Art and about
There’s more than one public gallery in Canberra – in fact, the city is home to some of the best galleries and museums in the country. We prefer to stick to the ones devoid of politicians and head for those that are filled with art. Our favourite is the National Gallery of Australia. Holding more than 166,000 works of art including an incredible 7500 pieces of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, it provides a different experience every time we visit, there’s so much to see. And the kids love the drawing, drama, stories and games in The Family Activity Room and Children’s Gallery.
The National Portrait Gallery is another favourite. It houses an amazing portrait collection of the people who shaped our nation, and there is enough artistic diversity in the small space to keep the kids from getting restless. It also provides plenty of opportunity for discussion about the people who have made Australia the country it is today. During the school holidays, the gallery provides plenty of conceptual and artistic activities that my pint-sized Picassos adore, along with tours for kids and kid-friendly guidebooks.
Something unique to the capital is Canberra Glassworks, a centre dedicated to contemporary glass art and craft where the kids can watch artists create fantastical glass pieces in its Hot Shop. During the school holidays, they can also participate in programmes to make their own creations, from glass tiles to paperweights, in a guided glassmaking workshop.
Hands-on science
With more than 200 exhibits to explore at Questacon: The National Science and Technology Centre, we always allocate the best part of a day for the kids to explore it all. Even after three visits the kids go crazy for the dozens of interactive exhibits. Rafferty and his dad head straight for Awesome Earth with its lightning and earthquake simulators, while Marlo and I go to Mini- Q, a custom-built gallery for little scientists. We all love Excite@Q, a high-impact neon room with a free-fall slide and robot hockey. While Rafferty challenges the robot, Marlo delights in shoving pieces of bright cloth in holes and watching them get sucked along a wall of tubes, only to be spat out again.
Rafferty is a bit of a space cadet, so he also has a soft spot for the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, where the kids can see real Moon rocks, watch movies on the history and future of space exploration, take a hands- on trip around the Solar System, marvel at the massive communications dishes and check out a replica of the Mars Rover.