National Institutions in Bloom with Floriade About Town

This spring, The National Gallery of Australia is taking art outdoors with a special series of Friday Art Walks, celebrating Floriade About Town 2026. Led by Gallery staff and special guests, these free guided walks invite visitors to discover the connections between art, landscapes and nature while exploring the National Collection across the Gallery’s indoor and outdoor spaces.

With accessible routes and opportunities to pause along the way, each walk offers a unique perspective on the collection and the stories that shape it.

Art Walks Schedule:

• 11 September | Highlights of the Sculpture Garden
  Join Deirdre Cannon, Curator, Sculpture Garden on a walk to learn about some of the abstract sculptures that populate the landscape of the National Gallery.
• 18 September | Art in the Elements
  Join Conservators Courtney Crane and Isabelle Legg with Conservation Technician David Liu, for a rare behind-the-scenes look at the care and conservation of works of art in the National Gallery’s Sculpture and Australian Gardens.
• 25 September | The Art of Landscape
  Join Benjamin Taylor, Landscape Manager at the National Gallery, for a closer look at the thoughtful design of the Sculpture Garden, where landscape and works of art co-exist in conversation with one another.
• 9 October | Intricate Connections of Country
  Starts in Gallery 24

Where: National Gallery of Australia, Parkes
When: 12:00pm to 12:45pm on 11, 18 and 25 September and 9 October
Bookings: Free, no registration required. Capacity is limited.

For primary school-aged children, Dreaming a City in Bloom invites young explorers to step into the world of Canberra’s visionary designers, Marion Mahony Griffin and Walter Burley Griffin. Using fascinating records from the national archival collection, children will discover how the pair imagined a capital city filled with colourful native flowers, gardens and green spaces before creating their own vibrant flower sculpture to take home. Tickets are $7 per child, with free entry for adults. Register here.

For younger children, Stories in Bloom: Murrulangalang Storytime brings the colours and creativity of spring to life through interactive storytelling, music, craft activities and sensory play. Designed for children aged 0 to 6 years, the sessions offer a welcoming and engaging experience that encourages little ones to learn, imagine and explore alongside their families. This free event requires registration. Secure your place here.

Where: National Archives of Australia, Parkes
Who: Dreaming a City in Bloom (ages 7-12); Stories in bloom: Murrulangalang Storytime (ages 0-6)
When: During Floriade and the spring school holiday period
Note: Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Tickets: Dreaming a City in Bloom is $7 per child, with tickets available here; Stories in bloom: Murrulangalang Storytime is free but requires registration here.

The Royal Australian Mint is celebrating Floriade About Town with a fun, family-friendly program that connects Canberra’s spectacular spring blooms with Australia’s coin collection.

The festivities begin on Saturday 12 September with a special Floriade launch day at the Mint, where visitors can strike a collectible coin featuring a bluebell privy mark, explore floral displays and enjoy guided tours celebrating the role flowers play in Australian coin design and storytelling.

Throughout Floriade, visitors can continue the experience with Bloomin’ Floriade Bingo, a self-guided discovery trail linking floral displays in Commonwealth Park with flower designs featured on Australian coins. Pick up a bingo card at Floriade or the Mint, match real blooms with their coin counterparts, and complete the challenge to receive 5% off at the Mint Café.

Where: Royal Australian Mint, Deakin
Launch Event: Saturday 12 September, with Bloomin’ Floriade Bingo available throughout Floriade.

Just a short stroll across Lake Burley Griffin from Commonwealth Park, the National Library of Australia is celebrating Floriade About Town with a spring-inspired experience that extends from its café and bookshop to its galleries and family spaces.

Start at Bookplate Café, where a special Floriade menu celebrates the colours and flavours of spring. Sip on an orange blossom espresso tonic or butterfly pea tea lemonade, and enjoy seasonal dishes including fluffy ricotta pancakes with strawberries and edible flowers, a Spring Harvest Green Bowl, and Stephanie Alexander‘s almond and frangipane tart served with fresh cream and edible flowers.

Inside the foyer, the National Library Bookshop is embracing the season with eye-catching botanical window displays inspired by illustrations from the Library’s collection, alongside a curated selection of books celebrating gardens, flowers, botany and nature.

Families can continue the experience in the Library’s iconic Main Reading Room, where children are invited to “feast their eyes” on self-guided Floriade activities including flower-themed colouring sheets, word searches and a still-life drawing activity inspired by Australian blooms.

For visitors keen to uncover floral treasures within the national collection, the Treasures Gallery features remarkable botanical works, including an original nineteenth-century watercolour of Golden Wattle by celebrated botanical artist Ellis Rowan, alongside historic botanical specimens from across Australia.

To complete the experience, visitors can enjoy outdoor seating overlooking Lake Burley Griffin and the Parliamentary Triangle, making the Library an ideal stop before or after visiting Floriade.

