Museum of Brisbane and The Clock Tower at City Hall Review
If you have walked around downtown Brisbane with your kids, chances are that you have all seen the clock tower at City Hall.
I had no idea that there was so much to do inside City Hall. Not only is there a lot to do, but there is also a lot to do with kids.
My kids love learning about how things, like the Brisbane City Hall Clock Tower, work. Luckily, they offer free tours of the clock tower at City Hall!
The Museum of Brisbane is also free, though sometimes there are exhibits with paid entry.
Keep reading to find out more about The Museum of Brisbane and the Clock Tower at City Hall.
Brisbane’s City Hall
Located adjacent to King George Square in Brisbane City, it is easy to spot City Hall due to the clock tower.
Two bronze lion statues sit outside of the entrance to City Hall.
Enter through the open door and turn right to take the elevator to the 3rd floor to the Museum of Brisbane.
If you continue straight down the hall past the elevators, you will find the restaurant Shingle Inn.
Arriving at the Museum of Brisbane
As soon as you get off the elevator, you will see lockers. The lockers are free to use and it is mandatory to put larger bags inside.
Walking further, there is a check-in desk. This is where you check in to the clock tower tour and where you can ask questions about the museum. As entry is free, you do not need to stop at this desk.
Occasionally, the check-in desk has something for kids to do in the museum, such as a scavenger hunt.
The Brisbane Clock Tower Tour with Kids
While it isn’t mandatory, it is a good idea to sign up for the Clock Tower Tour in advance as it is often booked out. Seven people can sign up at a time and slots are open every 15 minutes.
There are seats to sit on while you wait for the tour, or if you are very early, you can wander through the museum.
The tour guide led us up on an old cage elevator. The first stop was the lookout where we got out of the elevator and walked around the tower.
There are nice views of Brisbane, but our apartment is even higher than the clock tower! The kids don’t care if it is the clock tower or the roof of our apartment, they love to look at the city views of Brisbane.
The clock tower is 10 stories up.
After we had the chance to walk around, we took the elevator back down to where the clock face is. This time we stayed in the elevator. There is a wooden clock that we were able to see. That is the master clock that tells the time to the giant clock face that we can see from outside.
I wasn’t sure how interested the kids would be, but they loved the clock tower tour.
Z asked the tour guide where the pendulum was (inside the wooden clock). He got a DIY gear clock right before our first visit to the clock tower and loved it.
The tour was only 10 minutes long as the bell rings every 15 minutes and they do not want anyone in the elevator when it rings.
Three years after our first trip up to the clock tower, I surprised the kids with another Brisbane Clock Tower Tour. While M still had the tour practically memorized, Z didn’t remember it at all.
The only change is that our first tour only allowed 3 guests at a time (4 if they were a family) and now 7 guests can attend each tour in addition to the tour guide.
Museum of Brisbane with Kids
The exhibits at the Museum of Brisbane change throughout the year. We have seen a few of the different exhibits and some of them are kid-friendly while others are not. Check to see what is on before you visit the museum.
Sometimes there are activities for the kids, such as art projects or scavenger hunts. Check online or ask at the front desk if there is anything for kids during your visit to the Museum of Brisbane.
Making Places: 100 Views of Brisbane is an exhibit featuring 100 pieces of artwork that are all of a location in Brisbane. Artwork lines the walls and there are drawers in the center of the room that can be opened to see more information.
A good way to get kids involved in this room is to participate in a scavenger hunt that can be found at the front desk.
In the hallway between exhibits, kids can build an exhibit called Petal Patterns which is just running through the summer school holidays.
Petal Patterns is open from 10 am to 1 am and there is seating for adults.
Rearranged: Art of the Flower is on at the Museum of Brisbane until 11 August 2024. It is not hands-on, but it is pretty to look at and there is a video that the kids enjoyed.
Past Exhibits at the Museum of Brisbane at City Hall
Even if you missed an exhibit at the Museum of Brisbane, you can still see it online! Check out some of the past exhibits.
Play Moves exhibit at the Museum of Brisbane occupied a few rooms. The first area had a giant loom set up with stools and baskets of string. Anyone who wanted could weave, braid, or tie knots and add their artwork to the loom.
Play Moves continued into the next room, which is split into 2 sections. One section is just for looking at the artwork while the other section is interactive.
