Powerhouse Castle Hill

Nestled in the Hills Shire, Powerhouse Castle Hill opened its new state-of-the-art storage facility back in 2024, following a major expansion allowing it to house more than 500,000 objects. Dubbed the storehouse for the Powerhouse Collection, which is considered one of the most diverse in the world, a visit to this major cultural institution offers your creative fix in the form of year-round exhibitions, tours and workshops. 

So what does the Powerhouse Collection include? The half a million objects being preserved span a broad range of media and materials across the applied arts and sciences. A quick peek and we can see there’s everything from a cricket jar from Japan to an upright grand piano, a crystal goblet and a novelty hamburger-shaped phone. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

The museum is open weekends from 10am to 4pm with free entry to all permanent and temporary programs. Inside you’ll find Locomotive No.1, a steam-powered locomotive train from the 1850s that hauled the first passenger train in New South Wales; catch the exhibition Fibro Majestic, which explores post-war housing, design and the evolution of the Australian Dream; or head to Clement Meadmore Furniture and find a selection of the sculptor and designer’s early industrial pieces. 

Every month the museum runs Collection Conversations, a free monthly program that sparks conversations between Powerhouse Volunteers and the community, focusing on a new theme from the Powerhouse Collection every month. For a more personalised experience, Group Talks run every Friday and offer small‑group tours (8-30 people) that can be customised around the parts of the Collection you’re most curious about. Get to know the museum better on a curated Collections Highlight Tour, where you can bring the whole fam for an interactive tour that is sure to deliver some surprises. During school holidays, the museum also offers Vacation Care, so you can keep the kids learning with family-friendly, hands-on experiences. 

To find out more head to the Powerhouse Castle Hill website.