Where: National Library of Australia, Parkes
When: During Library opening hours throughout Floriade (12 September to 11 October)

The National Portrait Gallery is celebrating Floriade About Town with a free 30-minute guided tour exploring three portraits from the national collection that bring this year’s Feast of Flowers theme to life through stories of food, gardens and nature.

Discover the newly unveiled portrait of Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, a Gamilaroi Elder, chef and educator whose connection to First Nations bush foods is reflected through native ingredients and personal stories woven into the artwork. Explore artist Del Kathryn Barton’s vibrant portrait of Maggie Beer, surrounded by favourite seasonal fruits and vegetables that celebrate Australia’s produce and growing seasons. Visitors will also encounter Costa Georgiadis, portrayed among banksias, billy buttons and kangaroo paws in a lush Australian landscape inspired by his passion for gardening and the natural world.

Where: The National Portrait Gallery, Parkes
When: Daily from Saturday 12 September until Sunday 11 October, 1:00pm – 1:30pm

At Atomic Cafe inside Questacon, science meets spring in a colourful interactive drink experience. Visitors receive a butterfly pea flower iced tea served in a laboratory-style beaker, then use a pipette of fresh lemon juice to transform the drink from blue to purple before their eyes while learning the chemistry behind the colour change.

Where: Atomic Cafe, Questacon
When: During Questacon opening hours throughout Floriade (12 September to 11 October)

Led by Australian National Botanic Gardens Rangers, this exclusive guided twilight experience explores Australia’s national collection of native plants during peak spring flowering. From the fragrant blooms of boronia to the towering flower spikes of the Gymea lily, visitors will uncover the remarkable diversity of Australian flora before darkness reveals a hidden world of fluorescent flowers, fungi, nocturnal wildlife and after-dark ecology using specialist UV and spotlight torches.

Where: Australian National Botanic Gardens, Acton
When: Thursday, Friday and Saturday 1-3 October. 7:30pm – 9pm
Tickets: Adult $30 | Child (10 –17) $25 | Concession $25 | Friends Members $25. Find tickets here

The National Zoo & Aquarium is highlighting the fascinating world of pollinators through floral displays, giant blooms, discovery trails and educational activities focused on animals that help plants thrive, including birds, insects and lemurs.

Where: National Zoo & Aquarium, Yarralumla
When: During opening hours throughout Floriade (12 September to 11 October)
Tickets: Zoo in Bloom is included with standard zoo admission or membership.

Get creative with three Floriade-inspired workshops at Canberra Glassworks, the largest dedicated studio glass facility in the Southern Hemisphere.

Choose from:

• Bugs, Butterflies & Blooms (ages 8+)
  Create colourful fused-glass insects, butterflies and flowers.
  Dates: 1-4 October and 7-11 October
  Tickets: Available here
• Make Your Own Spring Vase (ages 14+)
  Work with a glassblower to create a spring-inspired vase.
  Dates: Weekends from September to November
  Tickets: Available here
• Teen Glassblowing (ages 14-19)
  A two-day immersive workshop in the Hotshop.
  Dates: 30 September to 1 October
  Tickets: Available here
  
  Kids Design Competition 2026 (ages 0-17)
  Young artists aged 0 to 17 are invited to create an original design inspired by the theme Art in Bloom. One winning design will be transformed into a unique glass artwork during a live public demonstration for Floriade by renowned Canberra Glassworks artist Annette Blair.
  Entries close: Friday 11 September 2026, 4:00pm
  Live demonstration: Saturday 26 September 2026
  

Where: Canberra Glassworks, Kingston
Learn more and book your experience here.

During Floriade About Town, the National Dinosaur Museum visitors can dig deeper into the fascinating connection between prehistoric life and the plants we enjoy today through Fruits and Fossils, a free daily interactive talk.

Starting from 11am each morning, visitors can get hands-on with real fossils of ancient flowering plants while expert guides explore how flowers evolved, their role in ancient ecosystems, and how dinosaurs may have helped shape the fruits and plants we eat today.

The museum is also bringing back the much-loved Florasaurus, a floral-themed Triceratops. From 26 September to 12 October, visitors of all ages are invited to help decorate Florasaurus using handprints and stencils to create colourful flower designs, leaving their mark on this community artwork.

Where: National Dinosaur Museum, Gold Creek
When: Fruits and Fossils talks daily from 11:00am throughout Floriade
Florasaurus Community Decorating: Weekends from 26 September to 12 October
Cost: Included with museum admission. Florasaurus decorating is free, with no bookings required.

Floriade About Town

Experience the magic of Floriade throughout Canberra, beyond Commonwealth Park and into the city’s favourite places to eat, drink, shop and explore with Floriade About Town.

What’s on at Floriade

Discover workshops, music, food, entertainment, talks, tours and kids’ activities for a fun day out at Floriade.