Australian Sports Museum, MCG

There's more to the MCG than cricket and footy, so a while back we popped in to the Melbourne Sports Museum to see what else the iconic stadium had to offer.

                                        

We wandered around different areas, with displays dedicated to various sports, starting with the 1956 Olympic Games, held right here in our Melbourne town.

Howzat! Backyard cricket has to be one of the most popular Aussie pastimes.

I recognised a few of these faces from when I was a kid. Our country town only got decent tv signals on two stations, 9 and 2. The amount of times I turned on Channel 9 during the summer school holidays, hoping for some kid friendly viewing - only to find these guys playing matches that seemed to go on for years. 

The racing gallery was, at the time, home to Carbine's skeleton. 

Soccer  and AFL were popular exhibits with my sports loving husband and son...

... and they couldn't believe their eyes to see a legend from their beloved Tigers, Kevin Bartlett, making an appearance on the day of our visit!

I can't guarantee you'll see KB at the recently renovated Australian Sports Museum, but you can see his bronze statue outside the 'G. 

Australian Sports Museum

Gate 3, MCG

Chinese Museum

Melbourne's Chinatown has been a vibrant part of our city for many years, with festivities, restaurants and shops luring us in to visit by day and night.

The Chinese Museum sits right in the heart of the precinct and is a great place to visit when you're in the area.

After spending a lot of time in Victoria's Goldfields towns, I was particularly interested in the Finding Gold exhibition, which featured a replica mine camp among the many items on display.

Ancient artefacts and informative displays featured ancient times in Chinese culture, such as the Han Dynasty. 

Exiting via the long ramp down to street level, I tiptoed past the sleeping Dai Loong Dragon, his sequins and mirrors sparkling in the dim light.  He slumbers in between annual parades, where 200 community volunteers help him dance for Chinese New Year, Moomba and other festivals. 

A couple of hours well spent - now, dumpling time. 

Chinese Museum

22 Cohen St

Melbourne

Open daily 10-4