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Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Road, The Domain
(02) 9225-1744
Cost: Free, except for special exhibits
Hours: Daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Every Sunday afternoon at 2:30, families can enjoy special performances on various topics, including art appreciation, dance and storytelling. During school holidays, the museum schedules storytelling and performances, often in mime or Aboriginal dance, for children aged 6-12. Children can also participate in occasional hands-on art workshops at a cost of A$10 apiece.
The Australian Museum
6 College Street
(02) 9320-6000
Cost: A$5 adults, A$2 children, A$12 family
Hours: Daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For children under 5, Kids Island is gaily decorated with a model hot-air balloon and features a slippery side and a shipwrecked boat with interesting cubbies to explore. The museum's dinosaur exhibit appeals to children aged 5-12. A Science and Discover Room, with microscopes, specimens and reference books, allows children to conduct their own "research." More info
The Powerhouse Museum
500 Harris Street
(02) 9217-0111
Cost: A$8 adults, A$2 children
Hours: Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The museum's many interactive displays are geared to peak the interest of smaller children. A NASA space station will entice their older siblings. Occasionally, the museum offers supervised children's activities from crafts to storytelling, free with entry. More info
Sega World
Darling Walk, Darling Harbour
(02) 9273-9273 (note: this number is correct)
Cost: A$25 adults, A$20 children
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Kids clamor for the virtual-reality underwater trek and outer-space war games offered by this high-tech indoor theme park. Rides include a dodgem cars, a roller coaster, and a haunted house that lets adventurous kids hunt ghosts with a ghost-zapper. An arcade is populated by over 200 video games, and the Magic Motion Theatre requires viewers to strap into their seats for a wild sensory ride. More info
Australia's Wonderland
Walgrove Road, Rooty Hill
(02) 9830-9100
Cost: $34.95 adults, $23.95 children
Hours: Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with occasional later hours on summer Saturdays
Featuring more than 80 rides in seven "fantasy lands," Australia's Wonderland guarantees screams from the Space Probe, a free-fall plummet of 23 stories that reaches speeds in excess of 75 mph. Kids can cool off at The Beach, a manmade stretch of sand complete with waterslide.
Luna Park
Milson's Point
(02) 9922-6644
Hours: Rides open weekends and school holidays; call for seasonal hours
Cost: $20-25 adults, $12-17 children for rides
Built in 1935, modeled after Coney Island's Luna Park and set against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour, this is a loud, brash, in-your-face amusement park that features a variety of classic rides. Visitors enter beneath the ghastly, grinning face of a painted clown, who has evolved alongside the park's collection of attractions.
Taronga Park Zoo
Bradley's Head Road
(02) 9969-2777
Hours: Daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $15 adults, $38 families
Taronga lets children visit nearly nose-to-nose with some of Australia's most spectacular and exotic creatures - native koalas, of course, but also kangaroos, dingoes, Tasmanian devils and wombats. Kids will squeal at the inhabits of the Reptile House. More info
Centennial Park
Oxford Street, Paddington
(02) 9331-5056
Cost: Free
Hours: Daily, but hours change seasonally
Rent kids' bikes and rollerblades to help youngsters burn off excess energy in the park's beautiful setting. A nearly Equestrian Center offers horseback rides, and guided nature walks are available during school holidays for $5.
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