Let your kids roam free – or roam free yourself – in a new 900-square-metre outdoor adventure garden at Melbourne Museum. With greenery all around, the immersive, sensory gallery – called the Gandel Gondwana Garden – allows visitors to discover how the state’s natural environment has changed from prehistoric times to now.

The play-based learning space, which opened in early March, is a permanent addition to the museum, and geared towards six-to-12-year-olds. But it adjoins recently opened exhibition Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs, which is a spectacle for Victorians of all ages – it’s one of the most complete and best-preserved triceratops skeletons in the world.

In the garden, there’ll be five different ecosystems to traverse – with models of prehistoric megafauna and flora – to explore the state’s ever-changing biodiversity. Created in collaboration with members of Museums Victoria’s Yulendj Group of Elders, the experience is grounded in First Peoples’ knowledge, delving into the inextricable link between land, language and culture.

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“The Gandel Gondwana Garden is an immersive wonderland, letting kids roam through our natural history and appreciate the extraordinary creatures that once roamed this land,” says Danny Pearson, minister for creative industries, in a statement.

It’s named after renowned Victorian philanthropists Pauline and John Gandel, who have contributed substantially to the project. And it connects to the museum’s existing (and beloved) children’s gallery, which is also named after Pauline Gandel. Gondwana is the supercontinent that once connected most of the Southern Hemisphere.

“Gandel Gondwana Garden is a living, breathing gallery," says Lynley Crosswell, CEO and director at Museums Victoria. “It will change with the seasons and, like the children it has been designed for, grow and develop over time.”

museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum

This article was originally published on April 4, 2022. It has been updated to include new details and images.