When was the last time you paid a visit to Boola Bardip?
Since the WA Museum opened four years ago, it's had countless exhibitions come and go, but it’s the permanent galleries diving deep into the past, present and future that really perks our ears up.
Ascending the gold spiral staircase, you’ll find eight thought-provoking galleries exploring WA’s complex and compelling stories, people and places—available all year long. If it’s been a while since you last popped in, let us refresh your memory.
Here’s a snapshot of Boola Bardip’s eight permanent galleries worth revisiting this year.
Exhibitions To Explore:
- Ngalang Koort Boodja Wirn
- Innovations
- WA Treasures
- Reflections
- Changes
- Origins
- Wild Life
- Connections
Ngalang Koort Boodja Wirn
One thing to know about WA Museum Boola Bardip is that it's not afraid to tackle the difficult topics. Translating to “our heart, Country, spirit”, Ngalang Koort Boodja Wirn shares the heart-rending yet important stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ fight for rights, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Stolen Generation.
While absolutely confronting, you’ll leave the gallery with a deep appreciation for the knowledge First Nation's folk carry towards healing, strength, resilience and spiritual connection to Country.
Innovations
Feeling a little uninspired? This one’s for you. Within Innovations, you’ll be able to get a glimpse into the brilliant minds and creative processes of some of the WA’s top makers, doers and innovators. The creatives in question cover a huge range of industries and fields: there’s renowned Brutalist architect Iwan Iwanoff, painter Robert Juniper, pioneer surfboard shaper Greg ‘Thunderpants’ Laurenson, and the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, all brilliant in their own right and all dishing up a whole heap of inspiration to spur on your next big idea.
WA Treasures
At the heart of Boola Bardip you’ll find WA Treasures, showing some of the museum's most iconic displays within the grandeur of heritage-listed Hackett Hall. While there’s a trove of trinkets at WA Treasures, a larger-than-life 24m blue whale skeleton truly steals the spotlight. Hovering in mid-air from the ceiling, the colossal skeleton affectionately known as ‘Otto’ is absolutely something you need to catch in person.
Reflections
Down on Level 1, Reflections explores how WA’s past helped shape its present, and is sure to spawn a big ol’ wave of nostalgia in the process. From vintage sports memorabilia on display to video footage from now-defunct festivals playing on loop, it’ll feel like a blast from the past for anyone that’s grown up in Australia in the 20th century. But there’s also an equally strong focus on the sombre parts of WA’s past, sharing heartbreaking stories on infant mortality, cultural conflict, the struggle for Aboriginal rights, and more.
Changes
We all know how important farming, fishing and mining have been to WA’s economy, but what impact have they had on our land? In this thought-provoking gallery, you’ll see first-hand just how damaging our economic activity has been to our natural resources and First Nations people of the region, with stark illustrations, confronting footage and desolating images depicting the struggle between consumption and the health of the planet. Pretty unmissable, if you ask us.
Origins
Saunter through Origins and you’ll realise the ever-changing earth below the surface is a lot more colourful, compelling and informative than its given credit for. Inside Boola Bardip’s gallery exploring the land, water and sky of WA, there are countless meteors, minerals, crystals and rocks to see in every shade of the rainbow. If you’ve ever wondered how stromatolites grow or why wind and water are partly responsible for Gawarre (the Bungle Bungle Range), Origins will provide the answers.
Wild Life
Get your flora and fauna fix at Wild Life, Boola Bardip’s close look at WA’s creatures—big and small, past and present—of the land, sea and sky. There’s so much to learn about nature’s diversity at this interactive gallery, from creepy crawlies, coral and cockatoos to the species suffering from the introduction of invasive species. There’s even a friendly bobtail and children's python who call the museum home, a 16m dinosaur model and Boola Bardip’s answer to Jaws suspended from the ceiling.
Connections
Which came first: the chicken or the egg? According to Connections, almost everything in life starts with an egg. In fact, there’s a king penguin egg from Antarctica on display right next to a giant Madagascan elephant bird egg found at Cervantes in 1992, dating way back to 2000 BP.
Both came to be in Perth via the Indian Ocean, which has brought a whole lot more to our sunny shores than just a couple of ancient eggs. Connections delves deep into the international influencers that have helped formed WA’s identity, including the evocative stories of colonisation, trade, tourism and severed connections to name a few.
All this and more deserves a good chunk of your time. To get the most out of the museum, our tried-and-tested advice would be to get an annual membership and come back multiple times throughout the year.
They’re cheap as chips, and there is always something new and shiny to explore in addition to the permanent galleries listed above. As a Boola Bardip Super Fan, you’ll pay once, and visit all year—that’s just $25 shmackos for unlimited entry into Boola Bardip AND the WA Maritime Museum. Become a member today.
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by WA Museum and proudly endorsed by Urban List. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make Urban List possible. Click here for more information on our editorial policy.
Images: Supplied.