Artist’s impression of Gandel Gondwana Garden. Photo: Museums Victoria.

AJN Staff, Gandel Gondwana Garden to open, The Australian Jewish News, 16 February 2023

Purpose-built to inspire curiosity and awe in young visitors to Melbourne Museum, Gandel Gondwana Garden is a one-of-a-kind palaeontological garden.

Melbourne Museum’s newest visitor experience, Gandel Gondwana Garden, will open to the public from Friday, March 3.

Purpose-built to inspire curiosity and awe in young visitors to Melbourne Museum, Gandel Gondwana Garden is a one-of-a-kind palaeontological garden.

Created and developed by Museums Victoria, with significant investment from the Victorian government, Gandel Gondwana Garden has been supported by Victorian philanthropists John and Pauline Gandel, in honour of whom the garden has been named.

Gandel Gondwana Garden will further expand Melbourne Museum’s spaces for children, with a brand new 900 square metre outdoor experience aimed at six-to-12-year-olds, drawing connections between the Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery and the landmark Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs exhibition.

“This extraordinary play-based learning experience combines the best of museum research and knowledge with sensory and cognitive learning opportunities, to allow children’s curiosity to flourish,” said Lynley Crosswell, CEO and director at Museums Victoria.

“The Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery continues to be one of the most popular attractions for families in Melbourne, and the beauty and wonder of Gandel Gondwana Garden is sure to capture the imaginations of our younger visitors for generations to come.”

Pauline Gandel said, “It is vitally important that our future generations have opportunities to learn and be inspired. By igniting their creativity and imagination, we help them grow into inquisitive individuals with a thirst for learning.”

The design for the garden draws on programs of fossil discovery, research and the expertise of scientific staff from the Museums Victoria Research Institute, as well as local First People’s knowledge on reading landscapes and listening to country.

Through this outdoor experience, visitors can explore the science of Victoria’s biodiversity and the prehistoric animals, plants and habitats that have shaped the state’s natural world over millions of years.

The name for the garden comes from the mega-continent Gondwana that connected most of the southern hemisphere including Australia.

The garden experience will demonstrate how Victoria’s environment has been shaped over millennia, providing a link to our understanding of evolution and the ecosystems that make life on Earth possible.

In addition to experiencing the rich and unique environment of the garden, visitors will have the option to undertake a digital puzzle-solving “quest” available through their own devices.

Accessible via a web-app and with clues delivered via augmented reality, the quest will enhance the Gandel Gondwana Garden experience, prompting further exploration and learning about the prehistoric plants and animals featured in the garden.

Gandel Gondwana Garden will be included in a general entry ticket to Melbourne Museum. Entry for children under 16 remains free.