Nocturnal: Museum After Dark

Our Wondrous Planet

6 to 9:30pm | Melbourne Story, Upper Level | Exhibition

Experience our planet's intricate and interconnected ecosystems, from rainforests to coral reefs to polar seas. Large scale projections and hands-on interactives bring these worlds to life. 

First Peoples

6 to 8pm | Bunjilaka, Ground Level | Exhibition

Source: Museums Victoria / Photo: Rodney Start

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 9:30pm | 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 9:30pm | Science & Life Gallery, Ground Level | Exhibition

Hear about Horridus the triceratops while standing around the imposing 85% complete fossil. / Source: Museums Victoria

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 9:30pm | Science & Life Gallery, Ground Level | Exhibition

Walk with the dinosaurs! / Source: Melbourne Museum / Photo: Tobias Titz

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!

Music by Sweetie

6 to 9pm | Café Bar, Ground Level | Music 

Spinning mostly disco, soul, salsa, MPB and latin records, Sweetie is a vinyl-only Melbourne DJ. Equal parts selector and vibe-curator, she brings joy, colour and playful energy to every set, shaped by her South American x Asian heritage and a lifelong love of all things Ken Done. With almost 20 years in the independent music industry, she’s a regular PBS FM guest announcer who can turn dance floors into vibrant celebrations where joy leads and rhythm follows.

2026 Weird Research in Review with Alanta Colley

6:30pm | Foyer, Ground Level | Expert Talk

Scientists are a weird bunch. Sometimes the only thing weirder than what the scientists are researching is that they somehow managed to get the funding to do this. As 2026 rolls toward the credits, join science communicator Alanta Colley for a top ten countdown of the weirdest, wildest and most wonderful science news stories of the year. From accidental discoveries to unlikely celebrity investigations, to probes into the private lives of animals you can only speculate on how ethics approval was achieved - come enjoy this celebration of the gloriously weird things humans do in the name of science.

Risky Times: How Humans Learned to Fear Everything with Dr. Anna Kosovac 

7:30pm | Foyer, Ground Level | Expert Talk

Dr Anna Kosovac is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne, and the President of the Society for Risk Analysis in Australia and New Zealand. She studies how we think about risk, and why we often get it a little bit wrong. From our fear of unlikely dangers to our blind spots about everyday ones, her research explores the quirks and shortcuts that shape our decisions. At Nocturnal, she’ll take you on a lively tour through the strange history of risk and why modern life has us worrying more than ever.

Triceratops with Amelia Ingram 8pm | 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.

Victoria’s next volcanic eruption: Where, how much warning time, how prepared are we? with Dr. Heather Handley

7:30pm | Foyer, Ground Level | Expert Talk 

Did you know that the floor really is lava across much of Melbourne and south-west Victoria? While the volcanoes that produced it were active over the past several million years, eruptions have happened much more recently than you might think, with several likely witnessed by Australia’s First Peoples and knowledge of these eruptions continuing through oral traditions.

In this talk, join Senior Curator of Geosciences and volcanologist Dr Heather Handley to find out whether a volcano could pop up in your backyard and discover how her current research at Museums Victoria is helping us work out how much warning time we might have before the next eruption!

Country Struts Line Dancing Sessions

8pm & 8:40pm | Foyer, Ground Level | Performances

Country Struts is not about perfecting the jazz box step, we're in it for a good time: the sweaty joy of learning something new and the magic that happens when an entire room Struts in time to a banging track, country or not.

We run beginner-friendly and improver line dancing classes across Brunswick, St Kilda and Richmond, alongside regular Honky Tonks, bi-yearly Hoedowns, and live music events around the country.

Whether you’ve danced your whole life or have never stepped foot on a dance floor before, you’re welcome here.

Triceratops with Amelia Ingram 

8pm | Triceratops, Ground Level | Tour 

Nocturnal: Museum After Dark at Melbourne Museum. Photo by Tim Carrafa. Source - Museums Victoria.

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.