A $3.188 million upgrade, funded by the NSW Government, will make major improvements to the museum's exhibition spaces, collection storage and staff areas.

These will help Museum of the Riverina to conserve the objects in its care, and tell the region's story in new ways to wider audiences.

New interactive exhibitions will explore the people and environment of the Wagga Wagga region, employing the latest technology and bringing previously-unseen objects onto public display.

The upgraded site will be wheelchair- and pram-friendly to ensure all visitors can explore and enjoy their museum’s displays.

Landscaping of the outdoor exhibition areas will make it easier for people to see the remarkable and rare agricultural machinery in the museum’s collection.

Much of the works will improve what goes on behind the scenes at the museum.

New workspaces will allow staff to stabilise and conserve important collection items, while storage facilities will be built to house objects that have previously been exposed to the weather.

One third of the museum’s collection objects are textiles - which are especially tricky to preserve.

The upgrade will double the amount of climate-controlled storage space the museum has, and will include a walk-in freezer - essential for killing off bugs and weevils that can take up residence in old fabrics!

A new office for the Wagga Wagga and District Historical Society will preserve the special relationship between Museum of the Riverina and its parent society.

A multipurpose classroom will facilitate history talks, skills workshops and school programs to expand the museum’s role as an educational hub for the community.

For now, it is business as usual. Museum of the Riverina’s Botanic Gardens site will remain open to the public until early to mid-2019, when the major construction works commence.

Some exhibition spaces will experience temporary closures before the end of 2018, but the majority of galleries, and the ever-popular Kidzone, will remain open well into the new year.

The upgraded museum is expected to reopen in mid-2020, bigger and better than ever.  

Find out more about the project and keep track of the latest developments at museumriverina.com.au/upgrade.

The museum’s Historic Council Chambers site hosts a bold new exploration of the inner lives of people at war.

The Realism of War: Works of Humanity by George Gittoes tackles the heroism and horrors of the battlefield that come home with soldiers and survivors of war.

Admission is free, with the exhibition on show 10-4 Tues-Sat and 10-2 Sun until November 18, 2018.

Historic Council Chambers Site

The Realism of War: Works of Humanity by George Gittoes

Botanic Gardens Site

Kidzone discovery and play area for kids

The Wagga Wagga Sporting Hall of Fame

Worth Their Weight In Gold: Wagga Women In WWI

He Belonged To Wagga: Our ANZAC Story (1914-1919)

People and Place: Fitzmaurice And Baylis Streets, Wagga Wagga

From Barbed Wire To Boundary Fences: The Soldier Settlers Of Tarcutta And Wantabadgery (1917 - 1949)

The Sauntering Emu & Other Stories: Life With The Birds Of The Riverina

Tom Castro: The Man Who Never Was

Nurse Burke: Riverina Midwife

The Curious Collection Of Sylvia Seccombe

Get the latest at  museumriverina.com.au