You’ll find the Spiders exhibition on the very top floor of Questacon (admission prices listed at the end of this article) – but the real fun begins in the Questacon entrance with a huge, hairy, black funnel web! If this doesn’t creep you out enough, wait until he rears-up and shows off his motorised, waving legs! Cute! (Shudder!) Needless to say, he’s a huge hit with the kids.

Now my two girls are the type that scream “Spider” at a teeny little piece of fluff a mile away from them, but they both just loved this whole exhibition, from start to finish, and we spent a good hour going through everything.

Brooke and Samantha loved all the hands-on opportunities to examine spiders up close, and learn about their remarkable capabilities – how they see, what they eat, how they catch their prey – you can even watch huge videos of attacking spiders….charming!

Steel yourself – the only real ones are behind glass!

It really is all creepily spell-binding, and by the time you get to the glass case full of real-life large spiders, you’ll be almost desensitised….almost! Don’t worry – all these spiders in this glass case don’t harm humans…well, not seriously!

The kids really enjoyed the hands-on investigations into what makes spiders – well – what they are – eight-legged freaks! No, no I don’t really mean that – by the end of the exhibit even I had grown far more respect and admiration for spiders. (Now I tend to stifle the impulse to whip out the bug-spray whenever I see one – well, at least for half the time!)

Speaking of bug spray, it would take a very big can to do away with this huge version of a funnel web! Press play on this quick video – if you dare!

Check out the Questacon Spider show

Make sure to catch one of the Questacon live shows too, located in the downstairs theatre. .

An assortment of ever-changing Questacon science shows run throughout the day. Playing for around 20 minutes, these interesting and fun live shows will have you and the kids loving learning about science! We saw the Spiders show, presented by Sam. He was very entertaining and kept the kids really engaged. We emerged from the show positively brimming with impressive spider knowledge!

Still want more? Take a pet spider home with you!

Don’t forget to drop into the Questacon shop before you go to get a cuddly tarantula, remote control spider or even a $3 plastic “pet” spider complete with scan-able coaster – this works with a special (free download) Spider app so that you can project spiders onto yourself – or at least, on your mobile phone! They even play ball – awwww!

Questacon is tons of fun for both kids and adults any day of the week, but with the added attraction of Spiders, you really should scuttle on down there before the whole exhibit up-and-crawls away – don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time – the Spiders exhibit ends in October 2016.

Questacon National Science and Technology Museum Info

Admission prices (as at April 2016)
Adult $23.00 Concession $17.50 Child (4 – 16 years) $17.50 Child (Under 4 years) Free Family (2 Adults + 3 Children) $70.00 ($8.00 for each additional child)

Location King Edward Terrace, Parkes, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

Opening hours Open daily between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm – closed 25 December.

Contact details Phone: +61 02 6270 2800 Official website – http://www.questacon.edu.au/

How to get there On Foot – Questacon is approximately 30 minutes walk from the city centre (Civic)

By Car – Paid parking is available next-door to Questacon

By Bus – Action buses are the Canberra bus service around the city. Find out Action bus routes here.
By Train or Tram – not available in Canberra city

Have you ever visited the Questacon museum in Canberra? Did your family enjoy it? Tell us in the comments below!

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