About Museum Victoria

What is Museum Victoria?

Museum Victoria is responsible for the State's scientific and cultural collections, providing public access through three museums.

We also oversee a wide range of research programs, the continued development of the State's collections, and run major education and research based websites.

We are the largest public museums organisation in Australia.

Collections

As the State's museum, we are responsible for more than 16 million individual items. These objects are organised within three priceless collections - Sciences, Indigenous, History & Technology.

You can view a selection from the collection on the Museum Victoria's Treasures website.

Museums

We operate the Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens, Scienceworks and Melbourne Planetarium in Spotswood, and the Immigration Museum in Melbourne's Old Customs House in Flinders Street.

We are also custodians for the heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building.

History

The National Museum of Victoria, the state's first museum, was established in 1854.  In 1870, the Industrial and Technological Museum of Victoria, later known as the Science Museum, was built. 

These institutions were amalgamated and Museum Victoria was established in 1983, under the Museums Act.