FREE with museum entry.

Let your imagination set sail these July school holidays with the Ship Shape LEGO® Trail at the SA Maritime Museum.
Designed especially for children aged 5-13, this exciting activity brings the museum to life with a fun and interactive twist.

Explore the exhibits, hunt down hidden LEGO® figures, and collect the letters they hold to reveal a secret winning word.
Once you’ve cracked the code, enter the draw to win an awesome LEGO® prize!

A great way to explore, learn and have fun at the SA Maritime Museum these school holidays.

Check out our other school holiday activities.

What visitors say about the trail and visiting the museum:
“Enjoyable for young and old.”
“It was amazing – 5 stars!”
“It was hard work to find all of the LEGO®, but it was worth it if I get the prize!”
“We love doing the trail every school holidays.”

FREE with museum entry.

Explore the South Australian Maritime Museum in the April school holidays with our Navigation LEGO® Trail!

Follow the clues to learn fun facts about navigational tools featured within the museum and the people who used them.

Find the hidden LEGO® minifigures, solve the secret word and enter the draw for a chance to win an amazing prize!

What visitors say about the trail and visiting the museum:
“Enjoyable for young and old.”
“It was amazing – 5 stars!”
“It was hard work to find all of the LEGO, but it was worth it if I get the prize!”
“We love doing the trail every school holidays.”

Experience history on the water! Come on board the former Water Police Launch for a tour along the Port River. Learn about the history of the vessel and its namesake, Constable Archibald Badenoch, and hear stories about key heritage sites of Port Adelaide as you cruise by.

For further details check the Dockside Festival website.

This is a City of Port Adelaide Enfield event.

Gory Stories from the Putrid Past Performances
Limited Season by Heaps Good Productions

You won’t want to miss meeting eminent barber surgeon, Mr Bartholomew Buglebottom and the most famous actor of the times, Mary Poopins, plus somebody else called Greg! Join them as they sail through history on-board the HMS Rancid in search of a cure for your favourite ailments such as boils, the bubonic plague, scurvy and scarlet fever. Learn about the most up-to-date cures – from flesh eating maggots and blood slurping leeches to stinky smells in jars! Along the way discover why now, and not the olden days, is a pretty good time to be alive! 

Dates: 16-19 January 2025
Times: 11.00am & 1.00pm
Duration: 30 mins 

FREE with museum entry.

FREE with museum entry.

Set sail into the murky depths of history with the Gory Stories LEGO® Trail at the SA Maritime Museum. Uncover gruesome tales from the high seas and discover the dark, smelly, and sometimes downright disgusting side of maritime history. It’s a thrilling (and a little bit gross) way to learn about the past. Can you brave the trail and survive the stench of history? The museum’s unsavoury secrets are waiting to be unlocked—if you dare!

Follow the clues, find the hidden LEGO® minifigures, solve the secret word and enter the draw for a chance to win an amazing prize!

What visitors say about the trail and visiting the museum:
“Enjoyable for young and old.”
“It was amazing – 5 stars!”
“It was hard work to find all of the LEGO, but it was worth it if I get the prize!”
“We love doing the trail every school holidays.”

Immerse yourself in the fascinating and gruesome history of life and death at sea these summer holidays, with a series of thrilling events where the cure could be worse than the ailment!
Come aboard our ketch with the quirky crew of HMS Rancid for a Gory Stories performance or set sail on a Vile Voyage with an expert guide who will take you below deck into the disease-ridden world of nineteenth century sea travel. Uncover the nasty realities of life at sea on the Gory Stories trail where you’ll encounter the gruesome challenges faced by sailors and migrants, and of course our ever-popular LEGO® trail has had a Gory Stories treatment too! 

Gory Stories from the Putrid Past Performances
(limited season) 

You won’t want to miss meeting eminent barber surgeon, Mr Bartholomew Buglebottom and the most famous actor of the times, Mary Poopins, plus somebody else called Greg! Join them as they sail through history on-board the HMS Rancid in search of a cure for your favourite ailments such as boils, the bubonic plague, scurvy and scarlet fever. Learn about the most up-to-date cures – from flesh eating maggots and blood slurping leeches to stinky smells in jars! Along the way discover why now, and not the olden days, is a pretty good time to be alive! 

