Opals Exhibition at the South Australian Museum

The finest opal ever unearthed is being publicly displayed for the first time as part of the South Australian Museum’s multi-million dollar Opals exhibition, specially created to celebrate the centenary of opal mining in Australia.

The Museum has gathered some of the most unique and fascinating opals from around the world to complement its own significant collection and showcase the beauty and diversity of Australia’s national gemstone.

The exhibition’s centrepiece, the Virgin Rainbow, is itself worth in excess of a million dollars and its refracting colours defy description.

Opals is an exhibition literally millions of years in the making, with the process of opal formation reaching as far back as the days when dinosaurs walked the earth and central Australia was an inland sea. The Museum’s north foyer has been transformed to represent this ancient sea, with children able to discover some of the magnificent monsters that swam in it, before entering into the exhibition to enjoy crawling through a recreated underground opal mine.

From jewellery to fossils to specimens embedded in rock, adults and children alike will be treated to a spectacle of unmatched colour and beauty at Opals.

Note: This exhibition has timed entry so please select a ticket for the time you wish to arrive. Late entry will only be permitted if the exhibition is not full. You may stay in the exhibition as long as you like, but pass outs will not be issued. Last entry is at 4.30pm each day.