Octopus Garden at the Australian National Maritime Museum - Review

The kids were pretty excited when I told them the Australian National Maritime Museum had a cool summer program called Wonderwater for the Summer School Holidays 2023-2024. The Australian National Maritime Museum always has great exhibitions and events for kids all year round and during the holidays and these holidays were no different!

Part of the Wonderwater program is Octopus Garden exhibition for kids and families which is on until 4th February 2024.

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

Photo credit: @busycitykids

Octopus Garden was commissioned by the Australian National Maritime Museum and developed in collaboration with Sydney based Junior Major digital agency and Sydney based Patrick Hunter, aka InkHunter an environmental street artist. Octopus Garden is an interactive exhibition dedicated for kids and is all about - you guessed it - the Octopus!

Octopus Garden at the Australian National Maritime Museum Review

Photo credit: @busycitykids

Kids can do a range of activities within this space. 3 large screens are the main focus of the exhibition.

Photo credit: @busycitykids

Kids can camouflage amongst the seaweed by walking through the sensor to blend in.

Photo credit: @busycitykids

They can create their own Octopus with a range of colour, shape and eyes selections from 3 consoles.

Photo credit: @busycitykids

Octopus Garden at the Australian National Maritime Museum Review

Photo credit: @busycitykids

They can take part in Octopus Yoga by following the prompts and yoga poses on the screen.

Photo credit: @busycitykids

Other parts of the exhibition display videos of the clever Octopus in action in the wild. There’s also an area where kids can also chase and squash projected crabs.

Photo credit: @busycitykids

And the favourite thing for Mister - build a cool fort with soft pebbles and soft toy octopus on hand! There are also areas for parents to sit and relax while the kids play away! Octopus Garden is on until 4th February 2024 and is lots of fun for the family! We also visited and reviewed Kids on Deck, Great Southern LEGO®️ Reef, Valerie Taylor: An Underwater Life and Ocean Photographer of the Year 2023 exhibition during our visit.

Octopus Garden at the Australian National Maritime Museum Review

Photo credit: @busycitykids

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

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!

Tips:

  • Entry to Octopus Garden is included in your See it All ticket.

  • Pack a water bottle and snacks for your visit.

  • Pack a towel and swimmers for the kids if they would like to water play at Kids on Deck (our review).

  • The museum has a café which is located downstairs from reception. Ripples Café has a great selection of drinks, snacks, food or ice cream and lots of seating area to catch a break.

  • Toilets are located next to Kids on Deck near Reception or in Ripples Café.

  • Grab the ferry from Circular Quay or park nearby to reduce walking, more details how to get there here.

Find out about NEW events, activities and programs across Sydney via our What’s On Sydney page.

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