Mirror Mazes & Crystal Tunnels: Powerhouse Parramatta Unveils Free Opening Program

Powerhouse Parramatta has released details of its full opening exhibition program, which will be accessible to the public on Saturday, 7 November 2026. Four of the five of the museum‘s opening exhibitions will be free, among them a walkable memory palace, a “draw a stranger” installation, a crystal tunnel for children aged 4-12, and a mirror maze for play-focused adults. 

These exhibitions will showcase more than 3,000 objects, with more than 1,600 from the Powerhouse Collection and loaned objects sourced from collections around the world. From engineering feats and cutting-edge artistic commissions to a First Nations-led exhibition, Powerhouse Parramatta’s opening exhibition program has something for everyone.  

“Powerhouse Parramatta is a once-in-a-generation project,” said Minister for the Arts, John Graham. “When it opens this November, Powerhouse Parramatta will bring extraordinary stories, ideas and experiences to the heart of Western Sydney.”

“‘Visitors can spend hours exploring the exhibitions, immersing themselves in science, engineering, design, visual arts and special cultural artefacts – largely for free.”

Powerhouse Parramatta Exhibition Highlights

First up, there’s The Dark is an immersive exhibition created for children aged 4–12. Developed in collaboration with creatives Kip Williams, Elizabeth Gadsby, and Marg Horwell, The Dark is a bedroom, a crystal tunnel, a forest, and a gateway to a land of giants. The exhibition features over 800 objects, including from the Australian Museum mineral collection as well as treasures loaned from children all over Western Sydney commemorating times they’ve met “the dark”.

Next, we have Es Devlin’s The Turning, which presents five immersive installations visitors can explore: Forest of Us, a mirror maze comparing the bronchial trees within our lungs and the trees in our environment; Memory Palace, an immersive landscape mapping the shifts in human perspective across 75 millennia; Screenshare, a cinematic installation presenting sketches made by Devlin over the past 35 years; Redraw the Edges of Yourself, a collection of hand-drawn studies of flora and fauna; and Collective Portrait, an installation where audiences are invited to draw portraits of a stranger.  

There’s also Overflow, a First Nations-led exhibition exploring the care of salt and freshwater systems throughout NSW. Brought to life through the cinematic lens of acclaimed filmmaker and Kamilaroi man Ivan Sen, the installation captures community projects spanning species protection, flood mitigation, sustainable and commercial fishing, water monitoring, language revitalisation, and cultural water rights.

Other highlights include Task Eternal, an ambitious aerospace exhibition exploring humanity’s quest to defy gravity and journey into the sky (featuring original drawings of flying machines by Leonardo da Vinci, and even a NASA moon rock), as well as The Mall, an exhibition examining the history, evolution, and cultural significance of the shopping mall.