Long Term Exhibitions
Long Term Exhibitions
Butterfly Gallery
The BankWest Butterfly Gallery displays an extensive collection of butterfly species from Australia, South East Asia, South America and Africa.
- Butterfly Gallery
- Photo from WA Museum
- Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Diamonds to Dinosaurs
Take a journey though 12 billion years of history, beginning at the origins of our universe, through to the birth of our solar system before exploring the evolution of life on our planet.
This exhibition features a wealth of significant geological artefacts, including 10 million diamonds that pre-date the solar system, rocks from Mars and the Moon, our world-famous array of meteorites, fluorescent and unusual minerals, and the Argyle Diamond Display.
The exhibition also showcases the evolution of life on Earth, beginning in an inhospitable furnace and resulting in the diversity of life that exists today. The gallery features dinosaur skeleton casts, fossils of extinct life, and displays that show the evolution of humans, mammals, marine life and reptiles.
- Diamonds to Dinosaurs
- Western Australian Museum
Discovery Centre (Perth)
Do you want to see dinosaur fossils, stone-age tools, meteorites, preserved vertebrates and invertebrates or perhaps some living frogs? The Discovery Centre has interactive displays and activities where young people and adults can get busy with their hands and minds. It is also the place to go to find answers to your scientific questions or to identify a biological specimen. Read more about the Discovery Centre in the explore section of this site.
- Kids with a crocodile in the discovery centre
- Photo from WA Museum
- Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Katta Djinoong
Katta Djinoong: First Peoples of Western Australia depicts the history and culture of the Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia from past to present.
Katta Djinoong is a Noongar term that means “see and understand us”. Many individuals, communities and organisations shared their stories, gave information, lent objects and approved photographs for inclusion in Katta Djinoong. The exhibition focuses on issues identified as important by Aboriginal people - family, land and continuity between traditional and contemporary life.
The exhibition examines traditional Aboriginal hunting and gathering lifestyles in the four major cultural regions of the State – South-West, Desert, North West and Kimberley.
It considers the impact of European settlement on people’s lives and social systems. It tackles contested histories including massacres, the inquiry into Deaths in Custody, the Stolen Generations, and progress towards reconciliation, including the origins of Sorry Day and Kevin Rudd’s historic Sorry speech.
Katta Djinoong also examines contemporary Aboriginal arts and crafts, and issues of ongoing importance from politics to success as sporting heroes.
Katta Djinoong: First Peoples of Western Australia provides an opportunity for the Aboriginal peoples of this state to share their stories and for visitors to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of Western Australia’s Aboriginal’s peoples, their role in modern society, and their heritage and cultural values.
- A student in Katta Djinoong
- Photo by Norm Bailey
- Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
WA Land and People
This exhibition explores relationships between people, the land and the natural environment. Find out how these interactions have shaped the history of Western Australia.
Stories of Western Australia’s past and recent present are illustrated with fascinating and important historical objects.
The exhibition is set within a magnificent heritage gallery space - the former Public Library building (Hackett Hall) which opened in 1913.
- WA Land and People
- Photo by Trish McDonald
- Image copyright of WA Museum
Mammal Gallery
A large array of mammals from Australia and the world are on display in this exhibition. Deer, bison, elephants, camels, horses, wallabies, kangaroos, numbats and many more mammals have been preserved and displayed in Victorian-era glassed case displays.
- Mammal Gallery
- Photo from WA Museum
- Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Bird Gallery
From the forest dwelling parrots to coastal birds, this gallery explores the amazing variety and diversity of Western Australia’s birds.
The Bird Gallery features in the Jubilee Wing of the Western Australian Museum - Perth, a high-ceilinged Victorian-era room bathed in natural light. The display is glass encased and removed from the wall, to enable viewing from all angles.
- Bird Gallery
- Photo from WA Museum
- Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Dampier Marine Gallery
Travel along the shores and beneath the waters of the Dampier Archipelago.
This gallery presents the results of the four-year partnership between the Woodside Energy Ltd. and the Western Australian Museum to explore the region’s marine diversity. This exhibition showcases a selection of organisms recorded by Museum scientists to give visitors a glimpse into the beauty and diversity of the marine habitats of Western Australia’s northern coast.
- Divers of Scott Reef
- Photo by Clay Bryce
- Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum