Visitors to the Museum’s Historic Council Chambers site will discover an array of interactive puzzles and experiments that are challenging and fun for kids and grownups alike.

It’s all part of Questacon’s Fascinating Science exhibition, a touring show that promises to engage, entertain and educate kids from ages 8 to 14.

The exhibits deal with human perception, physiology and balance. Expect spooky optical illusions, mind-bending puzzles and quirky experiments.

You will be a short walk from the library, which has games, puzzles, crafts and the X-box available during opening hours, and the art gallery which has great exhibitions on show, as well as the Jackdaw film series with an entire program of movies for kids.

So why not take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to give the family a fun and rewarding experience during the summer break. Questacon’s Fascinating Science is on exhibition until January 28 at Museum of the Riverina’s Historic Council Chambers site, corner Baylis and Morrow streets. Entry is free.

The fun continues at the Historic Council Chambers site into February, when the museum premieres an Australian first exhibition: The Best of the Bald Archy.

For 25 years a discerning cockatoo named Maude has judged Australia’s most irreverent art prize. For the first time ever, Museum of the Riverina will exhibit all the winning entries of the nation’s toast to satirical portraiture.

Founded in 1994 in the town of Coolac by Peter Batey OAM, the Bald Archys stand apart from that other portraiture prize they hold in Sydney. Bald Archy entries skewer and lampoon the egos and excesses of celebrities and politicians. The best of the Bald Archy is an art show for anyone who has ever shaken their head at the rich and powerful.

To open the exhibition, Peter Batey will be joined by acclaimed political cartoonist (and two time Bald Archy winner) Rocco Fazzari. The cartoonist, whose work regularly appears in the Sydney Morning Herald, will also offer an exclusive workshop in Wagga on February 10, in which he will teach participants how to transition their art practice from the canvas and sketchbook onto a smartphone or tablet. Tickets are available for the workshop at Museum of the Riverina’s website.

The Best of the Bald Archy will officially open at Museum of the Riverina’s Historic Council Chambers site at 7.30pm Friday, February 9, with the exhibition running through to May 13.