Rainy Day Activities for Kids in Melbourne

Rainy Day Activities for Kids in Melbourne (From Parents Who've Survived Them All) Melbourne weather. If you know, you know. One minute it's glorious sunshine and you're at the park in shorts and thongs, the next minute it's horizontal rain and 12 degrees and you're wondering why you didn't move to Queensland when you had the chance. We've lived in Melbourne for eight years and have two kids (aged 5 and 8), which means we've experienced approximately 4,000 rainy weekends and had to find something — anything — to do that doesn't involve screens, doesn't involve the words "I'm bored," and ideally involves the children burning some energy. Here's our thoroughly tested, parent-approved list of rainy day activities in Melbourne. Melbourne Museum — Our Absolute Favourite If I could only recommend one rainy day activity in Melbourne, it's the Melbourne Museum in Carlton. We've been at least thirty times and the kids still love it. The Children's Gallery downstairs is phenomenal for under 8s. It's bright, interactive, and lets kids touch everything (unlike basically every other museum experience). There's a water play area, a construction zone, a forest you can walk through, and a huge imagination space where kids can dress up and create stories. For older kids, the Bugs Alive exhibition is incredible — live insects, spiders, and invertebrates that you can watch feeding and moving around. My 8-year-old is obsessed with the leaf insects. The dinosaur collection is also brilliant, and the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre is really well done and age-appropriate for primary school kids. Cost: Adults pay about $15, kids under 16 are FREE. That's right, free. For a world-class museum. Melbourne, you beauty. Pro tip: Go early Saturday morning, like 10am when doors open. By midday it's chaos. Also, the café inside is decent but expensive — we pack our lunch and eat in the picnic area instead. Scienceworks — Worth the Drive to Spotswood Scienceworks in Spotswood is Me