Various furry objects were hung up around the room and you were welcome to take them off the wall and put them on or hug them.
A furry bathtub and a furry lounge chair sat next to each other and each had a pair of furry headphones that could be worn while you were sitting down.
Play Moves continued into a 3rd location with a large screen. Buttons on the back wall change the picture on the screen.
Your movement showed up on the screen, so be sure to walk, dance, jump, or wave your arms.
Through the next door, it appears to be a boring old office from the 1980s, but in fact, a lot is going on.
Push buttons, open drawers, and stand on random spots to make the lights change, the plants move, and other interesting things.
On the way out of the office, tails lined the wall. They are squeezable and make sounds as they are squeezed.
One of the past exhibits at the Museum of Brisbane was a collection of “Brissie-isms,” which are sayings that describe Brisbane.
The entire “Storytellers” exhibit was black and white and told stories of various people.
Z walked through quickly, though he did like the spider on the toilet.
M wanted to read everything, especially the short story on a tablet.
There were 13 pages of a story scattered throughout the exhibit that you are able to collect. Then you can bring them home and make a book, which of course we did.
The next exhibit was based on children’s art on what they did when COVID-19 began. 2 tablets could be drawn on and one of them was projected onto the wall. My kids spent a lot of time in this room.
M and I quickly walked through the Bauhaus Now exhibit. They had a free project for children at the end.
On our way out, we saw the WW2 exhibit but walked through it as it wasn’t for children.
*We went back to the Museum of Brisbane for the Storytellers workshop. I am glad that the kids and I visited the Storyteller exhibit on our own before coming with a group. Kids are funny, and their moods change and you never know what they are going to like. The workshop was cute. It came with a workbook, but we could have just bought the book at the gift shop and wandered on our own. There were a bunch of activities, some to do in the museum and some to work on at home. My kids weren’t interested in doing the activities with the group. I feel like if they were just a year or two older it would have been easier for them.
The World of Wonder was a paid exhibit in the back rooms of the Museum of Brisbane. All kids could participate in a free workshop where they applied paper jewels on a necklace.
I also signed my kids up for a workshop over the school holidays where they got to go into the exhibit and learn about the gems. Workshops at the Museum of Brisbane often take place during Queensland’s school holidays.
Looking for more free art workshops for kids in Brisbane? See what is happening at The Children's Art Centre.
Tours and Performances at City Hall
Tours of City Hall are available in multiple languages. Tours of the organ at City Hall and tours of the Museum of Brisbane are also available. All tours can be booked on the Museum of Brisbane website.
Concerts take place at City Hall throughout the year. For a current list of concerts, check the Museum of Brisbane website.
Interested in free tours? Here are 16 Free Guided Tours in Brisbane.
Classes at the Museum of Brisbane
In addition to the workshops that take place during the school holidays, the Museum of Brisbane often has something going on.
From story time to art workshops for all ages, the Museum of Brisbane often has multiple options for all ages.
Excursions to the Museum of Brisbane are available for school groups.
Eat and Shop at City Hall
Shingle Inn is located inside Brisbane’s City Hall. Shingle Inn is open for breakfast and lunch as well as afternoon tea.
A Teddy Bear Tea is available daily and special event teas take place throughout the year. Read about our experience with Teddy Bear Tea at Shingle Inn as well as other places to enjoy high tea with kids in Brisbane.
Inside the Museum of Brisbane is a shop that specializes in local goods including jewelry, artwork, books, skincare, and chocolate.
Museum of Brisbane and Clock Tower Tour Wrap-Up
Whether you are visiting Brisbane or a resident, both the Museum of Brisbane and the Clock Tower Tour are worth visiting.
Entry into the Museum of Brisbane is always free though sometimes there are exhibits that have a paid entry. Workshops at the museum are sometimes free and other times have an entry fee.
The exhibits at the Museum of Brisbane change. Some are more kid-friendly than others, though there is generally always something for kids to do at the museum. Check their website to see what is currently on display and be sure to check the times as not all exhibits run the entire time the museum is open.
The Clock Tower Tour is 10 minutes long and free, but book it in advance. They will not run due to the weather, so be warned, if it is raining, you most likely won’t be able to go on the tour.
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