Questacon | National Science and Technology Centre Questacon | National Science and Technology Centre

Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre in Canberra brings science and technology to life through hands-on exhibits, experiments and live demonstrations. Visitors can explore light, motion, electricity, earthquakes, microscopic worlds and emerging technologies, with dedicated experiences ranging from energetic physical challenges to science play for children aged six and under.

Exploring Questacon

What to See at the National Science and Technology Centre

Questacon is designed around participation. Rather than simply looking at displays, visitors are encouraged to touch, test, build, observe and experiment as they move through the centre's interactive galleries.

The exhibitions cover subjects including physics, geology, mathematics, light, sound, technology and the natural world. Galleries and individual exhibits change over time, giving returning visitors new experiences alongside some long-running Questacon favourites.

Awesome Earth

Awesome Earth explores the powerful natural forces that shape the planet.

Earthquake House uses special effects to demonstrate what an earthquake could feel like in the Canberra region, turning seismic science into a physical experience. Elsewhere, visitors can investigate electricity, light and gravity, including the dramatic Caged Lightning exhibit.

The gallery provides a hands-on introduction to phenomena that range from events beneath the Earth's surface to the electrical forces encountered in the atmosphere.

Q Lab

Q Lab encourages visitors to investigate the world as scientists do: by observing closely, asking questions and testing ideas.

Digital microscopes reveal details that are difficult to see with the naked eye, while live demonstrations allow Questacon presenters to conduct experiments and explain the science behind them.

The gallery also features a giant periodic table containing samples representing nearly all known elements and a working honey bee colony of more than 10,000 bees. Visitors can watch activity inside the hive while the bees travel outdoors through a tunnel connected to the building.

Mini Q

Mini Q is Questacon's purpose-built gallery for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and children up to six years old.

Redeveloped in 2025, the space combines physical play and early STEM learning with experiences inspired by Australian environments and First Nations knowledge. Children can explore different landscapes and climb aboard the research vessel InQuestigator, using imaginative play to investigate ideas associated with Australia's oceans and coastlines.

Activities have been developed for different stages of early childhood, allowing young visitors to explore through movement, experimentation and sensory play.

Illuminate and Fundamental

Illuminate: How Science Comes to Light investigates the science of light through interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to experiment with how light behaves and how people perceive it.

Fundamental turns its attention to some of the underlying principles of science and mathematics. Exhibits explore concepts including patterns, movement and magnetism, allowing visitors to discover how familiar physical effects can produce unexpected results.

Questacon's Gravitram is among the centre's enduring attractions. Balls travel through an elaborate mechanical network of tracks and obstacles, creating a large-scale demonstration of motion, gravity and energy.

The Shed

The Shed puts experimentation, invention and making into visitors' hands.

Activities encourage people to work with materials, tools and ideas while approaching problems through design and construction. Rather than following science to a predetermined conclusion, the emphasis is on trying an idea, seeing what happens and adapting it.

It adds an engineering and creative dimension to Questacon's broader exploration of science and technology.

Excite@Q

Excite@Q brings a more physical approach to scientific discovery, with exhibits that investigate how forces, motion and the human body interact.

Visitors can challenge themselves while observing scientific principles in action, making the gallery particularly effective at demonstrating that physics is not confined to laboratories or textbooks. It is present in balance, movement, speed and the forces people experience every day.

Quantum Tomorrow: Imagined Futures

Questacon also looks beyond familiar science towards technologies that could shape the future.

Quantum Tomorrow: Imagined Futures introduces visitors to quantum science and its potential applications. The exhibition approaches a complex field through interactive experiences and encourages visitors to consider how scientific discoveries can move from research into technologies with wider implications for society.

Science beyond the galleries

The experience is not limited to Questacon's main exhibition rooms. Science activities and exhibits extend into the foyer and ramp, while the outdoor Science Garden provides another place to investigate scientific ideas.

Live demonstrations are also an important part of a visit. Presenters use experiments to explore scientific principles in front of an audience, adding an unpredictable human element to the hands-on exhibits.

Questacon's approach has remained centred on participation since it began in Canberra in 1980. The present National Science and Technology Centre opened in 1988, but the underlying idea remains straightforward: give people the opportunity to experiment for themselves and science becomes something they can experience rather than simply read about.

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Tags: Questacon, Questacon Canberra, National Science and Technology Centre, Canberra science museum, Questacon exhibitions, Awesome Earth, Q Lab, Mini Q, Illuminate Questacon, Fundamental Questacon, The Shed Questacon, Canberra attractions


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