exploring Melbourne

Here are some of the places worth visiting in Melbourne.

arts

William Ricketts Sanctuary is a refuge on the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road near Olinda, where sculptures fuse into rocks and stumps in the heart of the mountain ash and fern forest.
Australian Centre for the Moving Image is a celebration of film and television culture in Federation Square in the city. Highlights include kid's flicks and activities such as green screen adventures during the holidays, the interactive exhibits in Screen Worlds downstairs, and the program of exhibitions and film presentations.
Artplay is a city studio and playground by the Yarra that encourages children to join together in creative projects with guest artists.
Melba Hall is the hundred year old conservatorium at the University of Melbourne in Carlton, with regular public concerts.
Astor Theatre is an art-deco era cinema, which specializes in classic films in their original 70mm film and now 4K digital formats. It boasts a two level auditorium seating over a thousand people, and a wide-screen some nine metres high.

Scienceworks is the science museum at Spotswood across the Yarra. There are hands-on exhibits (younger kids like the Nitty Gritty Super City, and older ones like Sportsworks), a lightning room with a two million volt Tesla Coil, a planetarium, the historical pumping station, and several temporary exhibition areas. An archival section contains treasures such as John Fawkner's printing press.
National Centre for Synchrotron Science is the home of the Australian Synchrotron at Clayton. There are a number of beamlines, including the wide medical beam. There are no general tours, but the site is publicly accessible at an annual open day around October each year.
CSIRAC is the oldest surviving electronic computer in the world, first run in 1964. It is on display at Scienceworks in Spotswood.

Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre is a permanent space at the Melbourne Museum in Carlton. The journey begins with a kinetic sculpture of Bunjil, the Creator Eagle, and takes one from the distant past, to traditional and then colonialist periods, through to modern times.
Chinese Museum documents the many contexts of Chinese Australians, from the goldfields to the present day. Several processional dragons and lions, including the spectacular Millenium Dragon, are on display.

Cape Woolamai on Phillip Island is a reserve with walking tracks taking in the surf beach up on to the coastal woodlands with a view back over the whole Island. In late September nearly a million shearwaters (mutton birds) return from their annual Pacific circumnavigation to nest and raise their chicks until April. Each day at dusk they soar back to the cliffs, crash landing all over the reserve.
The Ada Tree is a tall mountain ash near Noojee in West Gippsland. Although the tallest of the Mountain Ash have been ringbarked, burnt, or logged, a few of the giants have survived. The crown of the Ada tree is long gone, but it still stands over 75m high.