ACMI — The Story of the Moving Image

ACMI turns a museum visit into something you can make, play and take home. Its free centrepiece, The Story of the Moving Image, follows film, television and videogames through five connected sections. Pick up a free Lens on arrival to collect favourite displays and save your own creations for later. Allow around two hours if you want to use the interactive stations as well as explore the objects and stories.

Try assembling film scenes on the Edit Line, recording a soundtrack in the Foley Room or playing a changing selection of games in the Games Lab. These stations are shared with other visitors, so leave some room for a wait rather than treating each activity as an appointment. The exhibition also explores Australian screen stories and the contribution of First Peoples. Its content includes names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died.

This is a useful indoor stop with children, friends or anyone interested in how screens shape everyday life. Children under 13 need an accompanying adult. There is seating throughout, but some spaces have loud audio, flickering or strobing light and darker passages; choose a separately booked relaxed visit if reduced sensory stimulation would help. Entry to the main exhibition needs no ticket. Cinemas, workshops and selected temporary exhibitions have their own sessions, prices and bookings.

Finish with a break at the Level 1 cafe or continue to NGV Australia in the same Federation Square complex. Keep your Lens to revisit your collection online. Leave food and drinks outside the galleries and follow the photography signs; cinema screenings cannot be photographed. The museum usually closes at 17:00, even when a later cinema session keeps part of the building open.