Dates: 16-19 January 2025
Times: 11.00am & 1.00pm
Duration: 30 mins 

Vile Voyages: A Chilling Journey Below Deck 

Descend into the dark, cramped world of 19th-century sea travel and our basement cabin display, where our expert guide will lead you through the horrifying realities of overcrowded steerage, disease outbreaks, and the brutal hardships of life at sea. Vile Voyages is not for the faint of heart—come and learn what it truly meant to sail the treacherous seas of the 1800s. 

Dates: 1-27 January 2025
Times: 11.45am & 1.45pm
Duration: 20 mins 

Gory Stories LEGO® Trail (recommended for younger children) 

Explore the Gory Stories LEGO® Trail and uncover the gruesome tales of disease, superstition, and medicine at sea— sure to be a fun-filled voyage into the putrid past! Our other Gory Story trail follows the same path, so you can bring your adults along too! 

Gory Stories Trail (recommended for teens and adults) 

From superstitions to amputations, fresh air to fresh food, what happened on board to protect passengers and crew? Follow the Gory Stories trail and discover the spine-tingling shipboard remedies of the 1800s. Both Gory Stories Trails follow the same path through the museum. 

Dates: 14 December – 27 January
Times: museum opening hours
Duration: Self-guided (allow 2 hours) 

All Gory Story activities are FREE with museum entry. Warning, expect some gory stories. 

FREE with Museum entry.

Explore the South Australian Maritime Museum in the October school holidays with our Seafarers LEGO® Trail!

Follow the clues to learn fun facts about various sailing vessels featured within the museum and the people who sailed them. Find the hidden LEGO® minifigures, solve the secret word and enter the draw for a chance to win an amazing prize!

Prize Draw One: LEGO® City Seaside Harbour with Cargo Ship (60422) (8+), valued at $179.99
Prize Draw Two: LEGO® Friends Heartlake City Water Park (42630) (8+), valued at $129.99

What visitors say about the trail and visiting the museum:
“Enjoyable for young and old.”
“It was amazing – 5 stars!”
“Extremely fun and interactive for young children.”
“We love doing the trail every school holidays.”

Wander along the wharf and through the historic streets of Port Adelaide with our new Caught in the Port Scavenger Trail!

Perfect for families, history enthusiasts, and adventurers of all ages, this interactive scavenger hunt invites you to explore the rich maritime heritage of our vibrant waterfront district – not all of our collection items are indoors!

Armed with signal flag clues, you’ll navigate landmarks and uncover hidden gems, all while piecing together a special word for a chance to win a Family Pass for a Port River heritage tour on the MV Archie Badenoch (valued at $88).

Dive into the past, solve nautical puzzles, and enjoy a fun-filled exploration of Port Adelaide’s storied streets.

FREE activity with SA Maritime Museum entry.

Entries will be drawn on 31 October 2024.

FREE with Museum entry.

Explore the South Australian Maritime Museum in the July school holidays with our Investigator LEGO® Trail!

Follow the trail to learn fun facts about the museum’s objects and how they relate to Australia’s research vessel, RV Investigator, featured in the visiting marine science exhibit INVESTIGATE. Find the hidden LEGO® minifigures, solve the secret word and enter the draw for a chance to win an amazing prize!

First prize: LEGO® City Arctic Explorer Ship (60368) (7+), valued at $249.99

Second prize: LEGO® Friends Sea Rescue Boat (41734) (7+), valued at $139.99

We’re bringing the team at GooRoo Animation back for some movie making fun during the October school holidays!

Are you the next Greta Gerwig or Stephen Speilberg? Take a behind-the-scenes glimpse into animated stop-motion film production and have a go at creating your very own claymation movie!

Be inspired by the objects on display in the museum or use your imagination. Your movie will be filmed and put together using the Stop Motion Studio App available on mobile devices. It will then be uploaded to YouTube via the GooRoo Animation Workshops channel so you can share it with your family and friends!

Dates: 11, 12, 13 October
Session Times: 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm
Duration: 60 mins
Cost: FREE with museum admission. Sessions are popular and booking is advised. Phone 08 8151 3260 or email maritime@history.sa.gov.au to confirm your place.