Free Open Day – 1 March

Festival

Photo showing a family onboard a navy ship on a sunny, blue sky day. There is a Dad and mum with 2 small children all holding hands.

To mark the 125th anniversary of Australia's Commonwealth Naval Forces, which later became the Royal Australian Navy, the Museum will hold a free Open Day where visitors can meet Navy personnel, tour naval vessels, hear service stories, and join interactive activities.

Enjoy the HMAS Vampire radio Club, see a Navy Diving display, tour the WWII navy vessel Krait, listen to the Navy New Orleans band, and see model displays of Australian Navy vessels.

Online ticket allocation exhausted

Due to popular demand, tickets for our Free Day are no longer available online.

Limited tickets will be available at the museum on the day.

Portrait photograph of a father and daughter (a male and young female visitor) walking across the top deck of the submarine

Photo showing a couple (a man and a woman) on the deck of a navy ship, looking up at the ship's guns with the Sydney skyline behind them.

Photo of a young girl and older sister stops to check out the submarine's periscope.

A detail photograph of a grey navy vessel showing its emblem - featuring the harbour bridge and a red kangaroo - and lifebuoy

Photo of a A boy and teenage girl inside a navy ship.

Photo showing a young female adult visitor inside the Projection Room watching a film that captures the experience of the navy vessels during operations

1 - 6

Map of the museum. PDF download available below.

Map

Download (PDF)

Program highlights

Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony

Main Stage (1) - 11am

Navy Bubble BBQ with Sally Bubbles

Main Stage (1) - 10.15am, 12.30pm and 2.15pm

Entertainment Encounter clever characters, fun physics and bubbles!

Royal Australian Navy Band Sydney – New Orleans Band

Main Stage (1) - 11.30am and 1.15pm

Catch the Navy’s jazz ensemble as they bring the swing to the harbour! From upbeat classics to soulful melodies, perfect for all ages to enjoy or dance along to.

Kids on Deck Maker Space - Sailor Style!

Terrace room (4) 11am – 3.30pm

Hands on art-making and face painting for the family.

Also discover the Cabinet of Curiosities – Naval Novelties inside the museum (9) at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm & 2.30pm (hour sessions)

Task Force 72

Tasman Light Gallery (5) 10am – 4pm

Discover 15 ship models on display from the model-makers TASK FORCE 72 Scale Model Ship Association Inc., chat to the model makers and
find out how they are made!

Clearance Divers

Museum waterfront (6) 10am – 4pm

Meet the Australian Clearance Diving Team One and check out their state-of-the-art equipment.

Signal Flags

Museum flagpole, HMAS Vampire (II) and HMAS Advance. (7) 10am – 3pm

Join the crew of HMAS Adelaide and help them hoist signals on the museum flagpole, also catch them by the water to send a signal between the museum’s destroyer Vampire and patrol boat Advance.

Secret Strike – War on our shores

Meet near the Lighthouse (8) to walk to Wharf 7. - 11.30am & 2pm

Take a tour of the Secret Strike – War on our shores exhibition. This exhibition explores the raid of Japanese submarines on Sydney Harbour
during WWII.

You can also visit the Library and view a specially curated section of navy books and research materials. 11am – 1pm & 2 – 4pm

Service@Sea

Theatre (11) 12 – 12.45pm and 1.30 – 2.15pm

Experience history through the personal voices of Navy personnel. Hear moving readings of letters, journals, and interviews spanning from Federation to the early 1980s, marking the pivotal era when women first took to the sea.

Also catch a talk on the origins of the Royal Australian Navy, with Kez Hasanic from the museum’s Speakers
Group. 2.30 – 3.30pm

Discover the museum’s navy vessels

Adventure aboard our fleet of vessels HMAS Onslow, HMAS Vampire (II), Endeavour and the Duyfken, and discover the museum’s smaller navy vessels; patrol boat HMAS Advance, MV Krait and SY Ena (formally known as HMAS Sleuth).

You can also join the the crew of HMAS Adelaide and help them hoist signals between the Vampire and Advance.

Onboard Vampire, discover the radio club who connect to other ships across the world – learn how to send coded messages and morse code across the sea.