Today I had booked tickets to visit the Melbourne Museum and watch Oppenheimer at the IMAX. There was no breakfast offered at the hotel so I did some research and decided to try out a diner on the east side of the CBD near Carlton Park.
I hopped on the tram and walked through some of the narrow alleys in the Little Lonsdale area. Melbourne is known for its coffees and this diner did not disappoint. I had a great meal for a reasonable price and was ready for the day.
The museum was about 15 minutes away, and I decided to walk there since the rain was calming down. After all the heat I had experienced in Australia, it was quite refreshing to experience some precipitation and sub-20 temperatures.
The Melbourne Museum is located in Carlton Park, just north of the Royal Exhibition Building.
I first stopped off at the forest exhibit, which was located in the museum’s courtyard. Open to the air, this exhibit featured the trees of Victoria and life found within their environments. Victoria is one of the more unique states of mainland Australia due its temperate climate.
Afterwards I went upstairs to visit the Melbourne Story exhibit, which detailed this history of Melbourne from the early 19th century to the present. Also in this exhibit was the hide of distinguished racehorse Phar Lap.
Downstairs housed the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, which displayed exhibits detailing the history of the Indigenous people of Victoria. I was more interested in the modern, post-colonization history, and learned about how Australia doesn’t have Treaties with any of the traditional Aboriginal peoples.
I made my way back upstairs to check out the special exhibition, Relics. This exhibit detailed a hypothetical future in which LEGO minifigures have set up a post-apocalyptic society built out the remnants of human devices.
I was running out of time, so quickly made my way downstairs and breezed through the science galleries. I had already seen enough Australian minerals, but the bug exhibit was quite interesting.
My showing of Oppenheimer was at 15:00, so I headed down to the IMAX theatre, located underneath the museum. The Melbourne IMAX is the second largest in the world, measuring 32 m by 23 m. I wanted to see a movie here, and they were still showing Oppenheimer in 70 mm film, so I figured I’d watch it again.
Their print was in fantastic condition; despite having one of the longest runs of Oppenheimer, it still looked very fresh. I had already seen it twice at West Edmonton Mall, and at the second showing, there was already quite a lot of noticeable wear and tear. Obviously the projectionists here know how to handle the films. I just wish I had been in town the following week to watch Interstellar.
After the movie, I walked back towards the CBD and stopped at a hole in the wall Thai restaurant near the tram stop. Interestingly, you made your order on your phone, and the service was very prompt once it was sent to the kitchen.
I headed back to the Docklands on the 30 tram. It was practically empty when I got on, but a few stops down became almost entirely full. Just a few stops after that, it emptied out again.
I suspect this is due to the free tram zone. Since it costs nothing to ride, there’s little incentive not to take tram over walking, even for just a short distance. Unfortunately this has the consequence of increasing journey lengths due to prolonged dwell times at stops.
I made it back to my room and settled in for the evening. It had been a great day exploring the museum and I was looking forward to seeing more of the city tomorrow.
Today by the numbers
Steps taken: 12,824
Quinn Kozlowski 
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