Nicholson Museum

The Nicholson Museum is home to the largest collection of antiquities in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. Our gallery is located in the historic Main Quadrangle at the University of Sydney. Admission is free. All are welcome.

The museum was founded in 1860 by Sir Charles Nicholson, (Chancellor 1854-1862), with a significant donation from his private collection of artefacts and curiosities. Since this time the collection has been expanded though donations, bequests and archaeological excavations led by Dame Kathleen Kenyon, Sir Flinders Petrie, James Stewart to name but a few. There are great stories to be told and fascinating histories to be relived. From the intriguing to the macabre, Australia's oldest University museum gives a fascinating insight into the daily lives of past civilisations and into the minds of the archaeologists, collectors and curators who have made it all possible.

Our Collections:

Greece	Italy	Egypt
Cyprus	The Near East	Historic Photography

Our Exhibitions:

Full details on all of our current exhibitions are avalaible on our exhibitions page

Tombs Tells and Temples

Now on:

Tombs, Tells and Temples: Excavating the Near East
From the extraordinary antiquities and sites to the personalities and archaeologists such as Dame Kathleen Kenyon, Sir Flinders Petrie and Sir Max Mallowan, this exhibtion will highlight the complex nature of this ancient region.

50 Objects 50 Stories
This exhibition is not about the most important, or the most beautiful things in the Nicholson Museum. It is about objects with a story to tell. These stories introduce us to a cast of characters, curators and collectors who have helped shape the museum and its collection

Aphrodite's Island

Aphrodite’s Island: Australian Archaeologists in Cyprus
Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean, has a rich archaeological and cultural tradition dating back more than ten thousand year. This exhibition will celebrate the Cypriot archaeological collections of the Nicholson Museum, and explore the stories of the Australian researchers who have investigated the island’s history.

The Colosseum
Featuring the world's largest model of Rome's collosseum in lego alongside ancient artefacts from the Roman world.

The Etruscans

The Etruscans: A Classical Fantasy
The Etruscans are the very stuff of fantasy, myth and legend. This exhibition features some of the extraordinarily rich heritage of art, jewellery, metal working, terracotta sculpture, and more that the Etruscans left us

Egyptians, gods and mummies: Travels with Herodotus
This exhibition looks at Egypt through the eyes of Herodotus. Mummified cats, birds and crocodiles are on display, plus three of the Nicholson's mummies.

The Lego Colosseum

Upcoming Exhibitions:

The Lego Acropolis
Opening July 2013
Following on from the extraordinary success of the Lego Colosseum in 2012, the Brickman, Ryan McNaught, will turn his hand to one of the most iconic architectural monuments of Ancient Greece - The Acropolis.

Reviews

'The Nicholson Museum is probably the most engagingly presented museum in Sydney.... The secret seems to lie in a combination of erudition, enthusiasm and a flair for design'
Christopher Allen, The Weekend Australian Review, 15-16 October 2011

‘It was a heartening sight to see young kids running through the rain towards a museum in the school holidays’
Yash Pandya, Lego Colosseum, Alternative Media Group, Sunday, 8 July 2012.