The Beach

Festival

Painted illustration of a beach showing a wide beach scene with many people.

Buy your holiday ticket before 19 December to get 20% off.

With summer on the horizon, there’s a familiar, seasonal pull towards the water. The air is warmer, the days stretch longer, and the city starts to shimmer with the promise of holidays. This year, the museum captures that feeling, bringing the beach to the heart of the harbour with a program that celebrates sunshine, culture, and the simple pleasure of being in, on or by the water.

Inside the Lighthouse Gallery, The Beach beckons - an intergenerational, immersive playground that captures the spirit of the season. It’s bright, breezy, and full of surprises: digital storytelling, exhibition, play, and performance all come together to explore how the beach connects us, shapes our stories, and brings communities together. Visitors are invited to slow down, reflect, and get lost in a space that feels both nostalgic and new - a summer escape without leaving the city.

This summer, skip the sand and crowds and make the museum your vacay by the harbour. Come and meet us between the flags!

Beach Babies

Relax by our shimmering projections and sand-free soft castles as you soak in soothing instrumentals and bespoke sensory play experiences with your little one.

On selected Wednesdays and Fridays in January, our summer interactive exhibition The beach is open extra early just for our young visitors 0-24 months and their parents and carers to enjoy.

Sip a beverage of your choice from ripples cafe as you lounge with your bub beside immersive large-scale light projections. There’s adult-friendly conversations to enjoy as you view collection displays of vintage swimwear and surf culture, as well as baby sensory play time featuring a range of tactile beach-inspired experiences, from bubbles to balance stones, inflatables to musical instruments, interactive rock pool animations, intertidal animal puppets and beach library stories inside our exhibition area.

Wednesdays and Fridays 7-30 January
9am – 10:30am. Exclusive access just for bubs 9am – 10am.
Quiet time 10am – 10:30am for general public.

$26 adult, $18 member adult, babies free
Admission includes a beverage and all-day access to our indoor exhibitions.
Bookings open soon