An Immersive Palaeontological Adventure Garden Is Coming To Melbourne Museum

A 900 square metre outdoor garden is coming to Melbourne Museum. Known as the Gandel Gondwana Garden, this adventurous learning space will connect to the newly opened Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs exhibition, as well as the Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery. This fun space will be perfect for children aged six to twelve, and will take them on a journey across five different ecosystems. The Gandel Gondwana Garden will open in late 2022.

Gandel Gondwana Garden

Throughout the garden, you’ll learn about different habitats that have shaped Victoria’s environment over time, and explore the different ecosystems that make life on Earth possible. First People’s stories of Creation will also feature in the garden, sharing Australian Indigenous cosmogony, and the link between land, language and culture.

The garden is named after the supercontinent Gondwana, which connected most of the Southern Hemisphere including Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India and the Arabian Peninsula. It is also named after Victorian philanthropists John and Pauline Gandel, who contributed to the development of this project.

The garden was inspired by the museum’s immense palaeontology collection, and the design will capture a vivid picture of Victoria’s environmental past. Journey through the space, and encounter dinosaurs and pre-historic predators, Victoria’s State Fossil Emblem Koolasuchus, marsupial megafauna and more.

“The Gandel Gondwana Garden will capture the imaginations of generations of children and families,” said Lynley Crosswell, CEO and Director of Museums Victoria. “This unique outdoor learning space will captivate young audiences through play-led learning, and spark a deep engagement with science and the world around us.”