The WA Museum Boola Bardip reopened in 2020 after a massive redevelopment that transformed it into one of the finest state museums in Australia. The building is itself worth noting: a dramatic new glass structure wrapped around and through the historic 1899 Jubilee Building, with the old sandstone and the new glass interacting across multiple levels in a way that mostly works very well. The effect is of a modern institution that has genuinely grappled with its history rather than simply bulldozed it.
The collections cover natural history (the whale skeletons hanging from the atrium ceiling are spectacular), WA Indigenous cultures, colonial history, and science and environment. The Diamonds to Dinosaurs gallery has fossils that will satisfy any child and plenty of adults. But the most affecting sections are those dealing with Noongar culture and the museum's honest accounting of what European settlement meant for the people who had lived on this land for at least 50,000 years. General admission is free for the permanent galleries; some temporary exhibitions charge. Allow at least two hours, more if you have children or a serious interest in natural history.