The kids and I headed to the Australian National Maritime Museum recently and had a massive day of learning and fun and all things about Sea Monsters and more! We were there for 4.5 hours and could have stayed there until the museum closed and checked out the vessels however the kids were exhausted after their busy day!

For more info or to book tickets to the Australian National Maritime Museum, head here.

Before entering the Sea Monsters exhibition, we checked out a very short movie clip showing monsters.

We then entered the main Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Ocean Predators exhibition which showcases real fossils from millions of years ago, gigantic replicas including a 13m long Elasmosaurus and a 9m Prognathdon, hands-on interactives to make your own monster, dress ups, dino poo and much more.

Earth’s oceans were home to some of the largest, fiercest and most successful predators ever. While dinosaurs ruled the land, giant reptiles and sharks hunted the depths of the ocean!

The exhibition has lots of things for kids to touch and interact with, from sea monsters’ teeth, flexible spiny backs, to swimming like a sea monster and more!

The 13m gigantic replica of Percy the Plesiosaur is quite impressive in the sand with a puzzle of Percy nearby which kids can solve together.

Kids can also dress up as a Mosasaur next to its skeleton!

They can also colour-in their own sea monsters and see it come to life onscreen by colouring in one of four colouring pages and have it scanned. This was a very popular spot in the exhibition. Little Miss and her brother created a large collection of sea monsters as they didn’t stop colouring in! We even had to come back before we left and do more!

Little Miss liked creating her own creature and seeing if it would survive in the ocean and her brother liked climbing and entering the models of leatherback sea turtles and seeing its replica skull.

The Sea Monsters - Prehistoric Ocean Predators exhibition was by far the most interactive and interesting exhibition we have gone to at the Australian National Maritime Museum to-date. It was very well setup with lots to interact with, lots to see, concise text to read, funny parts and interesting videos and the kids favourite thing which was colouring a sea monster of their own by colouring it in and seeing it onscreen and testing their sea creatures’ survival skills.

We also checked out Sea Monsters 3D - A Prehistoric Adventure in the 3D Movie theatre which was very interesting and reinforced the info we learned from the Sea Monsters exhibition. Eighty million years ago, the American Midwest lay under a great inland sea where colossal creatures ruled the waves. From giraffe-necked Styxosaurus and sea birds with teeth to the T-Rex of the ocean, the 40-foot super-predator Tylosaurus, these wondrous beasts defy imagination. Well worth checking out, entry to the movie is included with a paying ticket. Sessions are 20 minutes and run 11am or 3pm or other times during holidays, check with front desk.

Photo credit: Australian National Maritime Museum

We then headed outside along the museum’s vessels to see the Erth performance. If you have more time when you visit, checkout the tall ships and submarine with your big ticket which gives you access to everything at the museum on the day including the vessels.

We enjoyed a performance of Erth’s Prehistoric Aquarium which was amazing. The kids were mesmerised and fascinated by the performance which included cool puppets and a host which taught us about sea monsters and sea creatures. The show runs for thirty minutes several times during the day and is in addition to the Big Ticket, see our tips section below to save $10 on your Erth ticket.

After the show, we headed to the Kids On Deck area which usually runs on Sundays and during term with the Mini Mariners Under 5s program. During the School Holidays, this area is open every day with a special themed Sea Monsters arts & crafts area.

The kids enjoyed digging fossils, fishing sea monsters, decorating rocks, making a sea monster puppet and softie, creating a lego sea monster, dressed up and playing in the blue build.

We then headed to the Under 5s' PLAY Gallery which is perfect for little kids 0-5 years. Little Mister 4 loved the ocean themed room filled with free-play games and interactive setups which kept him busy and fulfilled his curiosity.

After another visit at the Sea Monsters exhibition, we headed home exhausted after a massive day of fun!

For more info or to book tickets to the Australian National Maritime Museum, head here.

Note: This post contains an affiliate link above. It doesn’t cost you extra however we get a small fee from your booking which goes towards supporting our website’s costs to bring you our FREE What’s On Sydney listing full of events!

Our tips & info:

The Australian National Maritime Museum is located at 2 Murray Street in Sydney in Darling Harbour and is open 9:30am–5pm every day of the year except for Christmas Day.
Entry to the museum’s galleries and selected exhibitions is FREE but some special exhibitions are ticketed. Entry for kids under 4 is FREE. Entry to all zones is included in Big Ticket admission. A big ticket for an adult is $35, Child $20, Concession $25 and Family $89. The Big Ticket excludes tickets to Erth’s theatre show).
The Big Ticket does not include entry to performances of Erth's theatre show. To upgrade for $10 per person and save, include a session to Erth's Prehistoric Aquarium by clicking here.
Entry to Kids on Deck school holiday event is included in any paid admission or FREE for Members. No bookings required and on until 26 Jan 2020.
Sea Monsters and Sea Monsters 3D are on until 27 April 2020.

Busy City Kids were hosted by the Australian National Maritime Museum for the purposes of a review. Travel was self funded. All opinions & feedback are genuine & truthful.

For more ideas and reviews for what to do with kids around Sydney, head to our blog where you will find reviews as well as useful guides like our Daily Spots List as well as parents rooms, playgrounds, beaches & pools and more!

Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Ocean Predators - Australian National Maritime Museum - Sydney

Home Blog what’s on melbourne what’s on sydney work with us contact us

© copyright busy city kids - website by claire designs - disclaimer privacy tcs&Cs