Scienceworks

Scienceworks is an interactive science and technology museum operated by Museums Victoria in Spotswood, Hobsons Bay, Victoria, on the site of the historic Spotswood Pumping Station. Opened in 1992, it combines hands-on science exhibitions with heritage industrial buildings. It is notable for the Melbourne Planetarium, Lightning Room, and preserved 19th-century pumping station, offering science education west of central Melbourne near the Yarra River.

Visitors can expect a large indoor interactive science museum with hands-on exhibitions, immersive planetarium shows, live demonstrations in the Lightning Room, and heritage-listed bluestone buildings of the former Spotswood Pumping Station. The site includes exhibition halls, outdoor arena and playground, picnic lawns, and views of the West Gate Bridge. Galleries cover themes such as space, sport science, future thinking and engineering, with areas to explore at own pace and scheduled shows.

Located on the site of the Spotswood Pumping Station built 1893-1897 as part of Melbourne's first sewerage system designed by engineer William Thwaites. The steam-driven pumping station operated until 1965. The site was preserved for its industrial heritage and redeveloped as Scienceworks, which opened in 1992 as the science and technology museum of Museums Victoria.

Operated by Museums Victoria, Scienceworks serves as Victoria's major public science education centre, promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics through interactive learning and preserving important Victorian industrial heritage for visitors.