The Melbourne Museum is a testament of how far living beings have come; From starting out as a molecule of protein to defying Death and all of his friends for fun, the museum encapsulates this very phenomenon in a single exhibit.

Hehe.

When I stumbled out of the tram and landed at the gates of the Melbourne Museum, the first thing that I saw was a whole line of banners with Tom Cruise’s face, alternating with the Melbourne Museum banners, and that’s how I knew that this museum truly appreciated art in its wildest, most raw, form.

Hehehehe.

Turns out there’s a movie theatre in the museum compound and not a whole gallery dedicated to Tom Cruise.

hehe.

Now, whenever I see the word “museum”, I am automatically drawn to it, like a lopsided moth to an LED, hehe. The Melbourne Museum was definitely one of the best places that I visited in Melbourne, all on a cosy, rainy Tuesday afternoon.

First up, we have a small animation showing a T-rex and a Triceratops, welcoming people to the Museum’s Dino Walk. The Melbourne Museum has a lovely Dinosaur section. It is very extensive and one can simply spend hours, drifting away to a different era, and losing oneself in imagination.

So, without further ado, Imma plunge ye peeps into a world, famously brought alive by Steven Spielberg.

hehe.

Kickstarting our Fossil Fiesta, we have….

A Blue Whale.

But that ain’ a dinosaur….

Where’s the Velociraptor?

Was plunging into this blog a scam?

Is Ms Yours Truly a fraudster?

hehe….No.

This fossil of a Pygmy Blue Whale, was in the foyer, just before the Dino Walk and it was the first thing that I saw on entering the museum. I think it’s absolutely lovely how size can really take one’s breath away, I mean, it’s common knowledge that the Blue Whale is the largest living animal but seeing the size of its endoskeleton really gave me goose-pimples.

I also find it heartwarming, that despite their gigantic stature, Blue Whales are such gentle creatures, and it really brings home the fact that chaos comes in small packages(*cough, cough* chihuahuas)

hehe.

Fun fact: A Blue Whale weighs as much as 30 T-Rexs.

Wee gecko.

hehe.

Speaking of whales, here’s a Janjucetus dullardi or simply Jenny, an iconically Australian ancient whale who looks as if she’s cracked the funniest joke ever, hehe. I love how she looks so friendly and gives off a very golden retriever sort of energy.

As this blog takes a more reptilian turn, here we have the Inostrancevia alexandri, or simply, Andrei the Inny from Russia.

hehe.

Andrei is a fab fusion of mammal and dinosaur and it would have looked like a mix between a sabre-toothed tiger and a T-rex, so fusion animals existed way before AI made it an ASMR trend. In fact, these babies existed before dinosaurs, so it is one of the earliest land-dwellers and perhaps one of the earliest living beings. They walked the Earth during the Permian Era, which is basically the era when the planet was newly experimenting with Life upon its soil and seas, so it was really fantastic to see one of these babies, immortalised in fossil.

Seeing animals like this gets me thinking about the drawings that we make as children. When the wee goblins draw animals for the first time, it is always a mix of their wildest fantasies and their early knowledge of fauna, and there’s often drawings that resemble something like the Inostrancevia, but to think that a child’s fantasy is somewhere connected to a long-forgotten reality is so magical and it brings home the fact that believing in fantasy is not so deluded after all, and that sort of magic actually exists upon the land where we live.

So, the next time you find someone crazily obsessed over unicorns, it would be a good idea to think that perhaps unicorns exist or have once existed, before telling them that UnIcOrNs ArE ImAgInArY.

hehe.

Up next, we have a Gallimimus bullatus, or Galileo, who is perhaps one of the closest ancestors of modern day birds.

It is so funny to think that the feathered babies who sing with Disney Princesses were once roaring leviathans. Until you see a cassowary….

Or a goose.

Geese actually do not descend from dinosaurs, but I really think that needs to be fact checked, because they perhaps descend from something more rage-driven like dragons.

hehe.

Nothing hehe about being chased by a goose.

Galileo here, comes from the late Cretaceous period, so these babies shared space with the T-rex.

When we think of dinosaurs, we often believe that all the dinos lived together in the Circle of Life, but Dinosaurs lived in the Mesozoic Era, which lasted for 186 million years, so the era saw dominance of different kinds of dinosaurs, who never knew of the other’s existence. For example, a Stegosaurus and a T-rex(or Gallimimus) never met each other, because Stegosaurs came in the Jurassic period that was millions of years before the late Cretaceous period when the T-rex and Gallimimus lived.

Actually the time difference between a Stegosaurus and a Gallimimus and T-rex is the same difference of time between a Gallimimus and a modern human, so baby Gallimimuses probably learnt about Stegosaurs in their history lessons.

hehe….

Next up, we have the gigantic Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis or Minnie who comes from China, and a Tarbosaurus(or Tyrannosaurus) in the same frame.

Again, these two dinosaurs did not live at the same time. The Mamenchisaurus of the late Jurassic period came way before the Tarbosaurus(also known as the T-rex) so this here, is the only time when these two are together in the same picture.

The T-Rex at the Melbourne museum is actually a teenager, so these two are probably exchanging generational knowledge. Minnie is telling the T-rex about the medicinal value of a Jurassic era plant while the T-rex is telling her about the latest meme on Rexxit and the skin care routine that is blowing up on Cretagram.

Skibidibi for real….

hehe….Dope.

hehe.

Jumping into a more modern time, which is approximately 1.8 million years ago, we have the Megalania or simply Meg, who is possibly the largest lizard to have lived in the world.

Meg resembles the Komodo Dragon, except she is twice as big. The Megalania fall in a category called Megafauna, who were basically ginormous land dwelling animals who lived millions of years after the dinosaurs and they resemble modern reptiles.

