Things to do with kids in Broken Hill & Outback NSW

This lookout over the Mundi Mundi Plains is a few minutes past Silverton on a sealed road. It is known for its sunsets, and the plains often appear in film and television. The viewing area is open and level, so it is easy to walk around.

The Miners Memorial stands on top of a mullock heap about 30 metres high, above the city. Freestanding glass panels inside carry the names of more than 800 miners who died at Broken Hill. The views across the city are particularly good at night.

The Silver Tree is the centrepiece here, with a 42kg silver nugget on display nearby. Hands-on displays show how crystals form and how the planet changed over time. The museum opens Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, and a family ticket is $20.

Broken Hill's original 1905 station holds historic trains you can board and memorabilia from the Silverton Tramway, which ran from 1888 to 1970. Four more small museums share the site, including a migrant museum and a hospital museum.

Silverton's old gaol, built in 1889, is now a museum packed with thousands of items from the town's busy mining years. Rooms cover mining, transport, school, sport and medicine, with old photographs throughout. Entry is $4 for kids aged 5 to 12.

This Silverton museum is full of props, behind-the-scenes photos and footage from the film Mad Max 2. Original and replica vehicles fill the car display, and life-size characters stand around the rooms. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, but call ahead over Christmas and the quiet summer months.

Kids can take on a miner's job title and line up at the pay window, then explore a Far West railway carriage. Old machinery sits outside, and a path leads down to the original Open Cut workings. It opens every day, from 8.30am on weekdays and 9am on weekends.

Water from the Great Artesian Basin fills these shaded baths at about 40°C. They are free and open 24 hours a day through the season, March to November. Hot showers, an electric barbecue and free camping are on site.