112. Powerhouse Museum

I’m really getting a bit sick of museums and Sydney has loads of them. However, this place really was quite interesting. I’m not sure why it’s called The Powerhouse Museum as that made me think it would be full of electrical chambers that you could stand in while lightning crashed around you and working demonstrations of solar, wind, gas, coal, oil and nuclear power stations with accompanying history – the sort of place you take the kids (and geeks like me) for that interactive experience.

Instead it was more of a journey though the scientific ages of man including period information, art galleries, architechture displays and design exhibits ranging from the use of the loom to the finer points of cybernetics via the route of the steam train, the advent of electricity and plastics and the kitch furniture of the 60’s and 70’s with a significant amount of glass-blowing thrown in for good measure.

Some of the exhibits were truly fascinating and worth spending extra time examining however, at parts it felt like it lost its way especially when it started talking about fashion shows and what it was like to be a house wife in the 1800’s. Not exactly what springs to mind when you hear the word Powerhouse. I also found it a bit mind numbing when I read the phrase, “This is an example of what a gentleman of the era might have worn…” for the 7th time. I must have seen that written about 50 times now in Sydney museum. It’s like the organisers run out of ideas and have a few empty glass cabinets that they don’t know what to do with when some smart-arse says, “I know what we can put in there…” Idiot!

That said it’s probably one of the better museums in Sydney and it’s ultra-modern in comparison to the others. It is a bit difficult to get to if you don’t know the route and although you can see it from miles around it takes ages before you feel like you are getting any closer. At $10 admission though it’s certainly worth persevering through the maze of roads, bridges and pathways in Darling Harbour.