South Australia Museums

South Australian Museum. This stately building is the brilliant centerpiece of the North Terr. cultural district. It features huge whale skeletons, displays on native Australian animals, rocks and minerals, an Egyptian mummy, and an exhibit on the life of the giant squid. The real highlight of the museum is the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery, which has the largest collection of Aboriginal artifacts in the world. (Between the State Library and the Art Gallery of SA, on North Terr. ☎08 8207 7500; www.samuseum.sa.gov.au. Open daily 10am-5pm. Free 45min. museum tours M-F 11am and Sa-Su 2 and 3pm. Wheelchair accessible. Free.)

Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc. The oldest indigenously-owned and managed Aboriginal multi-arts complex in Australia, the Tandanya—which translates to Red Kangaroo place, the name given to the Adelaide city area by the Kaurna people—hosts rotating indigenous artwork exhibitions from around the country. Don’t miss the free guided tour at 11am on Thursdays. The institute also has didjeridu performances (T-F noon) and a Torres Strait Islander Dance (Sa-Su noon), both free with gallery admission. (253 Grenfell St., at the corner of East Terr. on the 99C bus route. ☎08 8224 3200; www.tandaya.com.au. Open daily 10am-5pm. $5, concessions $4, family $12.)

Art Gallery Of South Australia. This impressive gallery showcases colonial and modern Australian, modern Aboriginal, Asian, and European prints, paintings, decorative arts, and ceramics. (North Terr. near Pulteney St. ☎08 8207 7000, tours ☎08 8207 7075; www.artgallery.sa.gov.au. Open daily 10am-5pm. Free 1hr. tours daily 11am and 2pm. Wheelchair accessible. Free.)

Migration Museum. Combining history and oral tradition to explain the patterns of immigration and exclusion that have shaped South Australian society, the museum’s harrowing refugee stories and photographs are excellent, if sobering. The exhibits and interactive displays are particularly relevant now, as immigration policy has become one of the nation’s most hotly contested political issues. Refreshingly, the museum does not shy away from the historical controversy surrounding Australian policy toward Aborigines during the 20th century. (82 Kintore Ave., off North Terr., behind the state library. ☎08 8207 7580. Open M-F 10am-5pm, Sa-Su 1-5pm. Free, $2 donation suggested.)