18+ event

Museum After Dark | Force of Nature

Thursday 11 September

Museums Victoria / Melbourne Museum / What's on / Museum After Dark | Force of Nature

Overview Program & schedule Gallery Accessibility

Explore a world teeming with life at Nocturnal: Force of Nature, your adults only invite to experience Melbourne Museum up late and child free.

Whether you're looking for unique date night ideas, or fun activities for adults in the city, we’ve got you covered. With a full program of expert led talks and tours and two levels of exhibitions you’ll never run out of things to talk about.

Gather your herd, ignite your curiosity and experience the wonders of our planet while enjoying food, signature cocktails, music, and more until 9pm.

Full Program and tickets coming soon.

Tickets

Date & Time

Thursday 11 September

6 to 9pm

PROGRAM & SCHEDULE

First Peoples exhibition

First Peoples

6 to 8pm | Bunjilaka, Ground Level | Exhibition
Through the voices and languages of the south-eastern First Peoples community, the First Peoples exhibition celebrates the cultures of First Peoples with its rich traditions of performance, storytelling, artwork, and knowledge sharing, set against the history of survival throughout the ongoing impacts of colonisation.

Melbourne Story

6 to 9pm | Melbourne Story, Upper Level | Exhibition
Melbourne Story is packed with icons of the city's past and present – tales of heroes and scoundrels, growth and decline, and the changing ways Melburnians live, work and play.

Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs

6 to 9pm | Science & Life Gallery, Ground Level | Exhibition
An immersive voyage into a lost world to explore the landscapes of the Cretaceous and get to know the creatures that thrived there.

Science & Life Gallery

6 to 9pm | Science & Life Gallery, Ground Level | Exhibition
Walk past the skeletons of 17 prehistoric animals through Dinosaur Walk, discover the origin of life in Victoria told through fossils, models, animatronics and animations, and see a world of insects, spiders, snails and other invertebrates in Bugs Alive!

Learn something new with short talks and tours led by our museum experts. Full program coming soon.

People learning about rocks and fossils at Nocturnal, Melbourne Museum.

Get up close with our rarely seen collections and hear from the expert curators who know them best.

First Peoples Exhibition Introduction

6:15pm & 7pm | Bunjilaka, Ground Level | Expert Talk
Learn about Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre and the First Peoples exhibition with Jess Alderton, First Peoples Senior Programs Officer at Museums Victoria.

Cold as Ice

7:15 to 8:15pm | Museums Victoria Research Institute Gallery, Ground Level | Expert Talk
Antarctica is pretty cool. Literally. Explore its extreme environment and frosty challenges and discover how life survives and thrives in such a frozen landscape. Chill with Dr. Catriona Nguyen-Robertson, Learning Facilitator at Scienceworks and an Antarctic Ambassador, while learning how nature adapts to one of the toughest places on the planet.

What’s in a Name?

6:45 to 7:45pm | Museums Victoria Research Institute Gallery, Ground Level | Expert Talk
Crack the code of reptile classification with Jane Melville, Museums Victoria Senior Curator, Terrestrial Vertebrates (Herpetology). Discover how reptiles are grouped, why names matter, and what evolutionary branches reveal about our world today.

Triceratops Tour

7pm & 8:30pm | Triceratops, Ground Level | Tour
Embark on an insider's journey through Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs and uncover the secrets behind one of the most complete triceratops fossils ever found. Presented by Sydney Shuherk, Visitor Engagement Team Leader at Museums Victoria.

Unplug and play with fun activities for adults, music and more. Full program coming soon.

A Dj playing at Nocturnal, Melbourne Museum.

Groove to a cosmic selection of songs with a live DJ all night.

RAH

6 to 9pm | Foyer, Ground Level | Music
Constantly digging for fresh sounds old and new, Singaporean born, Naarm based DJ Rah’s sets traverse worldwide sounds, blending Jazz, Hip-Hop, Funk, Soul, Bass, Afro, Brazilian, Asian rare grooves, and everything in between.

Mini Masterpieces

6 to 9pm | Main Foyer | Art Drop-in
Crease, fold and create origami animals to take home or add to a growing tree of life.

Secret Library

6 to 8pm | Between 600 Million years and Bugs Alive, Ground Level | Rare Books
Meet our experts and immerse yourself in the beauty of the natural world as it is depicted in unique natural history books from Museums Victoria’s Rare Book Collection.

People grabbing drinking and food from the bar at Nocturnal, Melbourne Museum.

Fuel for your mind and body available all night!

Chicken katsu burger, tonkatsu sauce, spicy slaw $16.50
Cheeseburger, angus beef patty, bread & butter pickles, seeded bun $16.50
Vada pav sliders, spiced potato fritters, tamarind, coriander chutney (2) vgn $16.50
Nachos, pico de gallo, guacamole, jalapeno, cheese sauce v, gf $16.50

Grab & Go

Tyrells Crinkly Chips – Sea Salted / Cheddar / Salt & Vinegar $6
Maltesers $7
Popcorn – Sweet & Salty / Butter $8
Choc Tops – Vanilla / Boysenberry / Chocolate $8.50

Drinks

Signature Cocktail $16
Signature Mocktail $14
Morgan’s Bay Cuvee Sparkling $12
Morgan’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc $11
Morgan’s Bay Shiraz Cabernet $11
Furphy Lager $10
Pipsqueak Apple Cider $10
James Boags - Premium Light $8
Heaps Normal XPA $8
Pepsi / Pepsi Max / Solo / Lemonade / Cool Ridge $5

Gallery

A group of adults at a make and take crafting table enjoy a fun activity at Nocturnal, Melbourne Museum

A woman in front of a screen displaying a blue-tongued lizard gives a talk.

A bingo wheel is turned as seated players look on.

A closeup of dumplings being passed to a customer.

Four friends enjoying a beer in front of dinosaur skeletons in Dinosaur Walk.

ACCESSIBILITY

Please view our accessibility page for general information. Contact our team on 13 11 02 or email us at mvbookings@museum.vic.gov.au to discuss how we can support your visit.