Archives: Discovery Centres

The interpretive centre has 20 exhibits, displays and videos about coal: its past, present and future. The two formal gardens behind the interpretive centre, the Timeless Garden and the Japanese Garden, are both free for visitors to enjoy. When mine tours are available visitors can see a 20 story high dragline, giant mine trucks and coal processing…

Monkey Mia is famous for the pod of dolphins that have come to shore each day to be fed for the past 50 years. The Visitors Centre has displays about the dolphins and other wildlife, a theatrette and there are staff on hand to answer questions. Dolphin feeding occurs each day and some visitors are…

Cape Range National Park is on the northwest corner of Australia. The limestone range is about 60 km long and is flanked by Ningaloo Reef and the Ningaloo Marine Park. The Milyering Visitor Centre is open daily and has informative displays, videos, a library and a children’s activity area. Visitors to the park can see turtle rookeries, snorkle over coral,…

The Museum of Human Disease showcases a collection of over 1400 human tissue specimens that show changes to the body due to disease. This collection is used to teach UNSW medicine and medical science students about pathology, but the museum also hosts high school excursions and is open to members of the public to come…

Tennant Creek was the site of Australia’s last gold rush in the 1930s. Battery Hill is on the eastern edge of the town and had a mine and ore processing plant (a 10 head stamp battery). There are guided tours of both the underground mine and the stamp battery. Visitors can try their luck panning for gold, and keep any gold…

Tower Hill is a volcanic formation close to the coast between Warrnambool and Port Fairy. It was first sighted by Europeans in 1802: by Captain Baudin on the French ship Geographe and also by Matthew Flinders on the HMS Investigator. The area was used for grazing cattle, growing crops and even for quarrying through the second…

The Museum is housed in the Old Bond Store, and the minerals on display were collected in the local area. The collection of over 200 mineral samples includes a 42 kg silver nugget. Also on display is the Silver Tree, an 8 kg silver epergne (table centrepiece) owned by Charles Rasp, who held the first mining lease at Broken Hill….

The Cairns Botanic Gardens comprise the Flecker Botanic Gardens, Centenary Lakes, Tank Arts Centre and the Mt Whitfield Conservation Reserve. The Flecker Garden was established in 1886. It is a rainforest garden with cool and shady paths under a canopy of lush vegetation. There are also open grass areas with tall shade trees. The Gardens…

Rockhampton Zoo has over 50 species of animals including freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus johnsoni), koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius). There is also a large aviary and Queensland reptile display. The Wombat Research Centre is assisting in trying to recover the population of the of the northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) – there are only about 100…

Australia Zoo, home of the Crocodile Hunter, is located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. As well as lots of saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) the Zoo has over 100 species of animals from all over the world. Each day there are shows performed around the Zoo as well as in the Crocoseum, a 5000 seat arena with clear water…