huge galleries where permanent and touring exhibitions are displayed. There is a vibrant calendar of events and visiting exhibitions planned all throughout the year. Past temporary installations have included Egyptian Mummies and Dinosaurs from China. Permanent exhibitions at the museum include: Dynamic Earth, where gold nuggets, gem stones and other geological wonders are on display; 600 Million Years – How Victoria Evolves; Sam the Koala – the story of the devastating Victorian bush fires and the little koala who survived it; Wild: Amazing Animals in a Changing World; Dinosaur Walk; The Melbourne Story, a look at Melbourne’s anthropological past and future; The Mind: Enter the Labyrinth; The Human Body; CSIRAC – Australia’s First Computer and many others.

On the lower level of the museum is an IMAX theatre where educational documentaries are shown. Make sure you set aside plenty of time to fully explore the museum and everything it has to offer. There is a museum shop and café for visitors to relax in and enjoy light meals. The Melbourne Museum is open every day from 10am to 5pm and children have free admission. Some visiting exhibitions may have entry fees.

Melbourne’s Chinese Museum is located in the CBD’s China Town and chronicles the history of Chinese people in Victoria. Many Chinese came to Victoria during the gold rush of the 1850s and sent money back to their villages while panning for gold themselves, running market gardens or shops. Many of these immigrants came from poor areas of Southern China around Canton. At the Chinese Museum, you can learn all about the heritage and history of this significant minority group and their place in broader Australian heritage through the many artefacts, photographs and other memorabilia that is on display.

There are several permanent displays and exhibitions within the museum including: Discovering Melbourne’s Chinatown: Our History and Heritage; Finding Gold, where you get to experience the gold rush through Chinese eyes; Melbourne’s Dragons, see processional dragons going back a century; Bridge of Memories, which charts the social and economic backdrop against which more than 500,000 Chinese have immigrated to Australia over the past 50 years; Chinese Australians, is the history of Chinese-Australians going back to convict times. The Chinese Museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm and is also home to the Chinatown Visitors Centre. Some exhibitions are free and others have an entry fee.

Australia is one of the world’s most multicultural nations and Melbourne is a proud home to people from all corners of the globe. Located in the Old Customs House, right in the centre of the city, visiting the Immigration Museum is a powerful way to understand who we are as Australians and where we have come from. There are many permanent exhibitions as well as a fascinating range of visiting and temporary installations in the calendar. Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours is a permanent exhibition, which explores how our own cultural heritage, language, family and beliefs shape our perceptions of ourselves and others. Immigration Stories and Timeline is an exhibit that highlights where Australians have come from over time. Journeys of a Lifetime explores how no matter who we are or where we have come from that we have all had a journey.

When you visit Getting In, you learn about the stories of the more than 9 million people who have immigrated to Australia since 1788. The Tribute Garden within the museum honours the more than 90 nations from where Australia’s immigrants have come. The Immigration Museum is open from 10am to 5pm every day except for Good Friday and Christmas Day.

The Melbourne Maritime Museum is home of the Polly Woodside, one of only two original 19th century sailing ships in Australia. The three-mast barque was built in Belfast, Ireland in 1885 and was put to work transporting nitrate, coal and wheat between England and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. The Melbourne Maritime Museum is now operated by the National Trust and the site is better known simply as Polly Woodside following renovations and re-opening. It is located at the South Wharf on the Yarra River in an original late 19th century dry dock. In 1904 the Polly Woodside was bought by a New Zealand company and operated between New Zealand and Australia. In 1968 she was sold to the National Trust for restoration for the grand sum of one cent.

When you step aboard the Polly Woodside you will be initiated into the world of 19th century seafaring. When you are not assisting the captain look after his ship, you will learn about the history of the great ship through the interactive displays, videos, photos and artefacts on display. The experience of learning about life as a sailor on board the Polly Woodside is memorable for adults and children alike. The Melbourne Maritime Museum – Polly Woodside is open every day from 9:30am to 5:00pm, closed only on Christmas Day and Good Friday.