Sydney’s $915M Powerhouse Parramatta reveals its free opening program — with a giant crystal tunnel, the largest NASA moon rock and Steve Jobs’ jeans

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Arshia Anand

 –  Jr. Staff Writer

 ·  August 24, 2026

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A shiny crystal tunnel, a NASA Moon rock, Steve Jobs’ Levi’s 501s and a vintage Qantas aircraft are among the headline attractions coming to Powerhouse Parramatta when the long-awaited museum opens on Saturday, 7th November 2026.

The museum has revealed its opening exhibition program, bringing together more than 3,000 objects across five major exhibitions. More than 1,600 of those objects come from the Powerhouse Collection, alongside loans from collections in Australia and overseas.

The program spans art, science, design, engineering, technology and First Nations storytelling, with plenty designed to get visitors out of the traditional museum mindset and into immersive spaces.

Get lost in Es Devlin’s world

British artist Es Devlin will make her Australian exhibition debut with The Turning, a showcase of five major works that moves between sculpture, film, architecture, language and performance.

The exhibition will include Forest of Us, a maze of mirrors that explores the visual similarities between trees and human lungs, alongside Memory Palace, an immersive 3D cityscape.

Visitors can also explore Screenshare, a hybrid cinema and installation featuring sketches from 365 books Devlin has made, Redraw the Edges of Yourself, which presents hand-drawn studies of flora and fauna, and Collective Portrait, an evolving installation that invites visitors to draw a portrait of a stranger.

Powerhouse chief executive Lisa Havilah said the new Parramatta building would allow the museum to take on installations at a scale not previously possible. “We’re able to create these exhibitions that people will really be able to immerse themselves in.”

Enter The Dark

Powerhouse is also turning its attention to younger visitors with The Dark, an immersive exhibition created for children aged four to 12.

Developed with creatives Kip Williams, Elizabeth Gadsby and Marg Horwell, the exhibition transforms the familiar fear of darkness into a fantastical world featuring a bedroom, crystal tunnel, forest and gateway to a land of giants.

More than 800 objects will feature, including minerals from the Australian Museum collection, newly commissioned First Nations animations and special objects loaned by children across Western Sydney.

Havilah said 100 children had responded to the museum’s call-out to share an object that meant something to them. “So there’s a whole room with these 100 objects, but also the stories behind each of [them].”

The exhibition’s premise is to show that darkness can be mysterious without being frightening. “The Dark can be wondrous. There’s no need to be scared.”, Havilah said

Walk on water with Overflow

Overflow will bring First Nations perspectives on NSW’s waterways into the museum through a new exhibition led by Aboriginal organisations and filmmaker Ivan Sen, a Kamilaroi man.

The exhibition explores the living principles of Water Country and the work being done across NSW on species protection, flood mitigation, sustainable and commercial fishing, water monitoring, language revitalisation and cultural water rights.

Seven Aboriginal organisations contributed to the project, including Baramadagal Community, Gamay Rangers, The Goondee Aboriginal Museum and Keeping Place, Jagun Alliance, Joonga Land and Water Aboriginal Land Corporation, Moogalin Performing Arts and Naru Aboriginal Corporation.

The cinematic installation will place audiences inside these stories, with Havilah teasing an especially immersive element. “There will be a huge platform in the middle of the space that will have water in the middle of it.”

From da Vinci to the Moon

For anyone fascinated by how humans got off the ground, Task Eternal will trace the ambition to defy gravity and take flight.

The exhibition will feature the historic Qantas Avro 504K aircraft, original drawings of flying machines by Leonardo da Vinci loaned from Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Italy, and a NASA Moon rock—the largest collected during the Apollo missions. American artist James Turrell will also contribute a new immersive light work.

However, Task Eternal will charge admission for visitors aged 16 and over, while under-16s can enter for free.

A museum designed for immersive experiences

Across two storeys, The Mall will examine how shopping centres evolved into one of the defining spaces of modern consumer culture. The exhibition will look at architecture, design, technology, engineering and fashion, with objects ranging from early barcode designs and arcade machines to a bitcoin mining rig.

One of the most interesting finds will be the Levi’s 501 jeans worn by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The exhibition will also explore the history of the enclosed shopping mall, including recently digitised material documenting the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the United States.

Together, the five exhibitions will put thousands of objects into settings that encourage visitors to interact with ideas rather than simply view displays.

Havilah said the museum’s ambition was to connect communities with international creative and technological work. “Powerhouse Parramatta will redefine how museums connect with community, industry and learning.”

“These five foundational exhibitions place audiences at the heart of the museum, bringing to life stories of technology, creativity and excellence.”

The $915 million Powerhouse Parramatta project also includes a new collection storage facility at Castle Hill and the digitisation and preservation of more than 371,000 objects in the Powerhouse Collection.

Moreover, the museum has also surpassed its $75 million philanthropic target, securing $80.28 million in contributions.

Key details

• What: Parramatta Powerhouse
• When: Saturday, 7th November, 2026
• Where: Powerhouse Parramatta
• Entry: All exhibitions are free for visitors under 16