Museum of Brisbane foyer, City Hall
EVENT · ENDS 15 NOVBrisbane City

Brisbane This Weekend, 14 and 15 November 2026: Free Museum Exhibitions, a $5 Glass Showcase and Planetarium Shows at Mt Coot-tha (Brisbane, QLD)

by OZ Local Updates editorial team

At a glance

When
Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November 2026
Free in the city
Museum of Brisbane, Brisbane City Hall, 64 Adelaide Street: the Magpie Goose exhibition, the Warrajamba artist in residence space and the Eye Spy activity sheet for children, all free with no booking. The City Hall Clock Tower Tour is free but needs a booking
Cheap at Mt Coot-tha
Creative Glass Guild showcase at the Botanic Gardens Auditorium, adults $5 and children under 12 free (Saturday 9am to 4pm, Sunday 9am to 3pm); Art in the Gardens exhibition, free; Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium shows from $11
Saturday only
Free volunteer guided walks at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha and the City Botanic Gardens, at 11am and 1pm
Who it’s for
Families and visitors looking for low-cost indoor and garden things to do in Brisbane on a weekend
What to do now
Book the Clock Tower Tour and any planetarium session in advance, because the council says tour spaces fill up quickly
Last checked
Sunday 8 November 2026, against the Brisbane City Council event page for each listing
Not yet confirmed
The council pages do not give bus, train or parking advice for these listings, and the weekend’s larger ticketed events are not covered here

Brisbane City Council’s events calendar lists a run of free and low-cost things to do on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November 2026, led by free exhibitions at the Museum of Brisbane in City Hall and a cluster of garden, glass-art and planetarium listings at Mt Coot-tha. Everything below comes from the council’s own event pages, read on 8 November 2026. Queensland has no daylight saving, so all times are Brisbane time.

The council calendar also lists many weekly library programs, fitness sessions and parkruns, which we have left out. For the weekend’s large ticketed events, see our guides to the Rugby League World Cup finals at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday 15 November and the Brisbane Bullets game at the Entertainment Centre on the same day.

The clock tower of Brisbane City Hall seen from nearby
The Brisbane City Hall clock tower (photo: John Robert McPherson / CC BY-SA 4.0)

What is on this weekend, and what does it cost?

Listing Where Saturday 14 November Sunday 15 November Cost
Stories You Wear: Magpie Goose Museum of Brisbane, City Hall Exhibition Exhibition Free, no booking
Warrajamba (artist in residence) Museum of Brisbane 10am to 5pm 10am to 5pm Free, no booking
Little Artist’s Eye Spy Museum of Brisbane 10am to 5pm 10am to 5pm Free, no booking
Clock Tower Tour Departs from Museum of Brisbane, Level 3, City Hall 10:15am to 4:45pm, every 15 minutes 10:15am to 4:45pm, every 15 minutes Free, bookings essential
Creative Glass Guild annual showcase Botanic Gardens Auditorium, Mt Coot-tha 9am to 4pm 9am to 3pm Adults $5, children under 12 free
Art in the Gardens Richard Randall Art Studio, Mt Coot-tha 9am to 4pm 9am to 4pm Free, no booking
Free guided garden walks Mt Coot-tha and City Botanic Gardens 11am and 1pm Not listed (the walks run Monday to Saturday) Free, no booking
Planetarium: Perfect Little Planet Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium 10:15am to 10:50am 10:15am to 10:50am Adult $11, child (3 to 14 years) $11
Planetarium: Tycho Goes to Mars Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium 11:00am to 11:35am 11:00am to 11:35am Adult $11, child (3 to 14 years) $11
Planetarium: Passport to the Universe Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium 12:00pm to 12:45pm Not checked Adult $17.50, child $11, concession $13.50

What can I see for free at the Museum of Brisbane?

Three of the free listings are at the Museum of Brisbane, which is inside Brisbane City Hall at 64 Adelaide Street, and none of them needs a booking.

The first is the exhibition Stories You Wear: Magpie Goose. The council describes it as a collaboration with Magpie Goose, an Aboriginal owned and led fashion and social enterprise, celebrating First Nations cultural stories and designs through clothing. It names the owners as Amanda Hayman (Wakka Wakka and Kalkadoon) and Troy Casey (Kamilaroi), calls it exclusive to Brisbane, and says it is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

The second is Warrajamba, the museum’s artist in residence space with Quandamooka artist Cockatoo-Collins, open 10am to 5pm on both days. Visitors can make their own mermaid or dugong using artist-designed stamps, and see sculptural work made from materials gathered from Country, including freshwater reed, beach hibiscus cotton tree and quampie shell.

