Jurassic Lounge

Guys guys… I just had to tell you Sydney’s best new venue, and my new obsession: THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM!

If you grew up in Sydney, chances are you’ve been to the Australian Museum on one or many school excursions. And unless you’re an ultra-nerd (like me), you’ve probably not been back since then. Well the Australian Museum are set on fixing their image with this simple equation:

Live music + alcohol + DJs + dancing + artists + DINOSAURS = WIN.

That’s right… every Tuesday night from 5:30pm, the Australian Museum plays host to JURASSIC LOUNGE, throwing its doors open to everything fun…

…helloooo complimentary glass of moscato!

It is so weird to be walking around the museum at night. Not to mention while swigging alcohol. The whole night has a decidedly clandestine feel – like you’ve snuck away from your class excursion and invited all your greatest mates inside for a massive party amongst the dinosaur bones.

Every week there’s a new selection of live acts and events. In the past few weeks the museum has seen everything from the sweet electro-pop stylings of JUGU singing in the mother-effin skeleton room (badass), live video-art from video DJs, tarot reading in the Mineral rooms, magicians, live body painting, short films from Kino Collective, torchlight tours, a man dressed as a dinosaur, live reptiles and even a silent disco!

If you’ve never been to a Silent Disco, be prepared for one of the strangest experiences ever! When you walk upstairs into the dino room, do not be alarmed at the swarms of people bopping around and waving glowsticks to no music. Look closer and you’ll realise everyone in there is wearing a pair of headphones that plays the music from the DJ in the corner. It took a second for me to get over my supreme awkwardness at dancing in a silent room, but soon I was showing off my fully sick moves.

Live art

LIVE reptiles!!

I AM PANDA HEAR ME ROAR…I duno… I got nothin

I can’t get over how amazing the Australian Museum is for organising nights like this. I can only hope these initiatives are roaring successes (and from the looks of it, it’s off to a good start!) – so that more innovative ideas like this are encouraged. We’re so used to museums being thought of as rarefied, hallowed institutions, I was blown away by how open and friendly the Australian Museum was! Cameras are encouraged (indeed, each week the Jurassic Lounge facebook page runs a photography competition!), mobiles are encouraged (there’s a Twitter scavenger hunt on every week too!), you’re allowed to walk freely through the museum – and there are no nasty guards standing there making sure you don’t do anything wrong. If the Australian Museum is trying to create goodwill amongst Sydney’s notoriously fussy Gen-Y, they’re off to a stellar start!

It was seriously one of the funnest nights I’ve had in a long time. Can’t wait to go again!

Hot tips: Jurassic Lounge costs $15, which includes a complimentary drink! There’s nibblies to purchase at the bar, including 3 party pies for $6.50, and little takeaway containers of penne pasta, but if you’re looking for dinner go elsewhere.

Jurassic Lounge happens every Tuesday night, supposedly in Summer only – but it’s the end of March now – and there are some dates in April scheduled. Check it out at the Jurassic Lounge website: http://www.jurassiclounge.com/

Check out the rest of my Jurassic Lounge photos on Flickr!

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