The giant, hot air balloon sculptures, consisting of Skywhale, Skywhalepapa and their nine babies, will be taking off from Lavington Sportsground at sunrise on Saturday 17.

Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) Director Bree Pickering said the Skywhales were an "amazingly bizarre" experience.

"They're these giant creatures that look sort of like a bird," she said.

"It has tail feathers, but they also could be feet. The wings look like breast."

The National Gallery of Australia has organised the Skywhales: Every heart sings national tour, which is described as a 'once in a childhood' experience.

"They're very strange other worldly creatures," Ms Pickering said, "but because they're made of balloons, they're also very delicate.

"They seem light, but they're these huge seven story creatures."

Ms Pickering said so far nearly 4000 people had registered for the free exhibition, but bookings could be made right up to the event start.

She said the sculptures would be inflated at 5am, ready for release at 6.30am if the weather permitted, but it would be worth heading down even if the weather prevented the balloons from flying.

"If the weather is poor they'll still inflate and be tethered...the tethering will be a good part," she said, referring to how "exciting" it was to get up close and see the Skywhales on the ground.

She said Skywhale stood at about 30 metres tall and took about 30 minutes to inflate.

"It takes four and a half tonnes of air...and 3.6 kilometres of fabric."

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The Skywhale was commissioned in 2013 to celebrate Canberra's 100th anniversary, but since then Skywhalepapa has completed the Skywhale family.

"I think when the first when Skywhale was launched it was a little bit controversial, 'why is it art?'", Ms Pickering said.

Ms Pickering said she took her two year old son to see the Skywhales in Canberra and that he'd been asking ever since when he could see them again.

"I thought he'd be terrified and he wasn't," she said, "he didn't care about the 4am start."

"He was just totally mesmerised."

Ms Pickering said it was a great for Albury's reputation to have such a well known installation.

Tomorrow, the artist behind Skywhales, Patricia Piccinini will take part in workshops and an artist talk at MAMA.

On Friday, she will attend Lavington Library and Albury LibraryMuseum.

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