National Museum joins Cultural Attractions of Australia

10 February 2020

Admire the National Museum of Australia’s dramatic architecture from a private hot air balloon above Canberra and explore the iconic collection up-close on a private tour of the galleries and storage houses.

These are just a couple of the highlights included in three new visitor experiences unveiled by the National Museum today.

The experiences will be on offer via Cultural Attractions of Australia, one of the segments represented under Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences program. Their domestic and international travel trade marketing channels will present a collection of unforgettable experiences from cultural institutions across Australia for domestic and international tourists.

National Museum Director Dr Mathew Trinca said the Museum is delighted to join Cultural Attractions of Australia by offering three new and unique experiences.

'The inclusion of the National Museum in Cultural Attractions of Australia reinforces the Museum’s position as a premium tourism destination and we look forward to delivering three brand new, experiences developed specifically for this exciting program,' said Dr Trinca.

'The Museum is known for its distinctive architecture and stunning lake-side location in Canberra – the building itself is arguably the biggest object in our collection,' said Dr Trinca, 'This program will allow visitors to see the building’s striking angles and loops from the air and get a bird’s eye view of our beautiful city along the way.'

'Tourism is a key industry for the Canberra economy and the museum is pleased to be a member of this innovative initiative which puts the cultural sector at the heart of the visitor experience and showcases Australia’s unique culture and history,' said Dr Trinca.

Cultural Attractions of Australia’s chair Jennifer Ganske said, 'We are delighted to welcome the National Museum of Australia as one of Cultural Attractions of Australia’s newest members. The calibre of this attraction, as well as its experiences, are in every way befitting of CAOA’s objective of showcasing the best of our cultural offering to the world.'

The three new experiences include:

In, above and behind the scenes

• Hosted hot air balloon tour of the National Museum’s architecture and surrounds
• Exclusive tour of the Museum with a curator before opening hours
• Champagne breakfast on the deck at the gorgeous lakeside Cafe
• Gift from your experience
• Private transfers
• $2135 per person (minimum two people per booking)

Out to the shed

• Exclusive tour of the Museum’s 'off display' collection, in a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum’s purpose-built storage facilities
• Lunch in the Museum’s beautiful Cafe
• Private transfers
• $349 per person (minimum two people per booking)

Big histories

• Exclusive tour with an expert to explore the Museum’s most iconic objects
• Phar Lap’s heart, Holden prototype, the Enterprise paddle steamer and Australia’s dinosaurs
• Australia grazing platter and local beer or wine on the Cafe deck
• $125 (minimum two people per booking)

All three experiences will be available to book through the Cultural Attractions of Australia and National Museum of Australia webpage for travel from 1 April 2020.

Interviews and images available upon request.