• Cleverman is one of the great exhibitions at the WA Museum Boola Bardip.
KIDS driving you nuts at the tail end of the school holidays? Sick of going to the beach and the hot weather?
It might be time for a little edification and air con – step forward the WA Museum Boola Bardip.
They’ve got some cracking summer exhibitions for a broad range of ages and interests with everything from the immersive Lewis Carroll-inspired Wonderland to a behind-the-scenes peek at the popular TV show Bush Mechanics.
But if you want to exercise your brain and body at the same time, you can’t go past the Codebreakers family tour.
Part scavenger hunt, part escape room, Codebreakers is a series of challenging puzzles, codes and clues leading you across galleries and through the museum.
Your mission is to identify an agent from the mysterious Shadow Society who is intent on raiding the museum’s collection. It’s on daily from 2pm.
After all that mental exertion, let your mind drift down a rabbit hole to Wonderland, an interactive exhibition that celebrates Lewis Carroll’s timeless stories and Alice’s adventures on film.
Explore Alice’s journey from book to screen, through original picture books, magic lanterns, images, and film and TV moments. Then join an immersive Mad Hatter’s Tea Party that comes alive with digital wizardry.
Get lost in the Hallway of Doors, squeeze into a tiny house, climb a giant chair to peek into Alice’s room, and post your personalised soldier avatar on the Queen’s croquet ground.
Wonderland is a fun, interactive tribute to the legendary children’s writer.
After all the fantastical fare, it’s time to get firmly back down to earth with the Bush Mechanics exhibition, featuring a range of items from the series, including two original cars, clay figurines, specially commissioned artwork, and interactive displays about Aboriginal life and culture.
Developed by the National Motor Museum, it’s a fun ode to the ingenuity of outback mechanics whose clever resourcefulness can turn branches, spinifex and sand into tools and spare parts to get cars back on the road.
Another great TV tie-in is Cleverman, an exhibition about the dystopian sci-fi show of the same name.
First aired in 2016, it broke the mould with a predominantly Indigenous cast and senior crew, featuring a series of Aboriginal-inspired stories that tackle class, racism and power.
Check out original props, costumes and make-up from the series, and explore Aboriginal storytelling, language and creativity in this free exhibition.
For parents and older kids, the free commemorate exhibition Remembering the Bali bombings: 20 years on examines the biggest loss of Australian lives to a terrorist attack.
Three bombs exploded on Bali in 2002, killing 202 people from 21 countries and injuring many more. A total of 88 Australians lost their lives.
Many of the severely injured were evacuated to Australian hospitals with 28 flown to Royal Perth Hospital on private, commercial and Australian Defence Force aircraft.
Featuring photographs from Royal Perth Hospital, video testimonials from survivors and key medical staff, this exhibition reflects on the challenges the hospital faced in dealing with injuries of a magnitude and severity never experienced before.
It recalls the outpouring of community support, lifting morale in a time of great hardship.
For more info and exhibition dates see visit.museum.wa.gov.au/boolabardip/tours-event
by STEPHEN POLLOCK