When we see a reptile in the modern age, like a snake or a gecko on the wall, most of us experience our souls leaving our body but they are such wee teenies when compared to their ancestors. I mean, Meg here, would probably think that Lizzie who dwells on the outer aspect of my room’s window, is a miniature figurine while I often think that Lizzie could eat me if we weren’t besties.

hehe.

Now, before I wrap up the Dino Disco, Imma show you the most fascinating exhibit at the Melbourne Museum.

Drumroll!!!!

Horridus the Triceratops.

The Melbourne Museum has the most intact Triceratops fossil and it is absolutely mind blowing. Horridus here has an entire room to himself and it is the best exhibit in the whole museum.

Triceratops lived with the T-rex and the Gallimimus in the Late Cretaceous Period and this baby was found in Montana, in the USA, before travelling all the way to Melbourne.

Triceratops are among my favourite dinosaurs. Actually every dinosaur is my favourite dinosaur, but Triceratops are so fancy, with their frills and horns.

A Triceratops’ frill looks like a Tudor-era hair band and I love that. As someone who wears a hair band with almost every outfit, I look up to Triceratops as a fashionista.

hehe.

Here’s another angle of Horridus. I spent so long at this exhibit, simply taking in the historical grandeur in the cosy darkness and I think it is a good place to simply slow down and contemplate how the planet has stood the test of time.

Each stone that sits upon the Earth has seen eras which we can’t imagine and this really brings home the fact that the Earth has supported and nurtured Life for so long and it serves as a powerful reminder to take care of the planet which has been home to the very essence of being alive, which is a privilege for all of us who have Earth as our planet.

You may have the world at your feet,

You may be dancing away to each heartbeat.

You may be the in-thing, the icon, the boss,

But you’ll never be as hip as a frog in the moss.

hehe.

The Melbourne Museum has a fantastic Forest Gallery which is divided into sections based on the natural elements, such as Earth, Water, Wind and Fire.

The Gallery is simply a walk through a protected reserve, where one is close to nature and can experience every aspect of the outdoors in all its glory.

This frog, named Goobus, was chilling in the Water section of the Gallery and I absolutely love how he’s got such a blissful, carefree smile. This frog has never had to worry about getting to classes on time or navigating traffic or memorising imaginary theorems or bracing itself for the moods of various demanding adults or giving an exam.

This frog has never had to give an exam and I love that for him but it makes me cry because all I asked for is to be as chilled out as this frog but the only chills that I get are the kind aroused by a sense of doom that comes with the prospects of forgetting the hypothalamic-pituitary pathway.

Hehehehe….waaaahhhhh!!!!

:’)

Guess who’s navigating exam season like a braveheart?

hehe.

This is the fire section, featuring Barry the Bird who has also never had to give an exam.

Barry’s daily schedule includes strolling by the ferns, eating a stray grasshopper, strolling by the ferns again, getting photographed and if none of that matches the vibe check, he simply flies away.

hehe….

Moving on, here we have one of my favourite things that I learned about Melbourne. This is a taxidermy of Phar Lap, Australia’s most famous race horse who was the best thing to grace a race course. Born in New Zealand, this baby had a reputation of winning a race, even when he was the last one at the start and he was for horses what Lightning McQueen is to cars.

hehe.

His name means Lightning, so that makes sense.

It was so heartening to see a whole gallery dedicated to a race horse. It was such a beautiful tribute to a horse that won so many races and hearts and the gallery simply celebrates him for being himself and bringing so much joy to all those who witnessed him.

Here’s a bit of a fact file on Phar Lap, showing his mind-blowing record in races.

Here we have a bit of memorabilia, which belonged to Phar Lap and his riders.

And here’s a picture of Phar Lap being fed by a wee baby. He was a gentle celebrity who always found time for his fans, unless they were paparazzi.

Phar Lap did not like the paparazzi.

hehe….

Here’s a collage of paintings, depicting Australian culture, lining the museum passages. I love how colourful they all are, and each painting represents a quality of inclusiveness, harmony and happiness, along with an acknowledgement of the First People who are the true owners of the land.

There is a lovely gallery dedicated to the First People at the Museum. I did not get pictures of it, because it is mostly interactive and I was busy doing the interactive stuff, hehe.

Here is a particularly funny painting called ‘Alone in the Bush’. I love how the kangaroo is being crowned king, in acknowledgement of his actual status.

hehe.

This is one of the most iconic exhibits at the museum, called ‘The Sad Otter’. The little taxidermy looks like it’s having a rough day, but otters actually look like that, no matter their mood, hehe.

The exhibit is quite a pop culture icon, complete with merchandise. It hit quite close to home, like sometimes, one can simply be minding their own business and protecting their peace, when someone just swoops in and says, ‘You look sad. Are you ok?’

hehe.

The otter reminds me of Severus Snape. The man could be bursting with joy, yet his face shows all signs of the seven stages of grief.

Which probably makes sense, given his history, but the idea here is to-….

More on that in a Harry Potter dissection blog.

hehe.

Finally, Imma end with a small video showing one of the earliest versions of cinema. This is called a phantasmagoria or simply a Moving Picture and I was so happy to see it at the Melbourne Museum. The whole thing consists of a lantern and a moving reel of drawings, inside a box, and it is projected on a screen, much like a movie.

I love how people would stand around a screen to watch a Phantasmagoria and there would be snacks and soda. The couch potato gene was perhaps a dormant one, and the Moving Picture did well to bring it out.

hehe.

Here is my haul from the Museum Shop. The shop has a lovely collection which sells out pretty fast, so I was lucky to get these. I love how vibrant the souvenirs are. It really brings out a vintage vibe mixed with pop culture glam.

And that is a wrap,

Until Next Time.

See Ya:)