The third is Little Artist’s Eye Spy, a free activity sheet for children and their parents or carers, also 10am to 5pm. The council says to ask at the museum’s reception when you arrive, and that the sheet covers five different exhibitions.

The third floor foyer of the Museum of Brisbane inside Brisbane City Hall
The Museum of Brisbane’s third floor foyer inside City Hall (photo: John Robert McPherson / CC BY-SA 4.0)

How do I book the City Hall Clock Tower Tour?

The Clock Tower Tour is free, but the council says bookings are essential and that tickets must be booked for every member of your group, including children and carers. Tours run daily every 15 minutes from 10:15am to 4:45pm and depart from the Museum of Brisbane on Level 3 of City Hall. Please arrive 15 minutes before your tour.

The tour includes a ride in one of Brisbane’s oldest working cage lifts, a look behind what the council calls Australia’s largest analogue clock faces, and time on the observation platform. The council says spaces are limited and fill up quickly.

What is on at Mt Coot-tha?

Four of the listings share one address, 152 Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong or Mt Coot-tha, which makes a single day trip easy to plan, at least on Saturday.

The Brisbane city skyline seen from Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha
Looking towards the city from Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha (photo: John Robert McPherson / CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Creative Glass Guild showcase

The Creative Glass Guild of Queensland holds its annual showcase at the Botanic Gardens Auditorium. Entry is $5 for adults, and children under 12 are free, with no bookings needed. It runs 9am to 4pm on Saturday and 9am to 3pm on Sunday. The council says the range includes glass jewellery, mosaic pieces, Tiffany-style lamps, leadlight and copperfoiled work, and fused and slumped glass plates and platters, with hand-made glass wall lamps on show for the first time. This year’s theme for the Christmas ornaments is ‘A Sunburnt Christmas’. Visitors can meet glass artists, see demonstrations and enrol in courses.

Art in the Gardens

Art in the Gardens is a free exhibition and original art sale at the historic Richard Randall Art Studio, from 9am to 4pm on both days. It features four local artists: Shruti Kashikar, Paquita Fadden, Juana Bernardo and Leonie Seabrook, with watercolours, landscapes, botanical works and marine paintings, plus fine art greeting cards and handmade gifts. A curatorial preview of Paquita Fadden’s portraits, Trailblazing Women – 14 Portraits from Modern Australian Politics, is also shown. The council says the studio is wheelchair accessible and near the gardens’ bamboo grove, minutes from the cafe and parking.

Free guided garden walks (Saturday)

Volunteer guides run free walks at 11am and 1pm, Monday to Saturday, so Saturday 14 November is the only weekend day. The Mt Coot-tha walk meets at the Visitor Information Centre. The City Botanic Gardens walk meets at the Information Kiosk next to the Queensland University of Technology’s Main Drive pathway. Walks last about an hour at a gentle pace, no booking is needed for individuals and groups of up to ten, and the council says walks may be subject to environmental conditions and guide capacity on the day.

The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium at Mt Coot-tha
Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium (photo: Kgbo / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Planetarium shows

The Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium lists three shows on Saturday. Perfect Little Planet (10:15am, suitable for ages 4 and over) follows a family of aliens on holiday through the Solar System, and Tycho Goes to Mars (11:00am, ages 4 and over) follows a dog searching for water on Mars. Both cost $11 for adults and children, which the council describes as adults at children’s prices. Passport to the Universe (12:00pm, ages 8 and over, narrated by Tom Hanks) travels from the Solar System to the edge of the observable universe, and costs $17.50 for adults, $11 for children aged 3 to 14 and $13.50 for concessions.

Each session ends with a virtual tour of the Brisbane night sky. Tickets are booked online, and the council lists 07 3403 8888 for booking and venue enquiries. Perfect Little Planet has some sudden sound effects, fast moving scenes and flashing light sequences, and all children must be accompanied by an adult in the Cosmic Skydome. We confirmed the two children’s shows on Sunday as well, at the same times, but did not check Sunday for Passport to the Universe.

How do I get there?

None of these council pages gives public transport or parking advice, apart from the note that the art studio is minutes from the cafe and parking. For a trip to City Hall or Mt Coot-tha, plan your journey with Translink’s Journey Planner or call 13 12 30. If you drive to Mt Coot-tha, we cannot tell you what the parking arrangements are for the weekend, because the council has not published them on these pages.

The Bamboo Grove in the City Botanic Gardens in Brisbane
The Bamboo Grove at the City Botanic Gardens (photo: John Robert McPherson / CC BY-SA 4.0)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Brisbane City Council, Museum of Brisbane, the Creative Glass Guild of Queensland or the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.

Sources