When I was younger, I used to love the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. It wasn’t the only museum I loved, but because of how much science and technology that had been forced into one space, I found it a brilliant place to go.
While trips to the Powerhouse weren’t as frequent as I’d have liked – I was under the age of ten, so I couldn’t just clap my hands and materialise at 500 Harris St – the trips were remembered fondly.
A few years ago, I went again. I can’t remember how long it had been since I had entered the Powerhouse and taken a good stroll around the museum I once loved.
Oh sure, I had been to events there – a Canon launch, a Wacom tablet launch, some sort of rug exhibition where I managed to annoy rug connoisseurs thanks to my use of the word “carpet” – but I hadn’t taken a good long walk, a wonderful ponder at the museum I fell in love with as a boy.
So in 2009, I went. And it wasn’t great: exhibits were noticeably in a state of disrepair, the place was empty, and generally the Powerhouse Museum didn’t feel like this wonderful place I had recalled.