There’s something different happening at Canberra Museum and Gallery, where the usual “look but don’t touch” rule for adults in galleries has been turned on its head with Hop In! An Immersive World of Play.

CMAG is inviting children aged 3-12 and their families not just to observe art, but to tumble headfirst into it, exploring their way through a reimagined home where nothing is quite the expected size, or shape.

Opening at the tailend of the school holidays, the exhibition transforms familiar domestic spaces into something closer to a dreamscape where furniture looms large in a world built for movement and curiosity

At the centre of the sits Bunny Dearest, a giant soft sculpture by Brunswick artist Beci Orpin. Orpin is a multidisciplinary artist, designer and author many of whose proudest achievements collaborating on projects with Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Water Aid, Children’s Ground, Victorian Cooperative on Children’s Services for Ethnic Groups and Save the Children.

The oversized rabbit becomes both anchor and companion in a space that taps into shared childhood memories. And if you’re like me, you can even learn how to dance the Bunny-hop from an on-screen tutorial.

For CMAG director Anna Wong, the exhibition is a response to the role play holds in children’s development and in family life itself so that, she suggests, the gallery becomes a social space, somewhere families can move, interact and create their own experiences.

Situated in the corner galley facing London Circuit, the wide, immersive environment invites not just children but parents to join in against a backdrop of bright colour and inventive design.

Hop In! offers something increasingly rare, an accessible cultural experience that asks families to slow down, spend time together and respond to an invitation: come in, and play.

Hop In!, Canberra Museum + Gallery, Civic Square, until October 11.