After 11 years of planning and $915 million spent on development, Powerhouse Parramatta is finally open to the public.

For many Sydneysiders, visiting the Powerhouse in Ultimo is a core memory. We recall trailing behind other kids in matching uniforms during the annual school excursion or rainy afternoons spent here with our parents in the holidays. Yet, what I remember most is the thrill of getting to explore it for myself, and that ethos remains a core part of the experience at the new Powerhouse Parramatta, which opened over the weekend.

Powerhouse Parramatta opens on the banks of the Parramatta River

It’s the largest museum in NSW’s history and one of Western Sydney’s first major cultural institutions. More than 26,000 people registered to attend the free opening weekend, and another 6,500 tickets have been sold for paid events during the opening festival, which runs until 29 November.

Minister for the Arts John Graham said, “The opening of Powerhouse Parramatta is about people. It is about the industry, artists, scientists and creatives around the museum, the vast collection and the people whose stories are told. It will be a magnet for visitors from around the region, the state, the country and the world."

You can expect to see more than 3,000 objects across the five opening exhibitions, including more than 1,600 from the Powerhouse collection. Australian Traveller was lucky enough to head west for a first look, and this is everything we’d go back for. 

Powerhouse Parramatta: The highlights

The Dark – free

Built for kids aged four to 12, The Dark is a phone-free space where you can explore a bedroom that looks like it belongs in a Michel Gondry film and a forest straight out of Where the Wild Things Are. There’s something absorbing about it for grown-ups, too. The best gag comes on the way out. Look up and you’ll see children peering down at you. Somewhere along the way, you’ve become a toy in their toy box.

The Turning – free

Es Devlin’s installation brings together five commissions, including The Forest of Us, a mirrored labyrinth where looking for your own reflection means catching sight of everyone else. Our pick was The Collective Portrait. Take a seat at the 24-metre table and draw a stranger in silence on a continuous sheet of paper. On the way out, you can choose one of Devlin’s sketches to take home. As she explained during the visit, you leave a trace of yourself and take one with you.

Overflow – free

Head to the fourth floor for Overflow, a First Nations exhibition about water Country. The video work plays on a huge screen and is reflected in water below. With the Parramatta River just outside, it feels like a love letter to the stretch of river the museum calls home.

The Mall – free

There’s kitschy green carpet, a fountain to meet your mates by and old Telstra handsets you can pick up to hear stories. If you ever reverse-charged a call to Mum for a lift home from the movies, The Mall will take you right back to your teenage years. Beneath the nostalgia is a look at what made shopping centres such an important gathering place in Western Sydney, even when you had no intention of buying anything.

Task Eternal – ticketed

Start with Leonardo da Vinci’s studies of flight and work your way through spacesuits, satellites and space junk. Task Eternal has the scale and curiosity of a classic Powerhouse exhibition. The finale (an optional add-on when purchasing tickets to Task Eternal) is a light work by American artist James Turrell that feels like stepping into an abyss. Give yourself time here, as it’s a great place to get lost in for a while.

Plan your visit

Opening hours: The museum opens daily, from 10am to 5pm Monday to Wednesday, with extended hours until 9pm Thursday to Sunday during the opening festival, which runs from now until 29 November. Dining venues Simara and Folded open from 8am until late.

Entry and exhibition costs:  Entry to the museum is free. Under-16s get free entry to all exhibitions. Some museum programs and events are ticketed. See the Powerhouse program for exhibitions and event bookings.