Science museum
Australian PlantBank
Seeds of thousands of native species sit in cool rooms and cryogenic freezers at this conservation science centre in the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, where windows look straight into working laboratories.
The story
The collection began in the early 1980s as seeds kept in cloth bags and tiny glass jars in the basement of the former National Herbarium of New South Wales. They kept poorly in Sydney's humidity, so the seeds moved to Mount Annan later that decade, stored at first in retired soft drink fridges. The purpose-built PlantBank opened in 2013 and now holds the largest collection of New South Wales native plant seeds, including material from the Wollemi Pine, discovered in 1994. Drying rooms, tissue culture labs and freezers reaching -196°C keep material ready to be germinated and replanted if wild populations decline. The foyer holds displays of seeds and fruit, there is a moss and lichen garden, and free tours led by volunteer guides take in the building and the research garden.
Good to know
TAGGG AI- ✦Join a guided tour, which runs about an hour and covers the building, the research garden and the adjacent nursery.
- ✦Bring a picnic, as the surrounding garden has a picnic area that suits families well.