FREE with child admission – book online now to secure your spot.
These school holidays we are offering Lego Car Robotics workshops at the National Motor Museum and they are available FREE with Museum admission. We are partnering with Learn With Bricks to provide these engaging Lego sessions which will promote exploration, discovery, creativity and confidence.
In these hands-on sessions, students will build and program their own machines and robots while exploring the basics of coding. Through interactive challenges, we’ll investigate how to control our creations using simple code, and bring them to life with sounds, lights, and sensors. Perfect for curious minds ready to discover the power of technology and creative problem-solving!
Please book online to secure your spot.
School Holiday Scalextric Racing!
Visit the National Motor Museum these school holidays and race your family and friends on our large Scalextric slot car track.
Sessions are available during the holidays, and they are FREE with Museum Admission.
Dates:
Tuesday July 8
Saturday July 12
Sunday July 13
Friday July 18
Sessions: between 11am and 2pm
Bookings: motor@history.sa.gov.au
Sir Hubert Wilkins: The Travelling Roadshow
Discover the achievements of one of Australia’s most remarkable but little-known historical figures, Sir George Hubert Wilkins. Featuring Wilkin’s 1939 Chevrolet “Woody” and polar exploration sled, this exhibition recognises his incredible achievements as a South Australian-born polar explorer, aviator, war photographer, submariner, and all-round adventurer.
About Sir George Hubert Wilkins:
Born at Mt Bryan, South Australia, on 31 October 1888, Wilkins lived through the infamous Federation Drought, and its devastating effect on the family farm inspired him to develop a method for forecasting such events. His obsession with what is now called ‘climate science’ became an ambition for his life’s work, which took him to the far reaches of the Earth.
Before completing his university studies in music and engineering, he stowed away on a ship destined for Sydney to pursue a career in photography and filmmaking. His reputation as a talented cameraman, willing to take risks, took him to Europe. There, he became the first person to film flying from an airplane, and on assignment during the first Balkan conflict, he was the first to film a battle. During the First World War, he was selected to join the AIF photographic Corps, receiving military honours.
Wilkins is best known for his Polar exploration, especially his pioneering use of technology. In April 1928, with pilot Ben Eielson, Wilkins completed the first flight across the Arctic, from Alaska to Spitzbergen, for which he received a knighthood from King George V of England. Later that year, Wilkins and Eielson completed a 600-mile aerial reconnaissance of Antarctica, the first time a plane had flown on that continent. In 1931, instead of soaring high above the ice, Wilkins dived below it in ‘Nautilus’ a surplus WWI submarine. The voyage demonstrated that submarines could function under the Arctic polar ice cap and be used for scientific research.
Garage Girls: a night of storytelling magic with five actors playing many colourful characters.
Meet Alice Anderson. Mechanic. Trailblazer. Entrepreneur. She’s the girl who knows her way around a Hups, Dodge and Austin better than anyone.
Imagine… it’s the 1920’s! Society reels from the aftermath of war and a second wave of Spanish flu wreaks havoc on the streets. Women’s fashion sets startling trends and the city hums with the music of the motor car. One small woman defies convention and makes her mark.
Inspired by Alice Anderson’s short but eventful life, Garage Girls will take you from Melbourne’s mysterious underbelly to the remote deserts of Alice Springs. An energetic and fast-paced 70 minute theatrical romp, showcasing dynamic sound design – Garage Girls is a rollicking ride celebrating an Australian icon.
Garage Girls is a show for car-lovers, story-lovers, history-lovers and audiences young and old.
Welcome to Miss Anderson’s All Girl Garage!
Three Birds Theatre and The Shift Theatre
Garage Girls is presented by Three Birds Theatre and The Shift Theatre. Three Birds Theatre is a Green Room Award-nominated, independent theatre company established in 2015 by Candace Miles, Madelaine Nunn and Anna Rodway. Three Birds has swiftly gained recognition as exciting innovators of sharp, comedy driven theatre, devoted to bringing female focused stories to the stage. The Shift Theatre is focused on presenting dynamic works with strong roles for women, both from existing texts and in the development of new works. Since 2009, we have produced acclaimed works of longevity with a solid touring history proven regionally, nationally and internationally.
SA S550+ Ford Mustang Owners Club Visit
The SA Branch of the S550+ Ford Mustang Owners will be visiting the National Motor Museum on Sunday 29 June.
Walking amongst these performance vehicles is free with museum admission.
Overland 4×4 Club Picnic
Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, the Overland 4×4 Club SA will be on the grounds of the National Motor Museum enjoying a club picnic – with their 4x4s.
Free with museum admission. For more information visit the clubs website
Bay to Birdwood 2025
In 2025, we look forward to welcoming over 1500 vehicles manufactured from the early 1900s through to 31 December 1995. Vehicle registration for the Bay to Birdwood will open early July and will close upon reaching full capacity. Entry in the Bay to Birdwood is highly sought-after, with limited spots available.
Subscribe to the museum socials to stay up to date or visit the Bay to Birdwood website for more details.
HK HT HG Nationals 2025
The HK HT HG Holden Nationals is dedicated to celebrating the revolutionary series of Holdens produced between 1968 and 1971. It’s an event where owners and enthusiasts come to enjoy and admire these beautiful cars in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Free with museum admission this day is going to be epic – don’t miss it!
Birdwood Farm Day
Birdwood Primary School presents their annual Birdwood Farm Day, providing enjoyment for the whole family!
Farm Day has attracted thousands of families since the 1970s to experience a taste of the Adelaide Hills and country living with animal exhibitions, a petting zoo, farm demonstrations like sheep shearing and whip cracking, displays of blacksmithing and machinery, other fun interactive activities, and plenty to eat and drink.
Held on the grounds of the National Motor Museum, tickets also include entry to the museum.
Pre-purchase of tickets online is recommended.
Tickets on sale Monday 7 April.
Sunday 18 May, 10am – 4pm
Image: Birdwood Farm Day, 2023, Birdwood Primary School
Blumberg to Birdwood and the Steps Inbetween
A walking tour showcasing the history of Birdwood (formerly Blumberg).
Beginning at the Old Mill complex, home of the National Motor Museum, take a relaxed stroll around Birdwood and discover key sites related to the town’s development.
Hear stories about the heritage, from the early days of Lutheran settlement to a thriving village that now hosts the nation’s premier collection of motoring history and one of the world’s great historic motoring events — the Bay to Birdwood!
Friday 2 May & Sunday 11 May 2025, 11am – 12.30pm
Bookings required online. Tour participants will meet at the National Motor Museum reception desk. Tickets for the walking tour include museum admission.
Image: The Blumberg Mill, c1860, History Trust of South Australia
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